Want to see what we're doing next year?

For the next two years we will be studying American History. I am very excited about it and I thought I'd tell you a little about what we are doing. I will be using Sonlight Core 3 & 4 over the next 2 years. We will be using the Sonlight core lightly, really mostly as a reading list and we will be using the History of the USA workbooks for my 4th and 6th grader to do independently. We will be using the Landmark History book rarely if at all.

But that is not what this post is about. This is what I am excited about and have been working on all weekend. Our State Study! I bought Simply Stated at the Convention this year. I have the main state history book, maps, guides, and literature, now I'm setting up the Notebook we're going to keep all our work in.

Here is what I did. First I spent HOURS going to the main tourism website for EVERY STATE IN THE UNION (for those not from around here that is 50 States!!!) and the capital city of Washington D.C. and requested a tourist guide and map. They will start arriving in 4 to 6 weeks.

This is what I am going to store all that paperwork in until we are ready for it. I'll just file them alphabetically.

Then I hit Walmart for all the needed supplies.

First up...The LARGE binder. I got a 3" but now that it is full of file folders I probably should have gotten the 5".

Then I bought a box of Manila Folders, I need enough for one for each state, Washington D.C. one for a general US history introduction page and one for the various US territories (I have learned there are several territories, we'll probably just list them all with a fact or two for each and leave it at that, so only one manila folder for all the territories).

Next I punched holes in the manila folders so they will go in the binder.

When they are open we'll have the whole inside to fill up with maps, facts, copywork, drawings, etc, about the state.

Then I took the smaller envelopes and attached them to the back of the manila folder.

I used double stick tape and stick glue. This took the most time. The envelope will be used to store the state map we get from the tourism board and any other info we can't put in the folder but want to keep with the state.

I organized the folders in chronological order of when they became states. We will study the 13 colonies first and then go chronologically from there. We will do about one state a week. We will do some out of order if we are going to visit that state or someone from out of state is visiting us, or as we see fit. We'll do Colorado first as a trial this summer in preparation for our trip there in July.

There you have it! When we are done we should have one notebook with all the pertinent info about each state, with a state map and tourism guide, included. How cool is that!

My kids will keep their own notebook (just a spiral notebook) with a page for each state. I will photo copy some stuff from each child's notebook or drawings or copywork to put in the main binder. I don't want to have 3 binders like this but I want each of my youngest three to participate in the main binder. I'll probably switch out who gets to put what information on the folder. Only their best work will be photocopied and put it the main binder. I am hoping that this will encourage them to do their best work!

I'll post some pictures of the state folders as we finish them.

This is a homeschooling blog at it's core so I thought I should share some homeschooling stuff from time to time! :o)

I posted over at The Well Drained Mind today. Go check it out.

I am so proud of A!

Today I had one of those aaaaahhhhh moments. The kind that tell me I am doing a good job, that I am a good Mom, that maybe when I get to heaven I really will hear "Well done good and faithful servant".

I took my kids to Pump It Up for their cousins birthday party. It was great fun btw!



When I was signing them in, I had to tell them my kids birthdays. My youngest happens to be born on St. Patrick's Day. When she told the lady behind the counter that, the lady asked her if she was lucky.

Without missing a beat or being cheeky, she replied, "Nope, I'm blessed".

Wow, how cool is that?

TOO...MUCH...NATURE!

I was innocently putting my girls to bed last night and the doorbell rings. As soon as the door opens I hear my teen boys screech. They will not admit to screeching but I'm telling you, it was a screech. This was on the other side of the door. (Good thing I didn't answer the door, I'd have had a heart attack!)


The neighbor boys were at the door with a snake, that they found IN THEIR YARD, JUST A FEW HOUSES DOWN FROM MINE! At least this was not found in my laundry.

I have had entirely too much nature!

Needless to say, the girls did not get to bed on time.


Just so you know, the neighbor boy holding the snake is a self-proclaimed snake expert and assured me this was not a poisonous snake. It is some kind of constrictor...he thinks. HE THINKS??? He's holding the thing! You think he'd be rather FIRM in his belief that this was a non venomous creature BEFORE he picked it up! Boys!

Coke Zero, Anyone?

I have a story to share, A little self deprecation, just for you.

I was driving home from Scottish Rite today…actually, I must go back further. It really began with the coke machine. I am about to pay $1.25 for a Coke Zero. I have a whole case of Coke Zero’s at home, but I forgot to bring one. So, here I am about to pay an exorbitant price for something I already have; brilliant I know, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

I put in my money, and hit the Coke Zero button…nothing. I hit it again, several times in fact. Nothing. Okay, I’m a reasonable person. I can deal with regular Diet Coke. I hit that button…nothing. I decide to just wait till I get home for my Diet Coke fix and hit the money return button, you guessed it…nothing.



So I get a Sprite. I am not a huge fan of Sprite, but it was that or the scary orange or grape drinks. I really didn’t want the Sprite so I put it in my wheelie box and head to the lobby to do some school planning.

On my way back up to pick up the kids, I stop at the gift shop to make up for my loss of Diet Coke, and I buy myself some chocolate. It is not lost on me that it is 9:30 am and I am attempting to drink Diet Coke and eat chocolate, but that is for another post.

After walking up to the Dyslexia Lab to pick up the kids, then back through the hospital and out through the parking garage to the parking lot on the other side (my 12 passenger van is too tall for the parking garage) we finally load up and head home.

As I am entering the highway on the short entrance ramp and trying to merge with the other one billion people in Downtown Dallas, who, by the way, all drive SUV’s or Extended Cab Diesel Ford Trucks and are driving 90 mph, I decide to go ahead and take a sip of my Sprite. I need something to wash down the chocolate after-all.

This is the same bottle of Sprite that has been bouncing around in my wheelie cart for the last hour. I open the twisty lid and put the tip of the bottle to my lips, all while merging and keeping my eye on the road. I do have precious cargo in this van you know.



Because of my conscientious driving, I failed to notice that the Sprite was fizzing over the top until I felt the cold sticky substance ALL THE WAY DOWN MY SHIRT! I literally poured at least a cup of Sprite down my shirt…while merging onto the highway-from-hell.

I want you to know that I did this without swerving in the least and managing to merge gracefully onto the highway-from-hell, between all the SUV’s, Ford Super Duty’s and Semis, like a pro.

People, I’m ready for NASCAR!

Here We Go...Again!

Okay, we made it through our first day of Dyslexia Lab School at Scottish Rite Hospital; downtown Dallas.



I have a friend whose son is also going to the program and we were able to set up a carpool. So at least I only have to drive 2 mornings a week.

A was quite happy to go, and was up and dressed before the sun was up. I was not so happy to see this hour of morning. I really don’t like 6am. 6am and I are not on speaking terms. 6am is a retched, retched time to have to get up.

I think this is going to be a good thing, despite its unfortunate start time. It will be good for A and I’m sure for me too. Apparently, God thinks I need to grow more. So here we go for another 2 years and a summer.

I took a deep breath and jumped in. I can do this…again. I can. God will give me strength.

At least this time I have a REALLY BIG car. I can put those two VERY AWAKE children in the far back seat where I can barley hear their chatter over my Miranda Lambert WAKE UP, GIRL! music, and can concentrate on my coffee and driving.

And speaking of driving, what is with those people that get in the HOV lane and dive 50MPH? 50 people! It is a 65mph zone. I can understand if you feel you must drive 65 even though everyone knows it is an unwritten rule that the HOV lane is for SPEEDING! I’ll not grouse if someone thinks they must obey the speed limit exactly (legalism anyone?) But 15mph UNDER? Really? Must I deal with this while I am trying to get down my first cup of coffee of the day? It is just more than a girl should have to deal with. But, like I said, I am growing and stretching as a person…again. Growing and stretching hurt at 6am!

Thank You!

I have to admit that Memorial Day went buy in a flurry of activity (actually, truth be told, a flurry of mosquitoes!)

We were camping and barbecuing and horseshoeing and just generally having fun and being a family. I did not really take time to think about what that day is about.

My SIL sent me this video and it really touched my heart.




Wow. How do you say thank you for this kind of sacrifice?

How do you say thank you to that little boy for being away from his Daddy so I can enjoy my freedom?

God Bless all the soldiers like this man who are giving up their freedom's so I can keep mine.

My favorite thing about summer.

This is one of my favorite things about summer.



My girls will spend hours creating amazing designs with their sidewalk chalk. It is 7:45 AM and it was so quiet in the house I had to go investigate. This is where I found them.

They will probably do this for most of the morning, then all four kids will go to the neighborhood pool where all their friends are. The lifeguard is a very nice girl I knew when she was a baby (that is totally because she's young, not because I'm old!)
They will hang out there for most of the afternoon.

I love the slowness of summer. I love that my kids can just be, explore, and play.

I'm enjoying this last day before A and I have to get up early and head downtown. A is happy it's early, she'll be home by 10:30 so, as she said, she won't miss much summer. I however wish it were a bit later so I won't have to miss so much sleeping in!

I have decided to choose to Praise HIM about this Scottish Rite business. So every day, for a while, I'm going to read (and post) a praise verse.



Here's today's...
Psalm 52:9
I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.

We Interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to bring you this news...

I deleted the original post because, well, it was whiny; shame on me for being such a baby.

I have a lot of responsibilities next year and we’ve just added taking A to Scottish Rite, daily (except Fridays) for two school years and one summer session starting on Monday. I’m a bit overwhelmed.



But I don’t have cancer, I haven’t had to go through the Holocaust, my children are healthy and not suffering from some incurable health problem. I was not forced to have an abortion because my country does not allow more than one child per couple. My dh is not leaving me for another woman, or molesting our children. And really doesn’t that just put it all into perspective?

I have been wallowing in self pity (and I do mean wallowing!) since we made the decision to accept the space offered to us in the Dyslexia program. Well, today I either read about or was told about someone experiencing the above pain, and other than the Holocaust and the abortion thing, the suffering is happening to people I know.

So, God, I get it. I’ll make it through the next two and a half years, and it could be SOOOO very much worse.

To those of you who had to read my little pity party, I’m sorry. You caught me at a week moment. Thank you nsremom for your kind comment.

And now, please excuse this little interruption. You can go back to your regularly scheduled post reading…

Dyslexia

This morning we got the official diagnoses from the lovely people at the Scottish Rite Hospital that A is Dyslexic. This is not really news to me. I know she is dyslexic.

After going through it with G and doing the 2 year remediation program, not to mention being dyslexic myself. I know what it looks like.

She is not as severe as Gunnar, although they at SR don't like to use terms like mild or severe.

DH and I are now trying to decide to keep on doing what we are doing with her; a heavy phonics program, or send her to the 2 year remediation program, like her brother.

Personally I'm opting for the at-home approach. I know what to do and how to do it and have seen improvement since we started a more phonetic approach to learning reading.

DH is opting for the 2 year program. I have to say that I'd rather hit my thumb with a hammer several times daily for the next 2 years then have to drive downtown 4 DAYS A WEEK FOR 2 YEARS.

We're praying about it. I was desperate with G. No matter what I did that kid did not improve. I was so grateful for the program. I am not desperate with A. I have seen steady improvement, it is just slow going.

I got the impression that they would happily take her into the program in a heartbeat. They know us there and really liked Gunnar. He is such a likable kid!

But 2 more years! UGH!

Praying for God's leading here...

BTW, I feel like the above cartoon is not in poor taste as I am not only making fun of my 2 dyslexic children but of myself too. I see untie, every time I read united.

I saw a tee-shirt that said...Dyslexics of the would UNTIE! I did not get it at first! Then I laughed my head off!