Treading new water

I feel as if I have left all that is familiar to me and am walking on new ground, so to speak.  I have always had everything laid out for me, as far as lesson plans go. LFBC has no teacher plans, no prep time, just child directed spiral notebooks with text and worksheets included.  It really is a great program if that is what you are looking for.
Last school year, we switched and I had a ton of copying lesson plans from the dozens of A Bens teacher manuals that I had. I spent hours copying lessons down, but in all reality, that was so much easier than what I am trying to do for this upcoming year.
We are leaving the textbooks behind with the exception of math and grammar and really am just coming up with my own things.
I started off with Emily's science and really started to just roll with it.  I guess you could call it charlotte mason with notebooking. I pulled out the topics covered in the A bens text that we will use over the course of the school year.  I started a notebook on the first topic, insects and other creepy crawlies. I spent hours typing up worksheets, looking for notebooking pages and fun activities. We have been to the library and checked out various bug books. And you know what? She has already learned a great deal of interesting facts about this topic just from reading and we haven't even begun our notebook.
I am doing the same for Rebecca's history. I am having more fun researching than she probably will in doing the actual work.
It is July and my house is covered in books. I never have school books out over the summer! Especially during the month of july!  I'm loving it. Love the planning, researching, and writing my own lesson plans!
But enough for today. We have a birthday to celebrate and a day of fun planned at the pool. 

Shea

Hand Art

This lion and elephant were made from Emily's handprint. They are at the zoo in cages. There is walking space between them with benches to sit and look at the animals. Made by Emily

Beautiful Art

'Sparkling Flower' by Rebecca

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