Happy Birthday Christopher!

I'm not sure what it is about birthdays that makes me feel reflective, a little bit sad/nostalgic and also very thankful.  There is something about this birthday - my oldest child's - that sometimes even feels a little more so than others.  Maybe it's because it was the birth of this child that gave me a new role - Mom!  A role that I never knew would bless me beyond my wildest dreams.  A job that was the hardest I've ever done and yet without question the most rewarding as well.  Maybe too it's because I can see the years moving by and know that before long he will be grown.  I'm not ready for that!

Sixteen years ago ... can it be that long?  Can he really be almost a man?!  Yet, it seems so long ago that I wasn't a mom.  It is so much of who I am.  That precious little baby that just melted me heart.  This incredible young man that continues to intrigue, challenge, and bless me. 

We tried to plan out this day - offering MANY suggestions for fun things to do.  In the end, we spent a relaxed day at  home with family.  We played games (mostly basketball) and watched some too.  We watched a movie and we ate - Christopher really loves food!  We started the day with omelettes and hash browns - cooked by my dh!  Christopher had his food on the special plate.

I thought I'd be cooking today - but instead we had pizza for lunch and taco bell for dinner.  Well, I did make pumpkin bars for dessert.  Christopher is not a fan of chocolate and is allergic to nuts, so desserts can be a little limited.  He does love ice cream too - and chose banana pudding ice cream.  Yum!

There are so many things that I enjoy about Christopher - he is interesting and able to talk about a wide range of things.  He is helpful and I really appreciate when he sees a need and just jumps in without being asked.  He is fun and loves playing with his siblings.  He is patient (most of the time) about being tackled and included in their games.  I especially love watching him with Eliana.  He really enjoys her and there is something about seeing a teen-aged boy with a little one that is just extra sweet.

Christopher loves food and is a great cook.  He is willing to experiment and has a good sense of what will work so that his "concoctions" are usually really good!  He is very helpful in the kitchen and has recently volunteered to help out at our church's kitchen once a week too. 

Christopher is bright, likes a challenge and loves games of all sorts - card, board, sports, etc.  He is laid-back, caring helpful and fun to be with.  I enjoy hanging out with him - and get to see a lot of him at night as he is a night owl like me.

I am so thankful that God blessed us with you, Christopher.  My life is so much richer for having been your mom.  I thank God for you every day.

Happy Birthday sweetheart.  I love you!

Mommy

A Few Happenings Around Here

We are loving our workboxes, but you knew that already, didn't you?!  LOL  We are getting so much done and having fun with it.  Several of my children have told me how much they are liking it.  I am too. 

One of the things we did this week was a nature activity.  All the children love being outside and the weather has been gorgeous here (in the 70s).  We did one of the nature activites from the Spring Nature Study written by Jane Lambert.  It is a wonderful collection of ideas, poems, activities and ideas to inspire you to learn about and enjoy nature.  She has written one for each season.  I encourage you to buy one if you are interested in adding some nature fun to your days. 

We went outside to look for signs of spring.  There were several options for a bingo style worksheet to use for this activity.  My younger boys had boxes with pictures in them while the older children drew their own pictures. 

We saw bulbs coming up out of the ground, buds starting to pop out and the Bradford pears are blooming and beautiful!

Guess what we found in our garden ... left over from last year I guess.  LOL

We also enjoyed some science outside.  Rebecca is studying chemistry in her science book this year.  One of the things that they did was mix baking soda and vinegar in a small vial.  Well, we talked about how this is what we used to make volcanos years ago- so the kids thought it would be great to do it again. 

Adding red food coloring made it all that much more fun.  (Though I didn't find it as much fun while doing laundry.  LOL)

Our littlest sweetheart hasn't been feeling well.  She has a runny nose and it's draining down her throat.  Yuck!  I am hoping and praying she starts feeling better soon.  We'd love your prayers too if you think about it.  It seems like it's been going on for quite awhile now.

She is doing well otherwise though and in fact has been approved (though not officially yet) for more speech therapy.  I had heard other moms saying that their children received more speech when they started really improving.  I asked her therapist about this and she said she had been thinking the same thing - that it was time to do more.  I'm excited about this and hope that we'll see more and more language development. 

One of her recent funnies showing how motivated she is by her siblings.  I asked the children the other day who had finished their school work.  Several of them raised their hands and called out "Me!".  Eliana looked around and did what she does best - copying.  She raised her little hand in the air and said "Ma".  We all that it was funny and cute.  She won't repeat the word unless it's said in a chorus of voices, though. 

One exciting development is the completion of Reading Made Easy (reading instruction) for Isaiah yesterday!  It's been a struggle for him and I think we'll have a bit more work to do in this area.  I'm proud of him though.  It wasn't easy, but he is learning.  To celebrate, I let him pick out lunch for the day and he chose Chick- Fil- A.  Yum!  At dinner tonight (we were out last night), he was given the special plate to eat from.  This picture is fuzzy, but it's the only one I've got.

All in all, a great week - and it's not even over yet.  Tomorrow we will be taking the day off of school.  It's  Christopher's birthday!  16 years old!!!  How can that be?!  We are having a low-key day of celebrating and I'll post more details tomorrow or the following day.

Incredibly grateful for God's goodness,

Leslie 

A Bit more on Workboxes

I've been honestly surprised at how this topic has hit the homeschooling world this week!  It's been posted on numerous message boards and the hits on my blog have been astounding!  I'm thrilled though that people are hearing the message about Sue's wonderful system and hope that it will bless many other families as it has ours!

If you are interested in doing this system - please consider buying Sue's book.  She has put a lot of time and effort into this system and has shared many points in her book that you aren't going to get from a blog post or message board thread. 

One question that I've been asked several times is "where did you get the shelf and boxes".  I found both at Target.  The shelves are actually in the laundry aisle at my target.  Here are the details on the shelf from the box (which is orange).  The cost is approx $15

It's 27 5/8 H x 24 1/4 W x 11 3/8 D and called a 4-Tier Accessory Shelf 

Here is what the box looks like in case you are visual like I am.

I also bought the boxes there and they cost $1 each. 

Ami posted a great piece today about why she likes the workbox system.  I have to agree with her on all of it. 

More tomorrow on a different topic - though this has been a fun one!

Blessings,

Leslie

Resources for workboxes

Just a few ideas to share to help with workboxes.

Ami at Homeschoolshare has come up with these great cards.

If you are interested in making file folders, I would recommend these titles.

Take it to Your Seat Math Centers

Take it to Your Seat Science Centers

There are more titles in this series - literature, geography, writing, etc.  The ones above are ones that I have purchased.

Hope this helps.

Blessings,

Leslie

Workboxes and a high school student

I wanted to comment on using this with a high school student.  Initially I thought I'd not do it with my oldest.  I didn't think it was necessary.  I still don't think he needs the visual cues of the boxes, but we'll see about that after we've done it for awhile.

What I am finding is that the structure of the boxes and specific directions for each one is very helpful for my high schooler.  He has gotten so much work done today and I am thrilled!  We built in a better review time for his work and I can only see this getting better.

This system is helping me to take my role as a homeschooler more seriously.  Not that I didn't before, but my efforts are much more productive and it is showing.  It's probably showing in how the house looks too.  LOL  It's hard to get it done in school and also in keeping up with the house.  We'll tackle that a little later though.

Blessings,

Leslie

More on Workboxes

I shared this idea (Sue Patrick's workbox system) with my friends on the Five in a Row board.  The thread has caused quite a stir and lots of great discussion.  If you are interested in reading about some of the ideas shared there, please take a visit. 

I think what I am liking most about this system is that it holds me accountable.  I may have good plans, but this helps me to prepare and to accomplish not just the basics but some of the fun things too.  I know that I can get easily distracted (and so can my children) if I'm not ready to go with whatever subject or project is at hand.  This saves all of us a lot of time which is one reason we are able to get more done. 

Also, several of my friends have also blogged about their systems.  I think it's always fun to see what others are doing.  Check out these blogs to read a little more.

Jessica

Kristina

Lynn

Ami

Here's what we have planned for tomorrow.  I thought I'd share a little more in-depth, though won't do this often as I couldn't keep up! 

For Daniel (age 4) he will be doing the following (double asterisks are with mom):

**FIAR title My Blue Boat (with lessons on the Bible and decorating a cover page for his notebook)

*Mazes with a write on/wipe off pen - he loves doing this (got mine at Target)

**Color and shapes Bingo game

*Get Ready for the Code - 1 page

*Work for Contenders of the Faith - he is working on a memory verse and the ABC badge.  He will be putting ABC refrig magnets in order (can also put them in the frig to hear the sounds).

**Little book on the color blue to go with B4FIAR title and color I spy game from homeschoolshare

*Dough ABC letters (Handwriting without tears)- good sensory work for him.  I've asked him to make 5 of them

*Color pockets - Pre-made file folder game that he will sort pictures by color and put them in the appropriate pocket

**Animal "what am I" game from homeschool share

*Read ABC ocean animal book

*File folder activity (from Sue on alike v not alike - recognizing lowercase letters)

*Sequencing by shapes activity (preschool activity bag)

For Isaiah (age 7)

*Math

*Reading (we are one lesson away from finishing Reading Made Easy - should finish this week!!!)

*Time with Eliana  (15 min) and then 15 minutes of computer.  I've put a toy in the box that he can use to play with her to help teach in/out and shapes

*Five in a Row - We are doing Mirette on the High Wire.  We'll be covering 2 social studies lessons and adding things to notebooks. 

*Read aloud to me from a short reader from Starfall

*Handwriting with Tears - 1 page

*Pattern blocks - I've put a pattern page out and he will build that and then be finished

*Game with Joshua - either Blink or Knights in the Corner

*Skip counting drill (this was Sue's idea and my boys love the write on/wipe off page.  It was easy to make and I'm hoping to make more types of this for review)

*Explode the Code

*Knots (badge work for Contenders of the Faith) - Intro lesson to learn about ropes and how to do one type of knot (will eventually cover more)

*Joshua reading a book to Isaiah

For Joshua (age 9)

*Time with Eliana (15 min) and then 15 minutes of computer

*Math

*Spelling

**Five in a Row

*Logic (bought these fun cards with logic problems on them and I give a couple every few days or so)

*Drill

*Reading with a patch (to help improve his vision).  I've chosen books on topics we studied last week (ponds and Rev. War as review). 

*Game with Isaiah

*Read aloud to Isaiah

*Wordly Wise

*Knots

*Skip counting

For Rebecca (7th grade)

*Pre-Algebra

*Time with Eliana  (15 min) and then 15 minutes of computer

*Spelling Power

*Logic cards

*Copywork

*Beyond

*Cooking (She is working through a home ec book and will be making a mid-morning snack)

*Drill

*Herbs (She is working on a badge in this area for our Keepers of the Faith group)

*Game with Christopher (Rummikub)

*Correct math test

*Doll (She is starting a doll from an adorable pattern that my friend Becky shared with me.  You can find it here.)

For Christopher (10th grade)

*Notgrass Govt

*Understanding the Times (Worldview)

*Spelling

*Time with Eliana

*Free Rice - This  is a website that donates rice for each correct answer you get.  We use it for drills/quizzes in a variety of subject areas - math, chemistry, foreign language, ...

*Geometry

*Movies as Literature

*Chemistry

*Game with Rebecca

*Working on teaching Knots to the younger children

*Computer Science course
*Reading (Bruchko)

I don't have a separate pic of his, but you can see it in the last picture below (on the left).

Christopher worked on his knots badge a few years back and made this poster to demonstate the knots.  I think it will be a fun starting place for the other boys, not to mention a great visual.

We are currently schooling in our dining room and I have the workboxes along with walls of the room.  I tried to take a few photos so you could see what it looked like.  It was kind of hard to see, but hopefully this helps some.  The shelves are really not that big.  Less than 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide and a foot deep.  This is a view from the doorway.

This is from standing on one of the chairs so you could see the workboxes better.

This is the other side of the room/table. 

Hope this is helpful to someone.  :-)

Blessings,

Leslie 

Crowder Park

We had a wonderful field trip this week to Crowder Park.  It was a beautiful day!  After starting the week with snow, I wasn't sure what the day would be like, but it was gorgeous.

The Rangers lead programs for the older kids (12 and up) on a pond study.  They found various things in the pond and examined them under a microscope.  My oldest two shared that they found a crawfish and a red worm.

The middle ages of children (6-11) had a study on the water cycle.  They were split into teams and played a game to illustrate how the cycle works.  I didn't get any pictures of the game, but here are some of the boys afterwards.

Most of the younger siblings were hanging out with parents at these classes.  A couple of us though took the little ones on their own study.  The Rangers supplied activity boxes that we could use. 

Eliana was delighted to have her own card to carry.  She did a great job walking on the path too!  (That can't be my baby walking like a big girl!)

We played "Pondgo" which is a Bingo game.  This card would be an easy thing to do for your own children.  It's a laminated sheet with various pictures on it.

The children used a crayon to mark off the things that we found.

After the programs, we had a picnic lunch.  It is always such fun to just hang out with these precious friends!  I wish we could do it more often, but I treasure the times that we have.  There was a large playground there that the children enjoyed.  We ended up hanging out at the park for quite a long time and some of the kids went searching for geocaches (and found 5!)

The pond was a little murky - though still pretty.

It was a beautiful day. 

Blessings,

Leslie

 

School Fun in Feb

We are studying a variety of things around here.  I thought I'd post a little bit of our fun from February.

Daniel - We have been reading Jesse Bear.  One of his favorite activities was painting with stamps made from potatoes.  They were cut into various shapes similar to the pattern on the floor of the kitchen in this book. 

Isaiah and Joshua have been learning about cowboys in Cowboy Charlie.  One of our dear friends is from Montana and has some of his artwork which the boys were thrilled to see.  One keeps asking if we can go to Montana and see more of his work.  LOL  The other has decided that when he grows up that he wants to be a cowboy or a rancher or a farmer. 

Part of our studies with Five in a Row is making a meal to go with our studies.  We had a yummy meal of meat/potato casserole and peach pandowdy for dessert.  The hit though with the boys was rootbeer!  lol

We also studied Bee Tree.  We were invited to a friend's birthday party at which a beekeeper spoke.  It was a fun to have a hands-on lesson. 

We also made biscuits with honey just like in the book.  We didn't have tea though - I made green smoothies instead.  (which they liked even though they looked funny).

Rebecca is studying Neil Armstrong.  One day she was working on making a map.  She made a treasure map for her brothers by counting steps to go along with the directions on a compass.  The boys had to go around our yard, through the woods and back again before finding the buried treasure - candy!  It was a lot of fun and Rebecca did a super job making the map and teaching the boys how to use it!

 Another day she and a friend made "helicopters" as they were learning about flight.

 Rebecca made Yorkshire Pudding one day which we ate with honey.  It was delicious and we cleaned out a 9x13 pan in no time!  I love too that she decorated the table and made it all look so inviting and lovely.

That's all for now. 

Hope you have a great week-end!

Blessings,

Leslie

Workbox System

I'm excited about something that I wanted to share here.  I've shared this with my local homeschool group and also with friends I on a recent retreat.  There are many of us excited about this and I wanted to share it here in case others would be encouraged by this.  We are loving this system!

A friend of mine, Sue Patrick, another homeschool mom, has devised a plan for organizing your school day that is brilliant.  I've been interested in doing this for quite some time, but just not gotten around to doing it.  Well, I invited Sue Patrick to share her Workbox System in a workshop for our homeschool group.  I started it the next day.

Here are some of the basics, though I encourage you to buy Sue's book to really understand the details of how it works!  Each child has their own set of 12 workboxes.  They are set up so that the child can work independently through some of them and others are "work with mom" boxes.  The boxes are numbered and the child moves through them sequentially.

As the child works through a box, the box is then removed from the shelf so that they can see their work diminishing.  They can see exactly what is expected of them each day and how much they have left to do before their school day is over.  They can also see fun things in boxes which helps to motivate them to finish the more difficult boxes.

One of the biggest benefits that I have seen is that we are accomplishing more and in less time.  I'm doing so much of the "fun" stuff that seems to get put off and my children are loving it!  We've added back more art, music and games.  I am working to get our day organized and we are all reaping the results!  I can't say enough to praise this system. 

You can visit Sue's website HERE to read more about it.

I'd be happy to answer any questions too as a happy user of this system.  :-)

Blessings,

Leslie 

Sometimes Miracles Hide

If you haven't yet heard this song, please listen.

Here

This song brings tears to my eyes.  So many children are seen as disposable when they don't measure up to the world's standards of what is alright.  I understand that some just have never heard or known what a blessing that children are - ALL children.  We all make mistakes and this is one that leaves a hurt forever.

I hope that I never give the impression that Eliana is a burden.  Sometimes things are difficult - but that is true for all of my children.  She is such a JOY!  Could that middle name have been any more perfect for her?  I don't think so!  God knew. 

I know that I've shared this before, the meaning of her name.  It was something I stumbled on shortly before she was born.  I had a name that I loved and had been saving for years, but it just didn't seem right somehow.  She was Eliana.   Her name means "my God answers with Joy". 

Oh what joy this little girl brings to everyone in her life.  Truly, I can't imagine being more blessed than to have all of the precious children that we do!  Thank you God!

My heart is burdened for children with Down syndrome - especially the many that don't have a family.  If you are interested in doing more to help some, any or even just one of these children, please visit Reece's Rainbow.  You can donate money, pray for a child or even bring one home.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." (James 1:27)

Blessings,

Leslie