Keepers of the Faith

Keepers of the Faith is a program that I have wanted my children to participate in for years.  When the opportunity arose with a great group of homeschoolers, I jumped at it.  You may check out the Keepers Club here: Keepers of the Faith

We do it slightly different than the way he program is set up in ha he children earn paper badges o put in their notebook rather than patches to wear on a sash.  The girls meet in the library meeting room for 2 hours once a month.  They have worked on several badges under the great leadership of Mrs. Jen.  She is unbelievably creative and has the patience of Job.  I am so blessed to have her in our lives for the girls to look up to and to emulate.

The following photos are just a sample of activities that the girls have worked on this year.

In this meeting, the girls each brought blank recipe cards.  They were to go down the line, taking 2 different cards to put in their recipe books. 

 Here, Emily is working on her recipe book.  The girls decorated the cover of a photo album to slide their recipe cards in.

Another badge in the Culinary Arts section was to prepare certain snacks.  The girls made trail mix and served it to the boys and parents.  They also made popcorn which smelled delicious!

These two photos are from the meeting that the girls worked and completed the Rubber Stamping and Card Making badge.

As the school year concludes, so must our school activities.

We will have two months off for summer vacation (secretly jumping up and down) before resuming all of our regular activities.

Finally, I can sigh!  After the meeting today, we had our free smoothies at Tropical Smoothie for wearing flip-flops, accompanied with lunch, friends and family, topped off with a couple of hours a the pool.  Ahh! I LOVE SUMMER!

*The "t" key on my keyboard has been acting up so if there are missing "t's" through out the post, please forgive me.  I tried to catch them all. 

Decisions Made!

It's all about baby steps, right?  Today, I went to the free exhibition hall shopping at the homeschool convention for the first time since we started homeschooling in 2004.  Next year, I am definitely planning on going to the convention... at least to the used curriculum sale.  A HUGE thanks for my pal, Jen, for driving me and hanging out with me as I walked around in awe.
So, now that everything except Emily's grammar has been ordered or purchased, I have a better idea of what we are doing in the fall.  Want to have a sneak peak of what the girls are using?

Rebecca- grade 7
Bible- Daily Bible reading as a family and AWANA Trek Bk 2 Sept- May
Math- Saxon 8/7
Grammar- Bob Jones
Writing- IEW
Spelling- Spelling Power
Literature/Vocab- Eclectic mix of historical fiction, biographies, classics, and fun
Science- Apologia General Science
History- Ancient World History
Geography- Trail Guide to US Geography
Music Appreciation- Great Composers
Art/Art Appreciation- Ancient History Art
Piano- Alfred's Basic Piano
Physical Ed

Emily- grade 4
Bible- Daily Bible reading as a family and AWANA T & T Bk 2 Sept- May
Math- Saxon 5/4
Grammar- Bob Jones
Writing- IEW
Spelling- Spelling Power
Literature/Vocab- Eclectic mix of historical fiction (including American Girl), biographies, classics, and fun
Science- Unit studies of insects, plants, birds, matter, energy, geology, astronomy, and oceanography
History- American History through American Girl books
Geography- Trail Guide to US Geography
Music Appreciation- Great Composers
Art/Art Appreciation- Art through Nature
Piano- Alfred's Basic Piano
Physical Ed

I am looking forward to next year.  I have been having fun planning and coming up with my own notebooking pages.  THIS is why we homeschool!  I LOVE IT! 

Your questions answered

Why is it that I do not like discussing homeschooling with non-homeschoolers?  Many are just trying to make conversation.  Many are trying to comprehend why we do what we do.  Often, I feel like others are trying to get in my business, so to speak.  Sometimes, I feel as if I have to defend myself.  I cannot give you a simplified run down of everything we do in just a few minutes.  My best advice for those who have lots of questions concerning homeschooling (with no intentions of hs'ing) or our family as homeschoolers, spend a few hours with our girls and you will get an idea of who we are.
Below is a compiled list of simplified answers to many of the inquiries I have had in the past, and some very recently-

• God is the center of our focus
• we do homeschool because of our christian beliefs
• my children are socialized
• the state requires testing annually
• I will not discuss their testing results with you
• we school all over the place: the family room, bedroom, kitchen table, library, car, or in public
• we do not attempt to run our school as if we are in a school, just in a home situation
• no, we do not have a schedule
• we are not unschoolers
• no, we do not school year round (I enjoy my summer breaks just as much as the next kiddo)
• my girls are well rounded
• we have participated in several co-ops
• as of right now, I am the predominant teacher
• they participate in several sports
• they partake in church activities
• we dress this way on purpose but it has nothing to do with home schooling
• we are not weird because we do not wear pants
• we are not weird because we do not listen to secular or contemporary music
• no, we will not let them watch certain things on tv because we need to protect their eyes
• yes, it is OK to let girls be girls and not worry about boys or make up
• my house is not always clean although "I am home all day"
• I actually am home during school hours before lunch
• I do not answer the phone during school hours
• we take the responsibility as being the teachers of these girls very seriously
• no, I am not a very patient person
• I am not overly organized either
• YES, YOU can homeschool if you wanted to- it just has to be a priority in your life
• don't think that I am a saint because we have homeschooled for 7 years
• I do not write my own curriculum
• I will take a stab at it this year for the first time :o)
• I do not have a teaching degree past the preschool level
• we spend all morning in our jammies, often not getting dressed until we have to leave the house
• I am not free to babysit, homeschooling is a full time job
• yes, we know lots of different homeschoolers, but I have the authority to pick which ones I want as an influence on our girls
• they know how to communicateand interact with those of all ages
• if Emily does not talk to you, it is because she chooses not to, not because she doesn't know how or is rude
• lastly, YES, we plan on going "all the way" with them unless God makes it clear that it is not His will

Cooking, Cleaning, and School

Could baking brownies be considered a math lesson?  HA!  In this case, NO!

Rebecca will do just about anything to get out of doing her school work.  She even offered to bake cookies and a cake for me today.  After I kindly turned her down, she volunteered to clean. 

A Better Turn Out...

Today was my second used curriculum sale of the season.  Since I am not paying to shop at convention, I am trying to get as much used, but in great condition, as I can.  I drove 35 minutes away hoping that today's sale would be worth the drive.  It was.
I found Rebecca's BJU Press Grammar.  I bought the teacher edition ($55 new), Tests ($14.50 new), and tests answer key ($9 new) for $30.00.  All I need is the consumable for her grammar which will cost $23. 

I also bought a few books on Ancient History.  I want Rebecca to learn ancient history since she has managed to get around it thus far.  She has had some sort of American History each year since second grade.  Knowing that she needs Ancient History, I have spent months of research on what curriculum to use.  There are several good ones out there with a Biblical perspective however, they all require a 3-4 year commitment.  I am only looking for a one year, all inclusive history starting from Creation to the twentieth century.  I can only find that in A Beka and Bob Jones.  I picked A Beka's History of the World in Christian Perspective due to the fact that I can get it off of Christian Liberty Press for a lower cost. 
I think that I have made my decision to use an older version that is on loan to me as a spring board for my own curriculum.  I have been very intrigued in the Charlotte Mason style of education for a couple of moths now.  I have been unsure on how to implement it.  I am a textbook educator.  I am also not one for change.  Well, I am going to go for it! 
I went to the library this evening and found several books on world history.  There is a series of 20 books called The Royal Diaries.  It is fictional books taken from 57 B.C. to 1914 A.D.  I checked out the book Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile.  I'll preview the book and the series to see if it is acceptable to use.  I'm looking forward to combining History, Literature, and Vocabulary.  I also spotted several books on crafts from each time period along with other informational books.  I am really liking the Usborne books that I balked at 3 or 4 years ago.  I will use those to my advantage as well.
So, all of that to say, I did not find too much today at the used curriculum sale but it did help me to solidify some ideas that I have been toying with.
I'm looking forward to see what other subjects I can incorporate CM into.
My final used sale is next week and it is a big one.  Here's to hoping that I find the other things that I am looking for!

A Day in the Life of a Homeschool Student

I love the humor behind this video.  It is a joke/spoof on what our typical day is like.  Take the time to watch it, if you can. 
The cinematography isn't that great, but it is a cute video produced by a couple of teen girls. My favorite scene is the science experiment that demonstrates buoyancy with ice cream and root beer.

http://youtu.be/nylLYRrHrRA

Well that was a bust...

It's that time of year again... Used Curriculum Sales
The first one of the season was right in my backyard.  Well, not literally but close enough.  Being a member entitled me to a free table to sell things on!  I had a ton of stuff, mostly preschool workbooks, but still A LOT of stuff to sell.  Yeah, I came home with most of it.   What a waste of time.
What is even more disappointing is that there was nothing that I need to buy for next year.  I usually have great success at this sale.  Hopefully I won't walk away empty handed at the next one.
So here it is, my 14 year anniversary and I spent it with friends, not my husband, making a $24 profit.  "Why am I not with him now?" you may be wondering.  Because he has a paper due and has to turn it into a power point project with a 15 minute speech.  Oh well.  What can you do?
The upside to the evening?  Emily had a blast playing with friends and Rebecca spent the evening with Daddy.  Oh, and I know exactly what I am doing next school year!  So, I guess I'll go and change it on the curriculum page of this blog since I have nothing better to do.
Also, I learned my lesson: only bring 1 or 2 boxes of books with me next year.