tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14180140798065637432024-02-19T09:34:53.030-05:00Holy Family Classical AcademyLizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.comBlogger455125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-52305186985770762652018-05-30T10:53:00.000-04:002018-05-30T10:54:00.588-04:00Cheers to Being Back!It's been quite some time since I updated this little part of the blogosphere. New adventures, new trials, and new seasons in life. I've moved on from parenting and homeschooling the baby to tween stage and now I'm officially doing the "toddlers to teens and everything in between"!! It's been quite the ride getting to this point in my life and I know that there is plenty more in store for me.<br />
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We've continued to keep our kids at home and pursue home education, but there have certainly been many bumps along the way. I've learned so many new things and continue to use things that have always worked. Of course, now I feel more confident and experienced in the realm of homeschooling middle schoolers and below. High school is something I am deep in the trenches with right now and it is such an education for me and my family.<br />
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As for life outside of homeschooling, there is still our busy home life. Home management is something that is continually intertwined in every aspect of our life. Running a household of ten busy individuals is no small task and I find that I have to have some kind of organization, otherwise things fall apart pretty quickly. And things certainly fall apart from time to time (and sometimes for long periods of time!). But, just like everything else, this is always a work in progress. As children grow, our home needs grow and change, too. <br />
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I'm excited to start writing about all our happenings once again! It's wonderful to see that even this little blog still serves a purpose to others. I plan on making some changes and updating things around here. There are many cobwebs and dust bunnies to clean up!!<br />
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Cheers to being back!<br />
<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-14977285138005906202014-08-18T22:39:00.001-04:002014-08-18T22:39:35.276-04:00New School Room Tour.It's back to school time and it seems like everywhere in the homeschool blogosphere, people are giving tours of their learning spaces. I love being able to take a peek into other families' homeschool rooms and get new ideas for my own spaces. I have always had a dedicated school room and I have never regretted the decision and here are my reasons why.<br />
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1. <span style="font-size: large;">It keeps me organized.</span> Having a school room, or even a corner in your house dedicated to schooling, helps wrangle all the books and supplies that homeschoolers are infamous for having. It helps keeps things organized and neat. I love that my kids always know exactly where to go to get their school supplies and their books.<br />
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2. <span style="font-size: large;">It helps kids focus.</span> I know this may not be true for all kids, but after researching and reading endless articles and studies on education, kids who have a dedicated space for studying are able to better focus. It's like it puts them in the zone. Children (and adults!) are creatures of habit, and we tend to make associations. The kitchen is for eating, sitting on the couch makes me sleepy, etc. There is nothing that focuses my kids' attention to school like sitting in their desks. Do you have to have a desk? No. But make sure that you start making those associations early in your homeschool year. Whether it's the kitchen table or a desk. Once kids sit down, they should know that it's time to work!<br />
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3. <span style="font-size: large;">It helps create good habits.</span> Keeping their work area clean, putting their books and supplies away, timeliness, and independence are all great habits for kids to have. We end our school day by cleaning and making sure everything is back in it's place. Since everything has a place, it's easier for them to be independent in cleaning up. A plus to ending our day with cleaning is that they are able to come down the next morning and get right to work. No time is wasted looking for books or pencils.<br />
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4. <span style="font-size: large;">It gives kids ownership.</span> My kids love having their own desk and their own space and because it's their own, they work hard at keeping it neat. Of course, they have their own space in their bedrooms and other parts of the house; but this is their work. Just like their daddy goes to work every day, they get to go to "work" too. We love this mentality and we believe it's giving them a positive attitude towards hard work.<br />
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Of course, every family is different and every homeschool family has to figure out what will work best for themselves. We are very blessed that we can dedicate so much space to our schooling without it spilling over into our non-schooling life. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Tour!</u></span><br />
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Before I begin the school area tour, I will add by explaining that this area of our house is the "guest quarters." It is like it's own house with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a full size kitchen, a den, a recreation room, a laundry room, a media room, a porch, and even it's own garage and driveway. It is a part of our house that might be considered a basement, but it really isn't because it only has a small area that is under the ground. Before we even decided to move our schooling here, this area of the house was rarely used....rarely. Like we never really came down here. And we rarely had guests, so it was always unused. Now it has become the perfect place for our studies and gets used every single day.<br />
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So let the tour begin! <br />
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This part of our homeschool is for the younger kids in the family. Here, I do kindergarten with my 5 year old, preschool with my 3 year old, and my 7 year old has his own desk by the window. I keep their current artwork hanging on a small clothesline and they love seeing their work go up. Manipulatives, preschool activities, busy bags, games, and some supplies all go in the shelves above the table. <br />
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On this little table, I also keep my teacher manuals for MFW Kindergarten and First Grade, along with other workbooks that are used daily. I bought a mud pan from Lowes and keep workbooks there for easy viewing. The tabletop pocket chart holds our sight words (I put the flashcards away in a small Ikea box at the end of the day or they will be destroyed by my 3 year old).<br />
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In this room we also have a futon (which will be replaced by a comfier couch soon!) that sits next to the window where we can birdwatch, as the bird feeders are right by the window. The hanging magazine rack holds our field guides and sketch books along with some artist pencils. I also keep our current read alouds here since this is where we gather for afternoon stories.</div>
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It was very tempting to decorate the walls with charts and posters, but I've done that in the past and have found that is has NO EFFECT on the kids' learning and actually serves as a distraction. I wanted to keep it as classy as I could and opted for some natural prints above the wall that reflect my love of nature. </div>
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We get a great variety of birds that come to our feeders and I love that I can sit there and sketch or journal along with the kids. They also enjoy just looking out the window. <br />
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Looking from the desk towards the rest of the room, you see my map area. My kids love looking at maps, although in this picture they are more interested in video games. Lots of our studies take us to this area. </div>
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The large map on the wall is dry-erasable. So when we're using the map, I can mark it with a dry erase marker. The other maps are of the ancient world and were laminated so that I could also use a marker on them. The inflatable globes hanging from the ceiling have been rigged so that I can easily take them down. We also have a globe that we use, but my son had it in his room at the time of pictures!</div>
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I love the Ikea Trofast system! I keep educational board games, puzzles, and some art supplies in these bins. I also have portable maps that the kids can take to their desks.</div>
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Yup, our school has it's own kitchen. We really don't use it except for snack time and this fridge is usually stocked with party food (I entertain a lot!). Having the kitchen is also super handy for science and art. I have 2 tables here that we are constantly using when we work in groups. Our most recent group activity has been geography with the three older kids. We make salt dough maps, paint them, label them, and show them off in pizza boxes! </div>
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I keep a small table with kid chairs for my 3 year old to use. Since she is pretty messy, it's nice to have her do her activities on tile floor that's easy to clean up. On the round table you can see that use a dish rack to hold coloring and activity books. The utensil caddy holds her crayons. It's an awesome Pinterest hack! I also cook a lot with my 7, 5, and 3 year olds...mostly things like applesauce, pies, snacks, and other things related to what they are learning. All that takes place in this kitchen...all because of the tile floors (our kitchen has hardwood floors which are harder to clean up!).</div>
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Some day I will find the perfect thing to hang up on this big empty wall! </div>
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Ready to continue the tour? </div>
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Let's walk through the door next to the globes....</div>
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This is Part 2 of the School Room Tour! This is where the older kids do their school work. Because they require more focus and quiet for their work, I decided to separate them. I can just close the door between them and the little kids at any moment.</div>
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I decided to keep the center of the room clear of any desks and lined the desks along the walls. Each child has their own desk that holds their books. After we moved the school room down, I lost my big, awesome wall of dry erase boards. I had to find a solution, since we are constantly using our dry erase boards, I had to find a solution. I had no free walls because one wall has desks, another has bookcases, and then there's the windows. So I came up with the idea of using garage hooks to hold up the board. It covers the little door that leads to the HVAC system, which we can still access by removing the board.</div>
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These are my awesome, built-in bookcases that I had put it. I love the amount of space it gives me to put books!</div>
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The nice thing is all the storage space I have. Above the fireplace, we have more shelves where I keep art supplies, board games, and science supplies. Next to the fireplace is our "media" center with a little boom box. I have all our CD's on that shelf.</div>
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I totally ran out of wall space for my desk, so I moved into our rec room, which is still nice and independent while not being totally detached from everything. Our rec room actually has another refrigerator (it's right next to my cart, but you can't see it), and it holds a laundry room behind some double doors (also not pictured).</div>
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Our rec room holds our exercise equipment and some fun stuff (like the basketball game). I can also open the shades and keep an eye on the kids while they play outside on the swing set or run around. Since we use Charlotte Mason approach, I like taking breaks between lessons. This means that the kids get a 10-15 minute every 45 minutes or so. Sometimes they kick the punching bag, run outside, or play basketball. I like that keeping them active actually helps them focus when they need to. </div>
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Finally, I am including a picture of our office. This is actually my husband's office that he rarely uses. It's nice and separate from the schooling area, but still just down the hall. I use the closet (not pictured) to store even more school supplies. We keep our desktop here and the kids use this room when they have a test or need a really quiet space to complete their work. Otherwise, we are on our laptops on our desks.</div>
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That concludes the end of my School Room Tour. Hope you get some good ideas for your own learning space!</div>
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<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-41327143401321218072014-06-05T00:13:00.001-04:002014-06-05T00:13:13.480-04:00Strength.Don't you wish that you could instantly clone yourself as needed? It's amazing how versatile homeschooling moms (and dads!) are. We teach, we clean, we cook, we chauffeur, we shop, we run after toddlers, we nurse babies, we run errands...and many times, we do this all in one day!! It's exhausting! I just want to have a week where I don't have to go anywhere. Where all I have to do is get our lessons done, cook some dinner, and call it a day. Impossible, I know.<div>
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But as I write this, I have to acknowledge how blessed I am to be able to do all these things. Yes, I am tired. But at the same time...I'm fulfilled! It's only with God's grace that I am able to wake up every day and take on whatever the day may bring. And it's because of His grace that I am living a fulfilling and wonderful life. <br />
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So if you are tired, if your burden is heavy, if you just want to run away for a day to get away from it all...look to the cross. He will give you the strength you need. <br />
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"Come to Me, all you who labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28</div>
Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-50029030319921675742014-05-29T23:49:00.002-04:002014-05-29T23:49:46.351-04:00Searching for a planner.So here is another post all about my endless search for a good planner. Ideally, I would love to have a template where I just enter assignments for each subject with little boxes to check them off when they are done. Something that I can print out and make into a little assignment book for the kids so that they know exactly what they should be doing. But I also want to be able to archive these assignments in case I ever use them again in the future for other kids. <br />
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Does this exist? Unfortunately, I haven't found anything like this for someone on a Mac. I have been using Scholaric since it first came out and I really like it. It's the most user friendly, online planner I have tried...and I think I've tried them all!! I have done Homeschool Tracker Online, Homeschool Planet, Mardel's Simple Plan Online, the Homeschool Helper App, and Olly.<br />
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Yes. I am that obsessive. <br />
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The problem with Scholaric, my favorite of all these, is that I can't save my plans to be reused for a future time. Being able to archive lesson plans would be awesome! Having the ability to download for future use would be so handy. Not only that, but I would love to have it be mine...once you stop paying the yearly fee for these online providers, you lose all your stuff!<br />
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So I'm looking back to what I've done in the past and trying to come up with the ever elusive, homeschool planner. Let me know if you have had any luck with this. With five kids doing school work, I know I can't fit them all into one paper planner and I'm totally OK with that. <br />
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I'll have to keep everyone updated on what I finally decide to do with this. In the mean time, we are still plugging away without a planner. We can't cancel school for that! Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-7632043445480729702014-05-27T13:12:00.003-04:002014-05-27T13:12:52.532-04:00Explanations.Why is it so hard for me to just sit down and do some blogging? I think I'm trying to make things too complicated and awesome. So I'm going to just sit down every day and write something...anything. We'll see how long it lasts!<br />
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Today I've had a busy day so far and none of it has included actually homeschooling the kids! A doctor appointment, some clothes shopping, and then lunch with my 10 year old took up all my morning. It's always nice to be able to spend some one on one time with the kids. I don't know if I do it often enough, but I think I do! <br />
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Currently, I've been pondering all things having to do with planning. Lesson planning, scheduling the day, planning activities, etc. I never really have a free day to just sit down and do nothing but plan. If we aren't doing school, we have activities to go to. If we don't have activities, then we need to tackle cleaning and laundry. If cleaning and laundry are done (yeah, right!), then there is grocery shopping! It a never ending cycle!! <br />
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Of course, one can always suggest that I spend some time doing my planning in the evening. But let me break it down for you. Hubby gets home at 6:30pm. The house is empty and I'm off with the kids until 7:30pm when we get home from Tae Kwon Do. So hubby hangs with the kids for a bit before the littles are headed for bed. That leaves me with the baby and while the big kids tackle the kitchen. Baby has been really bad about sleeping (I know it's my fault!), so he's not officially in dream land until 8:30pm.<br />
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Big kids then really want to hang out with their dad until they have to go to bed at 9pm. So 9pm rolls around and that's when I can really get down and dirty with any planning, scheduling, etc. Do you think I want to do that at 9pm? Not really. By then I am exhausted and just want a brain chill. Not only that, but I really like hanging out with the hubs, too!! So there goes my entire week.<br />
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How about the weekend? Well, I do have laundry to do. And because the kids insist on being fed and hubby insists that we hang out as a family, I'm thrown back into the same type of cycle I encounter during the week. <br />
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I'm exhausted just writing this. But I don't want a pity party. I love my life! God has blessed me so abundantly that I have nothing but praises to sing about my life!! It's just that being a mom can be hard...and it's OK to say it sometimes.Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-16121003876275702242014-02-23T14:55:00.000-05:002014-02-23T14:55:40.445-05:00St. Valentine's Day CelebrationThis year we were able to, once again, celebrate Valentine's Day with our awesome Catholic homeschool co-op! Although our celebration was delayed by one week due to a snow storm, we still got to exchange valentines and have fun.<div>
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Usually, we tend to take Valentine's Day as a feast day at our co-op. This year, however, I decided to host it at my home so that we could dedicate a co-op feast day for another saint. I planned some art activities for the kids. They were separated by ages/grades and sent to different stations around the house. This was followed by a valentine exchange and then snacks. </div>
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We are so overly blessed by our Catholic co-op! The families are each amazing and we have all become great friends. </div>
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-6818973778300252692014-02-16T21:39:00.001-05:002014-02-16T21:39:06.935-05:00Back to Nature.So for the last couple of years, we have been doing school and I have left our nature studies and walks behind. I thought that including these nature studies was a great thing to do when the kids were little, and as they got older it was a definite time waster. What I didn't realize was that by getting rid of our nature time for the older kids, I was getting rid of nature time for my younger kids, too. They were missing out on all the kinds of fun we used to have.<br />
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This got me feeling guilty, of course. So I started reading my homeschool books again for the 100th time. I needed inspiration! Little by little I started to realize how much I missed our weekly walks. I missed our bird studies. I missed our gardens. I missed our nature journals. The list when on and on. Then I ran across a quiz I took years ago when I was just starting my homeschool journey. It was in my copy of Cathy Duffy's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/100-Top-Picks-Homeschool-Curriculum/dp/0805431381/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1392556554&sr=8-2&keywords=cathy+duffy" target="_blank">100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum</a>. It was in that book that I saw all my scribbles and notes from so long ago. I also realized why I had done all those nature walks...it was because I had scored so high in not only classical studies, but also Charlotte Mason. It was because of that quiz, that our early years in homeschool were so memorable, relaxed, and fun. Had I changed that much since I first started?<br />
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This got me curious and I decided to retake the quiz. My score was practically the same! So then I came across this quiz, <a href="http://parentables.howstuffworks.com/family-matters/quiz-whats-your-homeschooling-style.html" target="_blank">Which Homeschooling Approach is Right For You?</a>, and I scored with Charlotte Mason again! OK...so I think you know where I'm going with this! So I am definitely fulfilling my teaching style of classical education, but I have been ignoring my love for nature. What does that mean now that we are mid-year? Well, I guess we have a lot of rethinking to do for the new year! But I also immediately started doing weekly nature walks again, brought back our practice of having a nature table, and busted out the nature journals! We are all so much happier now. My older kids are so glad that we are doing this again. "Why did we ever stop, Mom?"<br />
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I guess my point here is that it's never too late to go back to doing the things you love and instilling those things on your children. Homeschooling is truly a journey and sometimes we take wrong turns (or detours). Luckily, we can make our own path. <br />
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I totally encourage every homeschooler to keep evaluating and assessing their methods. If they aren't working or are making everyone miserable, then it's OK to change. <br />
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<i>With the snow we got this week, we decided to take our nature walk in our own backyard woods.</i><br />
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<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-69869437872967313502014-02-06T20:41:00.000-05:002014-02-06T20:42:30.231-05:00Welcome Back.It's been a while since I've given in to my blogging. A combination of busy schedules, new baby, more school, and less time have all contributed to my absence. But I'm starting to think I really miss writing and sharing our journey, so I'm going to jump right in again.<br />
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The last six months has been almost a blur. We were blessed with the birth of Matthew and we officially have five kids homeschooling (pre-k through 6th)! It's been a little bit of an adjustment, but it hasn't shaken us up too much. It seems that I'm pretty accustomed to having a baby and we've all learned to take each day as it comes. I can't say this year hasn't been stressful, because it totally has. It's just been stressful for different reasons...mostly all due to homeschooling. But what a joy and blessing it has been to be able to educate our kids!<br />
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I'm really excited about sharing some of the things we are doing! Our successes and our failures; my concerns and joys. I keep reading blogs about how to function with a large family and think to myself...."wait a minute. I have a large family and I'm totally functioning!" There is so much I've learned and I'm wanting to share it all with you!!<br />
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So here I go again. Welcome back to my blog!<br />
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Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-33677012593782471442013-08-09T15:24:00.001-04:002013-08-09T15:30:30.840-04:00Oh Baby!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes. Another addition to our "little" family. Welcome Matthew Alexander!! We are so blessed to have this little guy join our family!Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-3151450221475441642012-10-23T22:37:00.001-04:002012-10-23T22:37:20.697-04:00Decorate Your Books! Oh Yeah...I'm Still Alive!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I know I've been a slacker...not posting and ignoring all things "blog." I don't know if it's having 4 kids to homeschool, a toddler and a 3 year old running amuck, or just adding all 6 kids into everything I do! We are still alive and well, traveling along this homeschool journey. </div>
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In the mean time, I thought I would start posting little projects and accomplishments. Anthony, in his 7 year old glory, has started a spelling notebook this year and was not too thrilled with having the typical composition book to jot all his words in. Being the wanna-be crafter...I took out my pile of fancy papers and had him choose something he liked to decorate the not so nice notebook. Some glue, scissors, letter stickers, and laminating sheets later....voila! A new spelling notebook! He is actually looking forward to writing in it now and it's easy to spot among his other things.</div>
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Hope your homeschool journey is still going!</div>
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<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-49549838023297551302012-02-28T16:16:00.005-05:002012-02-28T16:29:07.920-05:00A Little Saint Patrick Coloring Page.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I spent the weekend mostly sick in bed, reading and doodling to pass the time. I had a stack of picture books that I read to the kids too. I came across our copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/St-Patricks-Day-Gail-Gibbons/dp/0823411737/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330464058&sr=1-1">St. Patrick's Day by Gail Gibbons</a> and thought her illustrations of the saint were lovely. I do love and own so many of her books!<div><br /></div><div>So I got my pencil out and made a free-hand copy of St. Patrick from her book. I changed some of the details to make him look more "Catholic" (as in I added crosses to his vestment). The kids love how it came out and I was surprised that it came out so cute as well!</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBny8L6BipXqmUVcdSjJUxTfW3mLugFd53rgWZp6Nhs4CZqjZvZ4ESl4TPafXQLDou8vPaCVR2mlVzd4oEZvjfqqB4ZtPKBjVuKLUARB-4sXjWMD5RoqVrazgxQ8dNrb1atplAqVLaPDM/s400/stpatrick.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714300642153386978" /></div><div><br /></div><div>So if you want to print out a copy for yourself or your kids to color, here is the link!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B05SN9Apvw8MN3BGZXo0V0JUd3lSZlIwaDRLYlBTZw">St. Patrick</a> Coloring Page</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-19683331961354576772012-02-23T09:21:00.003-05:002012-02-23T09:26:24.106-05:00Lent!I know...I'm late! But here is a link to last year's post with some nice Lent activities and a printout!<div><br /></div><div>I hope you enjoy and are off to having a wonderful Lenten season.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://hfclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2011/02/approaching-lent-and-preparing.html">Click Here for Post with Lenten Path Printout!</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://hfclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2011/03/good-deeds-for-lent.html">Click Here for My Good Deeds for Lent Printout!</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://hfclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2009/02/planning-lent-lapbook.html">Click Here for Planning a Lent Lapbook!</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://hfclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2010/02/celebrating-mardi-gras-and-lent.html">Click Here for Ideas on Celebrating Lent!</a></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-86632007742664968692012-01-12T20:51:00.019-05:002012-01-19T11:20:12.691-05:002011: A Quick Review Through Pictures!2011 was another great year. There was a new family member born, baptisms, parties and just many memorable time spent with family and friends. To catch everyone up on the happenings of 2011, here are some of the highlights. Enjoy!!<br /><div><br /></div><div>Our year always starts with a celebration. If you are thinking, "Yea...it's New Years!" You are wrong! Our year starts with the celebration of the birth of Isabella!! She turned 7 years old just as we started 2011. Wow...time sure flies!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgrf-pTZ7jx0ZeuOo4Ho9j_rDVFKRByUwh_FmbOFYKwkkoGgMSHOQl0ir77-nOW8MwAq6lt4tqnBSAbdp2y0CPz4G853pa5Q4dqGducftEW1WDTbcgH4cJe10lDu04GFU5RJrTNf4tX0/s400/IMG_5652.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696932036822770370" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Roses are Red, Violets are Blue. Sugar is Sweet and So Are You! St. Valentine's Day in 2011 meant making lots of cards to give to friends! My sweet bunch of kids and I got a rare photo together, since I'm usually the one holding the camera!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 326px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8Vp89jUxcYnsEcXHvmB0jJTvRxMN4n8gZG6lhfYKBO8OeQ7_V_mKbU3hEuU22bZQypV7kLXSolcV7Ok7njjQ3nRXaecxP7AgfUn0Tv1nJY2Wc-xBJ1UzAYsIh3RdE_HiiDbTJiXFFbQ/s400/IMG_5700.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696933365410129202" /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>March brought more moments, like losing another tooth for Isabella and having fun with our science experiments. Homeschooling remains the main component of our day.</div><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWkj7bED_x1tzb8aVBbcqu6FFBQ3gAcC3SthVHHiuBuiE4V5YeswKht0VRtalsWrwx_8ofg4XimR9CX-OuqkhWIhTKZtiQOP0YvclxJC-MelhfxPxjRqqX9cvciClAmvCy4vOb6ueLXc/s1600/IMG_5716.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWkj7bED_x1tzb8aVBbcqu6FFBQ3gAcC3SthVHHiuBuiE4V5YeswKht0VRtalsWrwx_8ofg4XimR9CX-OuqkhWIhTKZtiQOP0YvclxJC-MelhfxPxjRqqX9cvciClAmvCy4vOb6ueLXc/s400/IMG_5716.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696936476948658034" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOAsEXPLS4I-v27MOQ7bxnx3Yu0nt6qkRvJw88iu_4GripeT_3y6eCoqDbsjrY5j6VEhqWwb1eEvKy0Aqn1VPPDQUm74IB4596-_78VnhdmfRzrH7KkbvsOutJ0BiHe-rtcLg14FiaHI/s1600/IMG_5708.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOAsEXPLS4I-v27MOQ7bxnx3Yu0nt6qkRvJw88iu_4GripeT_3y6eCoqDbsjrY5j6VEhqWwb1eEvKy0Aqn1VPPDQUm74IB4596-_78VnhdmfRzrH7KkbvsOutJ0BiHe-rtcLg14FiaHI/s400/IMG_5708.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696935608353845346" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ50_2sQD7tcUFQrw-HXL1a_La1DpadUVfTo1grkmFP89LkI2VmGTsx5EHyIWJWSH0V1K8pnVQ8iOG2eSyDPGgpNoB8pHdilyMAugUhoC5q6kfz5VvBtIQ6dvPx6vQj7525CY2IonTS_0/s1600/IMG_5712.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ50_2sQD7tcUFQrw-HXL1a_La1DpadUVfTo1grkmFP89LkI2VmGTsx5EHyIWJWSH0V1K8pnVQ8iOG2eSyDPGgpNoB8pHdilyMAugUhoC5q6kfz5VvBtIQ6dvPx6vQj7525CY2IonTS_0/s400/IMG_5712.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696936146725728834" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>With a house full of kids, it seems like it always <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">someone's</span> birthday! Marco turned 9 years old and made a huge leap in maturity. He continues to surprise us with wonderful accomplishments and we feel so blessed to have him! </div><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-RUcAU0Ecyd6tsbCKoT7QDc0Rz2T68QyevX3ON-mGfKlkGQi8neNjPDy3a0Mw28QowuH5_6hUw-xr7ohBBlqTMAmljkcnEL33ObGRZqT-5qUAoq7rXA48fWZupFcsI06HrjMr6ss7K4/s1600/canon+pics+2011+483.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-RUcAU0Ecyd6tsbCKoT7QDc0Rz2T68QyevX3ON-mGfKlkGQi8neNjPDy3a0Mw28QowuH5_6hUw-xr7ohBBlqTMAmljkcnEL33ObGRZqT-5qUAoq7rXA48fWZupFcsI06HrjMr6ss7K4/s400/canon+pics+2011+483.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696937437316091666" /></a><br /><br />Easter in 2011 was also an awesome day! Mass, Easter baskets, flying kits, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">cascarones</span> and a fun day full of celebration of the resurrection of our Lord. It was such a memorable day!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBpb8v-zK-FLzkhyQ3IBtTWYCk8n5IiSF_tj8WLcjROpfh-FNmWLi5tmkZlrZWHMl-fIJafl5WL4hp7EZyGAp04QZtGdKgdRj7Yf5n0lfdJbagJMfb86z-23XwDCL4ptXfU3qXghrQTU/s1600/canon+pics+2011+528.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBpb8v-zK-FLzkhyQ3IBtTWYCk8n5IiSF_tj8WLcjROpfh-FNmWLi5tmkZlrZWHMl-fIJafl5WL4hp7EZyGAp04QZtGdKgdRj7Yf5n0lfdJbagJMfb86z-23XwDCL4ptXfU3qXghrQTU/s400/canon+pics+2011+528.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696939666682704610" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1dcfZJHVGumrc0LgSic5ICp6KMVaB497ppPZtTgPyqe5jt9zTsM35ypLljbYajrWBsxjLdPMcJsGLoJ2OJXZ4L0sXpA777f-ceoYJCzUhgw16hunTDs3Wdavv6ezYZ2trZD4I6Dby5ns/s1600/canon+pics+2011+566.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1dcfZJHVGumrc0LgSic5ICp6KMVaB497ppPZtTgPyqe5jt9zTsM35ypLljbYajrWBsxjLdPMcJsGLoJ2OJXZ4L0sXpA777f-ceoYJCzUhgw16hunTDs3Wdavv6ezYZ2trZD4I6Dby5ns/s400/canon+pics+2011+566.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696939670460128210" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXXJ-6sXTZrac05pV46glzUA39jrhQEe45RyUjflXcJfTeA5nJn-GIPOn66JqX7T5lrIx3O-AFhzMdJwWlf8hQezuMd0ntkXlo2huHjr3LEcCn-iiccUPmBsCM_sBTt9kRQZ8KJyGmUA/s1600/canon+pics+2011+585.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXXJ-6sXTZrac05pV46glzUA39jrhQEe45RyUjflXcJfTeA5nJn-GIPOn66JqX7T5lrIx3O-AFhzMdJwWlf8hQezuMd0ntkXlo2huHjr3LEcCn-iiccUPmBsCM_sBTt9kRQZ8KJyGmUA/s400/canon+pics+2011+585.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696939676659158946" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCvpj3L11SQxpdaacKw6x_eAGCDh0QWxWN80VyEgQGaN_j7j9q2TJ91_gFQXYMckXGlzr4m-Gm0zd_eDeAp7kaMUgtvI86okb2BNhg0CMyiHmYOo6ohyphenhyphenKQ653kxPQddq63mm-jMMqE-w/s1600/canon+pics+2011+603.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCvpj3L11SQxpdaacKw6x_eAGCDh0QWxWN80VyEgQGaN_j7j9q2TJ91_gFQXYMckXGlzr4m-Gm0zd_eDeAp7kaMUgtvI86okb2BNhg0CMyiHmYOo6ohyphenhyphenKQ653kxPQddq63mm-jMMqE-w/s400/canon+pics+2011+603.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696939686764602642" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>May turned out to be an extra special month in 2011. It began with Isabella's First Communion, which happened to fall on Divine Mercy Sunday and was also the day that Pope John Paul II was beatified!! It was absolutely awesome!</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKaw4xV_n_MnII6Q_K4wbjVqYhRz2aqyP-dALeQBcdZpbeEoCgPlzHMdzE9UQmxh9V7IUWmN8WzaKatTzu6udJvypCQlpKokCPlmvtBzR-xAO9AmB9lQZObv8qgt-JKIlCyWj2YnCVx9A/s1600/canon+pics+2011+611.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKaw4xV_n_MnII6Q_K4wbjVqYhRz2aqyP-dALeQBcdZpbeEoCgPlzHMdzE9UQmxh9V7IUWmN8WzaKatTzu6udJvypCQlpKokCPlmvtBzR-xAO9AmB9lQZObv8qgt-JKIlCyWj2YnCVx9A/s400/canon+pics+2011+611.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696941353216797170" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCSvMRkGbZH0iF43jYIL4Xhq8Ev5KWlSDSe0c8olhQhb0W53ObM-M1HjNAnh3t1dQtOmSnMm2lobs_ON2Cl1tJoSCIhmOAkMAVmHf7CHNWVwWQudF5V9xU6EpYx2Ok6hjSPUW_f7qC94/s1600/canon+pics+2011+615.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCSvMRkGbZH0iF43jYIL4Xhq8Ev5KWlSDSe0c8olhQhb0W53ObM-M1HjNAnh3t1dQtOmSnMm2lobs_ON2Cl1tJoSCIhmOAkMAVmHf7CHNWVwWQudF5V9xU6EpYx2Ok6hjSPUW_f7qC94/s400/canon+pics+2011+615.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696941357021158498" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>You can't end the school year without a field day. 2011's field day was full of fun! From donut eating to relay races and even 1st place! The entire Catholic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">homeschool</span> community came together to give our kids a fun and memorable event!</div><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqHU-SQe4-nmX8nLhIM3OKlcwRLa0bLDlmyqlbbbSkuFYjM9tW_m-VWyFJnd1evSHggeoFMWLVnZ_xNAsQqmdI3dhlcaYO8Co1CKPWpWlYN9d8PcEqEPoQx9nKHX_-OF8pOCv5K9l07Q/s1600/IMG_5955.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqHU-SQe4-nmX8nLhIM3OKlcwRLa0bLDlmyqlbbbSkuFYjM9tW_m-VWyFJnd1evSHggeoFMWLVnZ_xNAsQqmdI3dhlcaYO8Co1CKPWpWlYN9d8PcEqEPoQx9nKHX_-OF8pOCv5K9l07Q/s400/IMG_5955.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696943066650172482" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdd7pOAWcMYxEDxQu_7jM3eCP0PYW1a_jN514ZEl255ZEcZRgUlS4HGWKwZ9Ss7CSwJlWpWaFPD9BfhMw8NrIckCsfQd_PlY7N55qH4gS4V5od4pGmAtbOjmEPBjjKaPRX2XWaYM8Bheg/s1600/IMG_5990.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdd7pOAWcMYxEDxQu_7jM3eCP0PYW1a_jN514ZEl255ZEcZRgUlS4HGWKwZ9Ss7CSwJlWpWaFPD9BfhMw8NrIckCsfQd_PlY7N55qH4gS4V5od4pGmAtbOjmEPBjjKaPRX2XWaYM8Bheg/s400/IMG_5990.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696943070911626210" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTRNCPoHFdJdSUkOFwCI5u_JLLC1dnDdqawUfaSSp0YxY2F_VYWjJBuAaTNjV98mXSsY3H_v11J0rQMeYzmLr0IwijZ7fvzp3XvB5zJZ96cMUc4Iu0IIerAUwciNUEBdASS_0dV-wbpo/s1600/IMG_6039.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjTRNCPoHFdJdSUkOFwCI5u_JLLC1dnDdqawUfaSSp0YxY2F_VYWjJBuAaTNjV98mXSsY3H_v11J0rQMeYzmLr0IwijZ7fvzp3XvB5zJZ96cMUc4Iu0IIerAUwciNUEBdASS_0dV-wbpo/s400/IMG_6039.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5696943083294597250" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The highlight of May was, of course, the birth of Evangeline Elizabeth! She was by far the biggest baby I've had, weighing just over 9 pounds! Of course, all the children were elated when she was born and it was nice to finally give Isabella a little sister. We were so blessed to have our family grow by one...a little piece of heaven right in our home!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfUi44x9i9q7AnRM2asg-YO21phcMr-axbicaMtzYcDTLW0tAyJea9-xI-siFhxxjEXyqJLQaaGkG3bG2o9R6rqijXsM3gRRpkAh_0zogrYfdqCpKAU_0rRViJ5EU9SDwJlxGwopLBAs/s1600/IMG_6109.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqfUi44x9i9q7AnRM2asg-YO21phcMr-axbicaMtzYcDTLW0tAyJea9-xI-siFhxxjEXyqJLQaaGkG3bG2o9R6rqijXsM3gRRpkAh_0zogrYfdqCpKAU_0rRViJ5EU9SDwJlxGwopLBAs/s400/IMG_6109.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699354743429958482" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgjUTCV_LtB1ChZ4Xn8YiqcWrLehb607ZW16DH7yiuN_pnpfmUcmqyrUQkOPHy3XRGeD5mheSVF95vdpbBP70WZKXDBODl2MwYLRUnxxVQ-3Log4vCzK5ZrVIX4FjpHbDQTkks5mfq-c/s1600/IMG_6123.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYgjUTCV_LtB1ChZ4Xn8YiqcWrLehb607ZW16DH7yiuN_pnpfmUcmqyrUQkOPHy3XRGeD5mheSVF95vdpbBP70WZKXDBODl2MwYLRUnxxVQ-3Log4vCzK5ZrVIX4FjpHbDQTkks5mfq-c/s400/IMG_6123.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699354748474252370" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKeo65aNqPvSvdk2kr-kRIF4O-LO3AFPBZaY8BNyjl-EjkNOkkUWFAcpLiITfcE8myQOjV_-ehqNXhPiCjr9j9Rh3EuQtIli5BdDC-HTCZOicKbctL_rISfe9cfDB2KiG4depKl6w7OAg/s1600/IMG_6150.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKeo65aNqPvSvdk2kr-kRIF4O-LO3AFPBZaY8BNyjl-EjkNOkkUWFAcpLiITfcE8myQOjV_-ehqNXhPiCjr9j9Rh3EuQtIli5BdDC-HTCZOicKbctL_rISfe9cfDB2KiG4depKl6w7OAg/s400/IMG_6150.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699354765451756530" /></a><br /><br />The year continued and led into summer. With piano recitals, vacations with old friends, Marco's first <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">tae</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">kwon</span> do belt graduation and just playing in the rain.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJCc-hB442KS9i1FLoYowJ20LVTM5aS2GGZbJbTeDN86bzbO0mLde4dzR4Qki597J7tq_dX7uqdXw0xVumHykWo7l2Uj7lSbwUEcLgibNjm8QfTGZ0UTlqZdl6gw1PQbVCA3DETSZhRQ/s1600/IMG_6176.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJCc-hB442KS9i1FLoYowJ20LVTM5aS2GGZbJbTeDN86bzbO0mLde4dzR4Qki597J7tq_dX7uqdXw0xVumHykWo7l2Uj7lSbwUEcLgibNjm8QfTGZ0UTlqZdl6gw1PQbVCA3DETSZhRQ/s400/IMG_6176.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699356852631820130" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4u9tYlsfs_T4VYTFpYdBLifWtgv6x3wqCIniEiL98QOtYimwVsPxgLBdgqk0GNNrXSfR9P-zMZetgc3aJmf6980s8rbU6DWCFYwFrLkCLY9auCe5CUPbwrCCcORESBrd-cCrsgsageWs/s1600/IMG_6179.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4u9tYlsfs_T4VYTFpYdBLifWtgv6x3wqCIniEiL98QOtYimwVsPxgLBdgqk0GNNrXSfR9P-zMZetgc3aJmf6980s8rbU6DWCFYwFrLkCLY9auCe5CUPbwrCCcORESBrd-cCrsgsageWs/s400/IMG_6179.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699356883490889426" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJLRu0q0VnnHqEymleAcjGvomuiK7IlLn7l8mWwBd2ea3csSmdMCfz5LP-l1Iq8Y9qrRfl8jjTuPzTbCH_0yzf5Zu8oiJQJ-2TejN2QrB6X7wDpoF9o9wmzIHF-kYtWGVs6CAsL-osL8/s1600/IMG_6287.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 352px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJLRu0q0VnnHqEymleAcjGvomuiK7IlLn7l8mWwBd2ea3csSmdMCfz5LP-l1Iq8Y9qrRfl8jjTuPzTbCH_0yzf5Zu8oiJQJ-2TejN2QrB6X7wDpoF9o9wmzIHF-kYtWGVs6CAsL-osL8/s400/IMG_6287.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699356896324557858" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-aLf86UYLFTYkFZIqB6Gj-XLv8lArkQ6AAesCvyfcNeidecItVdqRqWA-1cBfIpJ8lZw9k_jUYLRdg0iz356jMqr3vlbuT_z7MkXmmAMV7B4SEnNdf9hLwDnos2gQomucXsADkSQq4o/s1600/IMG_0337.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ-aLf86UYLFTYkFZIqB6Gj-XLv8lArkQ6AAesCvyfcNeidecItVdqRqWA-1cBfIpJ8lZw9k_jUYLRdg0iz356jMqr3vlbuT_z7MkXmmAMV7B4SEnNdf9hLwDnos2gQomucXsADkSQq4o/s400/IMG_0337.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699356914570064626" /></a><br /><br />Hosting Vacation Bible School in my home was also a great memory from 2011. My kids had a blast with all their friends and learned some valuable lessons along the way! My family visiting, playing with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Legos</span> and just being silly were also fun events of the summer. It's almost impossible to document all the awesome moments we had.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSXIIY6zdPt-QQGGKk6Xc0R2uDCbDnasTlrfh2PF1x0gtGYXRPO-wdq6hlYW4kIGZRuMQh1JdBAcMKn4lVX-g_GlnIkLvPWuM50mFvgq5rImxIJtOhgSdp6GmWQcuTh7VcDTp_9yekiY/s1600/IMG_0349.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOSXIIY6zdPt-QQGGKk6Xc0R2uDCbDnasTlrfh2PF1x0gtGYXRPO-wdq6hlYW4kIGZRuMQh1JdBAcMKn4lVX-g_GlnIkLvPWuM50mFvgq5rImxIJtOhgSdp6GmWQcuTh7VcDTp_9yekiY/s400/IMG_0349.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699361812940479218" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2mLZ8CUQLcGAdsnMpRfE5nX3c8S4Z2DivCWvIKVkSO9ND4mR8Z5kVWZ3ctLRtEc-4ij3LhDfysXuMbmpmuNy4271fGyg0zy5TU_U85rOGHFIDDkhUF9Tj9Sn9Fgt3DZ2B5r6ygcsP94/s1600/IMG_0342.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2mLZ8CUQLcGAdsnMpRfE5nX3c8S4Z2DivCWvIKVkSO9ND4mR8Z5kVWZ3ctLRtEc-4ij3LhDfysXuMbmpmuNy4271fGyg0zy5TU_U85rOGHFIDDkhUF9Tj9Sn9Fgt3DZ2B5r6ygcsP94/s400/IMG_0342.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699361823151376674" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJSER-Ldpm0aPAAMmsJrygkyrh_wD6b9WOohMS1pmFlNYzgF084Pll9Ke645e3H1OYKdFFwCcMWcwHBw3Ghv7nZPrpoVhg8DmuxgSdUG8p9qbAnznt7B55oX-Iw64nTzCWcYIZbWCDMk/s1600/IMG_0296.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJSER-Ldpm0aPAAMmsJrygkyrh_wD6b9WOohMS1pmFlNYzgF084Pll9Ke645e3H1OYKdFFwCcMWcwHBw3Ghv7nZPrpoVhg8DmuxgSdUG8p9qbAnznt7B55oX-Iw64nTzCWcYIZbWCDMk/s400/IMG_0296.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699361836375147330" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio69HX4WHZ_0vshL1ke1SOSW7ucZpD6gujh22Z-mQj58qKGjNQj6nuBx23dXEoeYIWrDEdzpwHkWm9y58oX0f9-11SW9C1JF-J_ZIZnh2B0zhcGSzLvD9pkSb_wKjMKznSinqdVhMRRXA/s1600/IMG_0306.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio69HX4WHZ_0vshL1ke1SOSW7ucZpD6gujh22Z-mQj58qKGjNQj6nuBx23dXEoeYIWrDEdzpwHkWm9y58oX0f9-11SW9C1JF-J_ZIZnh2B0zhcGSzLvD9pkSb_wKjMKznSinqdVhMRRXA/s400/IMG_0306.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699361850221836914" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>The end of summer held some nice moments. Evangeline was baptized and welcomed into the Catholic Church!</div><div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh54pWaqx6v73gFgFCeidiwAi1_IxAiYtKxjuRPhnfHAqV5j73C8BU1J4f3FMyqEQbd-w_0PncPteSYJv1dYAfP95c7QuVjwUzaQbyLy69DdQYAlLAQYyJhJRepDZ4JiB2jji_kaHxakM/s1600/IMG_6439.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh54pWaqx6v73gFgFCeidiwAi1_IxAiYtKxjuRPhnfHAqV5j73C8BU1J4f3FMyqEQbd-w_0PncPteSYJv1dYAfP95c7QuVjwUzaQbyLy69DdQYAlLAQYyJhJRepDZ4JiB2jji_kaHxakM/s400/IMG_6439.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699363479103628914" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jbUvYtPDk4-p47tiGHFuq8tlObQaPMUAI7PM8QJg7NOxjvTHH2PPFjOEiTivByS0G9vvacbZeRStt5FT_ih7OCA4Z6HoVCux8G-4jsm1uwBfdSjFXaNjNdpNyQtxeR8C5oQz6jHnDK0/s1600/IMG_6444.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0jbUvYtPDk4-p47tiGHFuq8tlObQaPMUAI7PM8QJg7NOxjvTHH2PPFjOEiTivByS0G9vvacbZeRStt5FT_ih7OCA4Z6HoVCux8G-4jsm1uwBfdSjFXaNjNdpNyQtxeR8C5oQz6jHnDK0/s400/IMG_6444.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699363484142213842" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpPPKNYY9J5CEkDOOvI2VAt4mDE1To_K96BsdE2G260nWAKM8dZJ6AFt5eeoNOPs8wRnTmwJBDjKjTdqwleMNoVfL0-aqLGPcQf7rTFoTt1fb57zcg1waOgbfieoCogj4ffqawQMuwfk/s1600/IMG_6458.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpPPKNYY9J5CEkDOOvI2VAt4mDE1To_K96BsdE2G260nWAKM8dZJ6AFt5eeoNOPs8wRnTmwJBDjKjTdqwleMNoVfL0-aqLGPcQf7rTFoTt1fb57zcg1waOgbfieoCogj4ffqawQMuwfk/s400/IMG_6458.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699363499072740898" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>And you can't end summer without a trip to a baseball game! All this just in time for our first day of school where we continued the annual traditions of marching through the house and opening <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">schultutes</span>!!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0CarehzALX4VWedQKTRUeU6RoZLAwRoPqk0UPSuMxABmLIEIRgMmIDC6PbodbvNVR-MVx6glt8A-dpK7Di1ocjalPa5xCwZcJtIcoHii97YpH0t9lqt9ysIC8aMKxtcvpR83B2DU3XQ/s1600/IMG_0359.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha0CarehzALX4VWedQKTRUeU6RoZLAwRoPqk0UPSuMxABmLIEIRgMmIDC6PbodbvNVR-MVx6glt8A-dpK7Di1ocjalPa5xCwZcJtIcoHii97YpH0t9lqt9ysIC8aMKxtcvpR83B2DU3XQ/s400/IMG_0359.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699365481307868178" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyBFPm-MdirpnrCHUWqVmXG8FZ4qa-V6GZgUfp3mqdvauMAdv5N25nR5lJhFUYh3Mx1E65RdTjJqMKNx-6ukmnQDo6E4NBYeotFB9T6jamGVMjJeAn0qlAx4YMlsFkhdetkLL08qPTrM/s1600/IMG_6409.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAyBFPm-MdirpnrCHUWqVmXG8FZ4qa-V6GZgUfp3mqdvauMAdv5N25nR5lJhFUYh3Mx1E65RdTjJqMKNx-6ukmnQDo6E4NBYeotFB9T6jamGVMjJeAn0qlAx4YMlsFkhdetkLL08qPTrM/s400/IMG_6409.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699365489108745250" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6KOK40LUb2GQUdNXAyPvT359fKn9Siu4694Dlnj0rsK5Pw_cu4FJ605fHUYYIMK49lPyL0M3hY-44ooMweqT13tCT32Nzv9pkH8SPMuVdEv-PkKIu1B_F86A8eT0B_EUkyj32g-sc1s/s1600/IMG_0381.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6KOK40LUb2GQUdNXAyPvT359fKn9Siu4694Dlnj0rsK5Pw_cu4FJ605fHUYYIMK49lPyL0M3hY-44ooMweqT13tCT32Nzv9pkH8SPMuVdEv-PkKIu1B_F86A8eT0B_EUkyj32g-sc1s/s400/IMG_0381.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699365537834121874" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>Back to school always means it's back to co-op too! And we started the year on a great foot! The kids continue to love going to their weekly classes and seeing their friends. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>More birthday, friends visiting, family and even a new dog! There were field trips, fall weather, pumpkin carving, Saint Day celebrations and Halloween. Art classes at home, end of year programs, traveling and more. So many moments to capture...so many memories made!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPd6ji8oPnDiU4WDmKYHUKuzKs98A8BHQKVwrk2HWJEV29d-eUtKzo-sRhVF_q8bT2sfUd7CguiRYvzWTHJnMbbKsNYb7ya198dw100giVQe1_w8EMdMi5YLy2O7x0sdjvGuoYgjPbvg/s1600/IMG_6492.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPd6ji8oPnDiU4WDmKYHUKuzKs98A8BHQKVwrk2HWJEV29d-eUtKzo-sRhVF_q8bT2sfUd7CguiRYvzWTHJnMbbKsNYb7ya198dw100giVQe1_w8EMdMi5YLy2O7x0sdjvGuoYgjPbvg/s400/IMG_6492.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699365507115020418" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvaWYGFFnV3s6CjH8be4qWmD_50XLOdkaBAyHNfZJaTR_lRBQVFr7gmKxiA6BI-JwUZV4C1u0Q44DhlP6Xw9KztEryXajFR12LrSuDwEwWxpwUWNkuyy-Rse7NmEx39NeS0pWkSMIAkU/s1600/IMG_0498.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvaWYGFFnV3s6CjH8be4qWmD_50XLOdkaBAyHNfZJaTR_lRBQVFr7gmKxiA6BI-JwUZV4C1u0Q44DhlP6Xw9KztEryXajFR12LrSuDwEwWxpwUWNkuyy-Rse7NmEx39NeS0pWkSMIAkU/s400/IMG_0498.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699365522332280018" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURNO1EbtCJcZMOlgrXpWbc-TlUqyMl0YyobbOSYqxcS0lNPup1V5GRmWVzIUTXE33MvZe0uPMaRdOzDKNIB6cjcxqItqmG7r5HlssZyNo15crxO6DqMVmyYTEBlPZ5sno56ag5VBp3xc/s1600/IMG_6602.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjURNO1EbtCJcZMOlgrXpWbc-TlUqyMl0YyobbOSYqxcS0lNPup1V5GRmWVzIUTXE33MvZe0uPMaRdOzDKNIB6cjcxqItqmG7r5HlssZyNo15crxO6DqMVmyYTEBlPZ5sno56ag5VBp3xc/s400/IMG_6602.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699374803150566402" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjSURBMmLZkm8Z36Lop0rLCyCqMQ-Vv7pcylF8nHxwfeg67Xe8kQDCq3v_kjYBKpWIwTUhalzlOOEsxfBG4TPK5Bo00zBaX6fT_6T41F_5qvdCJtV1qldW4Y3MDsPsfGSeLpb1WobzZo/s1600/IMG_6618.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjSURBMmLZkm8Z36Lop0rLCyCqMQ-Vv7pcylF8nHxwfeg67Xe8kQDCq3v_kjYBKpWIwTUhalzlOOEsxfBG4TPK5Bo00zBaX6fT_6T41F_5qvdCJtV1qldW4Y3MDsPsfGSeLpb1WobzZo/s400/IMG_6618.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699374808848165778" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLICecRsEo3t0srEJN-GNDdcdKvlKYH8QBmnChXpYivU-8RumB85LhhuRtQXpgHUo_6JM1A5xi9uujuBjHta-o5NAtFe-6VebKfQ7_kmikx56bmUPrzAvdIV1Kv0Pctmv4nUlYSIorHw/s1600/IMG_0578.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlLICecRsEo3t0srEJN-GNDdcdKvlKYH8QBmnChXpYivU-8RumB85LhhuRtQXpgHUo_6JM1A5xi9uujuBjHta-o5NAtFe-6VebKfQ7_kmikx56bmUPrzAvdIV1Kv0Pctmv4nUlYSIorHw/s400/IMG_0578.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699374825865403410" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnPuwmDu0g7ny0jI4Y5cMxbKT8rtL8eVKTyMSrBbkl5nyve4stv56z_0B4z6c0V0t9nc6wBx3o6j5dv5xe_srImXcj3UPNSkEi8ytExAelI0GpNXT_3dd1kp1PmPnYK9noRfc1I1hREA/s1600/IMG_6653.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnPuwmDu0g7ny0jI4Y5cMxbKT8rtL8eVKTyMSrBbkl5nyve4stv56z_0B4z6c0V0t9nc6wBx3o6j5dv5xe_srImXcj3UPNSkEi8ytExAelI0GpNXT_3dd1kp1PmPnYK9noRfc1I1hREA/s400/IMG_6653.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699374867096653282" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbsVXkOmMBKSNajkw8YXqeiDQ0qXut91VkSux_vGaNOKSpLcqKKe2GQFB7wlgociHMzQxQDGofnmP6ws0kjyMNZVwM06yw6RDVfje8oPzVFAo5W8ZX7dGAzzE1m1_qRo-oTghiuPGFQk/s1600/IMG_0467.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHbsVXkOmMBKSNajkw8YXqeiDQ0qXut91VkSux_vGaNOKSpLcqKKe2GQFB7wlgociHMzQxQDGofnmP6ws0kjyMNZVwM06yw6RDVfje8oPzVFAo5W8ZX7dGAzzE1m1_qRo-oTghiuPGFQk/s400/IMG_0467.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699374890800637730" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfNpbBe-z9swN5PYDKYM_NEVq1Eryh2WWUfakxmAjGXtzVH1LN0MHl1O64lG16-soZEsJnk7uggVDsc0yDxHBepc3Qkdss68pyVNpcCflKZE17SeOuLSVDfJHCqZE0X-Cz0Pk0dpQlvQ/s1600/IMG_6710.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfNpbBe-z9swN5PYDKYM_NEVq1Eryh2WWUfakxmAjGXtzVH1LN0MHl1O64lG16-soZEsJnk7uggVDsc0yDxHBepc3Qkdss68pyVNpcCflKZE17SeOuLSVDfJHCqZE0X-Cz0Pk0dpQlvQ/s400/IMG_6710.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699376516511462050" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLEAK6J-qYnTCwVKxuJiq5S4RtF2srNIEVVK49K2bODTgpKnZcmo3SLdlvEIDtgtKVQB40zcpOfXzjT8OP_8RB3ZYQjCEPM86egBvpgbtCb1U8ZFtYEs20cR1X5SNTOxrwFCzDhzQL5E/s1600/IMG_5631.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLEAK6J-qYnTCwVKxuJiq5S4RtF2srNIEVVK49K2bODTgpKnZcmo3SLdlvEIDtgtKVQB40zcpOfXzjT8OP_8RB3ZYQjCEPM86egBvpgbtCb1U8ZFtYEs20cR1X5SNTOxrwFCzDhzQL5E/s400/IMG_5631.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699376547396318930" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKDbV9QwmR8DPj8fg9ronq4lyXd74k49df2569O86jMyQQHVO-Nj_C-oHI5oXxR9ExV9gv4YuJAs_ZWbYnvNpiDJD9fzK3Uuv4zUiJ75sOVR8CpONq_FvdFVh-7f0Tb-yg_I2oXS0laM/s1600/IMG_6717.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFKDbV9QwmR8DPj8fg9ronq4lyXd74k49df2569O86jMyQQHVO-Nj_C-oHI5oXxR9ExV9gv4YuJAs_ZWbYnvNpiDJD9fzK3Uuv4zUiJ75sOVR8CpONq_FvdFVh-7f0Tb-yg_I2oXS0laM/s400/IMG_6717.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699376548440887282" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-S6d8uv8nJTZO77LWnOZp051_eyXKRjVCts6kVjuW0T9Xol12uSEjtIPwu8ItrLHbsLI5Q7mVu10BwGLUuUuBG6i8FY3-YMJ4QUpGF-EP-RWJXl2RHUMBWn4HCXTiJNm6u3vBtRmYWgg/s1600/IMG_6753.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-S6d8uv8nJTZO77LWnOZp051_eyXKRjVCts6kVjuW0T9Xol12uSEjtIPwu8ItrLHbsLI5Q7mVu10BwGLUuUuBG6i8FY3-YMJ4QUpGF-EP-RWJXl2RHUMBWn4HCXTiJNm6u3vBtRmYWgg/s400/IMG_6753.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699376597817709298" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomZGnDt5EPzUbAC9xdi1pqrpfzEw_-xbctsWZXHhNLcZGg8EmCvGl2Tx91o-QXUy3Eb2DQH_Ru-ZLQaZ0EH_cgK8CSvefhPeZ8cr-7dJuhcku_4M1azg_nGqlk08OnfiYsGpjT8oQNF8/s1600/IMG_0762.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomZGnDt5EPzUbAC9xdi1pqrpfzEw_-xbctsWZXHhNLcZGg8EmCvGl2Tx91o-QXUy3Eb2DQH_Ru-ZLQaZ0EH_cgK8CSvefhPeZ8cr-7dJuhcku_4M1azg_nGqlk08OnfiYsGpjT8oQNF8/s400/IMG_0762.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5699376607493116002" /></a><br /><br />Hope everyone's year was as great as mine was. There were bumps along the way, but nothing that we didn't get through. Praying for another wonderful year!<br /><br />*And if you notice my pictures got a little sparse and mixed up towards the end...yeah. Too many pictures to go through and not enough time in my day! <br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-60063042389548008902012-01-11T15:48:00.002-05:002012-01-11T16:01:57.903-05:00New Year!It's been a couple months since I last checked in and it's just family time keeping me busy. Which is the perfect excuse to take a break from blogging!! I've been watching baby Evangeline grow, homeschooling the kids and just spending time with the family in general. We've travelled, recovered from colds, finished our first semester of co-op and just been chugging along as usual.<div><br /></div><div>For now I'm just trying to get things in order and really put time into organizing my projects for the new year. There is lots to be done on many levels. Personal, spiritual, home, family, etc. Home projects are what I'm starting with this year as opposed to organization...although that comes with the territory of daily living. The main goals for the year are finishing off some rooms in the house, brightening up some rooms and making some furniture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyways, I'll have to keep everyone updated with what's going down in our home. I'm looking forward to a wonderful new year!!</div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-67199554083779275572011-11-02T11:59:00.003-04:002011-11-02T12:12:55.471-04:00Dia de los Muertos.<div><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgIo38nKIAaLTKl6ENdnEIT-leOGBW9jQDEtiqQ7iwpXRS-ULP4sBkRWUXnSPcJaCClupO0pQUh-lTzyJ9aaTAh_kZj1quBwMiGEXGpIY7bKKx3gJdRAC1d2zIhMLrRSE2Ohyphenhyphenz3OAeSg/s1600/dia-de-los-muertos_senyor1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 209px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgIo38nKIAaLTKl6ENdnEIT-leOGBW9jQDEtiqQ7iwpXRS-ULP4sBkRWUXnSPcJaCClupO0pQUh-lTzyJ9aaTAh_kZj1quBwMiGEXGpIY7bKKx3gJdRAC1d2zIhMLrRSE2Ohyphenhyphenz3OAeSg/s400/dia-de-los-muertos_senyor1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670430139227315618" /></a>October has come and gone and so has Halloween and All Saints Day. We had wonderful celebrations for both and now we are finally relaxing and trying to catch up with all the other stuff that we have to do. Mainly school work and rotating all our clothing to match the weather!<div><br /></div><div>Not only that, but today we celebrate Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. We remember deceased loved ones, tell stories about them and pray for them. It's a great way to introduce the subject of death to kids in a fun way. Dia de los Muertos is certainly not a sad holiday. It is a fun day full of food, games and crafts. It is a day to make fun of death and to remember that just because our bodies cease to live, our souls do not! Death is a step from this world into the next, where we will come together with our heavenly Father! </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope everyone out there is surviving this time of year. It certainly is busy for us and I'm trying my hardest to keep my head above water. It's always busy around here with little time for rest. But as my dad always says, "I'll rest when I die!" And he is certainly right about that! </div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-8736603208289345582011-09-26T08:53:00.004-04:002011-09-26T10:32:10.467-04:00Gifted Children.Recently, I've been hearing a lot about gifted children. Through friends who are trying to get their kids into the gifted programs at their local public schools, from homeschool moms who are seeing giftedness in their children and in the local news where they've been highlighting the gifted programs and what they offer. I thought this was a great subject to talk about!<div><br /></div><div>First off, I don't know if my kids are truly "gifted." I think all children possess giftedness in some way or another. Some are great at math, some are great at reading and some are great at art. Most children excel in some subject or other. But true giftedness? That would probably mean across the board, above level performance. Which led to me to thinking....what exactly are all these moms prepping their kids for in public schools?</div><div><br /></div><div>Not too long ago I met a mom who was getting her son tested in order to for him to qualify for the gifted/talented program at a school. She had been prepping him for the test for a couple of months with lots of workbooks and practice tests. At first, I thought she was crazy. I kept thinking, "Hey. If you're kid is really gifted...it won't matter if you prep him for the test or not. And if you have to prep him, then he probably isn't truly gifted."</div><div><br /></div><div>But them she went into why she wanted him to test into it so badly. The gifted classes were smaller. They offered things like Latin, chess club and more hands-on "real world" learning. When she got to talking about all the perks, I realized that I would probably want the same for my kids, if they were in school. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, homeschoolers don't have that problem. We can teach our kids Latin (and we do!) even if they aren't "gifted." We play chess, our class size is small and there is plenty of real world learning going on all the time. I get to speed things up in any subject I see my kids excelling in and I can slow things down if I have to. There is no need for me to test them!</div><div><br /></div><div>All my children are covering more than one grade level, which makes it soooo hard to label them. Are your kids in 4th, 2nd, and kindergarten? Well, yes. BUT...not one of them does all their work at grade level. And that is one of the greatest perks of homeschooling. You tailor what you teach to the student...not the class. </div><div><br /></div><div>So if you happen to be reading this and you happen to send your kids to school. Give homeschooling a second thought. It's really not so bad being around your kids all day. And you'll be happy to know that you won't ever have to fight with a school in order to place your kids in a "gifted" classroom. </div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-49275308483992119142011-09-14T21:36:00.010-04:002011-09-14T23:13:37.378-04:00Keeping Things Simple.I still haven't posted my daily schedule and have been working on tweaking it a lot this week. We switched phonics and math, we added a new activity to Fridays and I'm trying to squeeze more time in with Christian's preschool work. Things look chaotic on paper! But it really is coming along and our MOTH (Managers of Their Homes) method is what still continues to work for us. Click <a href="http://hfclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2009/06/homeschooling-scheduling-tips-how-to.html">here</a> to see some of my previous advice on creating a schedule.<div><br /></div><div>Of course, we know that with a large family it's important to keep things simple if you want to stay sane. It's all about prioritizing. Not too long ago I experience my first burnout. We were doing school, co-op, swimming, dance, piano, soccer and who knows what else. I wanted my kids to be exposed to different activities and to have fun. What I got was a not so happy family. I was chauffeuring kids around 4-5 days out of the week. We were rarely eating dinner together as a family and we were always in a rush. I was cranky so that meant that everyone was cranky. So what happened? I got burnt out. I grew so tired that I dropped every activity besides school and co-op.</div><div><br /></div><div>It took me almost a year to recover, but I vowed to never do that to myself or my family again. Now I'm learning to keep a healthy balance. My kids are allowed to do 2 activities each. One that benefits them physically and one that benefits them mentally. I combine wherever I can, take shortcuts and NEVER sacrifice family time. The results are working out well so far.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our extra curricular activities this year? Here's how I have it set up so that I'm able to get all the kids' activities squeezed into our week without sacrificing our family priorities.</div><div><ul><li>Karate fulfills our physical requirement. This is done together so that I don't have to go back and forth with different sports. They get to help each other and they love it!</li><li>Piano is also done at home. Our piano teacher comes over once a week and takes turns doing the lessons with the kids. That means I don't have to take time off from teaching; so while one child is doing their lesson, the rest are working on their school.</li><li>Art is our new activity this year. It's once a week and the kids also do it together. While they are in class, I walk down the street to the library and load up on books for the week. It works out great!</li></ul><div>But what about the littles? I can't take credit for toting around 6 kids with me all the time. I have a nanny who comes in 3 times a week. She mainly takes care of little Jimmy and Christian, unless I have to go somewhere and I leave the whole crew with her. I am hesitant to admit to having this help, but I don't want to seem like super woman. One thing I will add is that to have her over means that we sacrifice in lots of other areas. Again...priorities.</div><div><br /></div><div>So how do you keep things simple for your own life? Here are some tips.</div><div><br /></div><div><ol><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">Make a list</span>.</span> Grab a piece of paper and make a column for each child. Under each name, list all the extra curricular activities you would like for each of them to have. Don't be afraid to include yourself and your spouse! It's important to keep in mind all the things you want to accomplish as well when making a schedule.</li><br /><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Prioritize and Rank.</span> Rank your activities. Take into consideration all the things that are important to your family when ranking. Are weekends together as family important? Then perhaps soccer might not rank high because of all the Saturday games. Is having dinner together a top priority? That might weed out all evening activities. </li><br /><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Minimize.</span> Look over your list and trim wherever you see an activity that is not in line with your family priorities. </li><br /><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Pencil it In.</span> Look at your calendar with your new activities penciled in. If your calendar still looks too full, perhaps it's time to go back and minimize some more.</li><br /><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Pray.</span> Prayer is a powerful tool when deciding what activities will benefit your family. </li></ol><div><br /></div>In the end, don't be afraid to say "No!" There is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping our kids at home and enjoying our families. It's important not to fall prey to the materialistic culture that plagues our society. More is not necessarily good and our children will not benefit from having a full schedule that keeps them away from family. We have to remember that in teaching our children, we want to prepare them for heaven above all else!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-iIa8Jfmfamg-TJzgR9vaAiWmr0FDN_eIN39gcbLTLxedvy261PF0wpK-X9VLkfxa9rFS06S57Z4wohxR5kcCN13vKb5MGQ3sGJ7Z_UqR90qdMwExru9eLZtwPVrm7PBiXiLoQQ-Kv8/s320/images.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652415028122102690" /><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 159px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGVb9cbJcf_sEghf8PTc8jmMhPaVXCadOeXJwiLX2cPK_xSnAYVDHBziBtVWpok_3gW8d-PsiTeHXBEzOnlcENFf-KgXQxGTw5eN8DBGn70K2dOxcs1kYs7X2UZ4TvZN317bGfZI0Fk4/s200/papi+reading.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652413886888672450" /> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Family Time, Happy Kids <i>or </i>Over-scheduled, Cranky Kids</div><div> </div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-63656813459344499722011-09-11T09:29:00.002-04:002011-09-11T09:31:50.246-04:009/11Today marks the 10th anniversary of 9/11. My prayers are with all the victims of that horrific attack, both living and deceased. <div><br /></div><div>So many lives lost, so many affected. We will never forget.</div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-12186523279103529122011-09-08T21:39:00.006-04:002011-09-08T22:21:39.529-04:00Early Winners.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>We are coming upon mid-September already and school is in session for mostly everyone. For families that started early, like ours, we are already figuring out what the winners and losers are for the year. Here is a snippet of what's working so far, what's not, and what we're on the fence about.<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Winners...So Far.</div><div><ol><li><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 184px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA6K4pHEZ1i_w4-CswyZque6mForfgjD69K2Kf8LTUmwiWwBvU6sZ_PbcA8JYSjRoXiynUputBRl_8eY4-H3OA5tpdRJeyEcl0d-rVy9I4QYTqVihLYLqCLXgHd8ZRT-LbLY3_1k17oFg/s200/1st-place-trophy.243134726_std.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650178795328406114" /><div style="text-align: left;">Saxon Phonics. We are using this phonics program for Anthony, Isabella and even Marco! I love that it's scripted and the kids haven't complained yet! It combines phonics with spelling, which I find helpful in getting the kids to understand their phonics rules. For Anthony, this is his core program. Isabella and Marco are both using the Saxon Phonics 2 program and it is completely review. It's working fantastic, although sometimes I wonder if coding all those words is helping them read proficiently. But if they are showing success with it, I can't argue!</div><br /></li><li>Famous Men of Greece (Memoria Press). We are using this for history and following Angelicum Academy's lesson plans. So far the kids love it. It's colorful and interesting to them and I like that it covers vocabulary and reading comprehension, among other things (the suggested activities are great).</li><br /><li>Poetry Memorization from IEW. This is super easy to do and the kids LOVE it so far! The kids recite their poetry in the morning, during lunch and then for their dad over the dinner table. It's great fun for them!</li><br /><li>A Nature Walk With Aunt Bessie from Queen Homeschool. This is the science I'm doing with all the kids together. It's completely from a Charlotte Mason Approach and completely fun for the kids! We do this everyday and it is something the kids look forward to. I love that it's compatible for all the kids, from Christian in preschool to Marco in 4th grade. </li></ol><div>Runner Up. Still sitting on the fence.</div></div><div><ol><li>Latina Christiana. Perhaps it's my own insecurities with teaching Latin that make this program so difficult for me. Marco and Isabella do this together and they are doing well, although I'm always unsure about how well they have grasped the vocabulary. I'm hoping that as the year progresses, I'll be more confident in teaching it and the kids will continue to do well with it. For them, this is not a favorite subject...but it gets done! We are taking it super slow!</li><br /><li>Map Essentials. This is another Angelicum course that I have loved over the years. But now that Marco is doing his 4th grade book, it's getting more rigorous (which is great!) but less fun. And I'm all about the kids having fun when it comes to geography. Why shouldn't it be fun? It's a solid program...it's National Geographic! But I think I was hoping for something that would make learning cartography and geography more hands on. Perhaps I'll supplement if we have the time; after all, this is done only once a week.</li></ol><div>Losers. </div></div><div><ol><li>Vocabu-Lit. We followed Angelicum's suggestion of using Vocabu-Lit for 4th grade. The workbook is great and it uses literature to teach new vocabulary. But as we were progressing through the book, Marco began to get more and more frustrated with the work. "It's too hard! I hate it!" So I did further reading to see what the problem could be. Well, it turns out that the book that Angelicum is recommending for 4th graders is actually a 6th grade book!! That might be fine and dandy for kids who are great readers, but for the average kid...this might be a little too much. So I abandoned Vocabu-Lit and am going back to using something more grade appropriate. So I guess in the end, it really isn't the program that's a loser...it's just a loser because we were using something that wasn't suited to our grade level.</li></ol><div>That's it! Looks like we don't really have lots of losers this year. All other materials are straight from Angelicum and we are enjoying them all. I hope that all you homeschoolers out there are having luck with your curricula. It's always a mystery as to what will work, but thank goodness that we have the luxury of tailoring our teaching to what our kids need!</div></div><div><br /></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-21932932414241940722011-09-06T12:38:00.012-04:002011-09-06T17:22:23.948-04:00Scholaric Review.<div style="text-align: left;">When I find something that I love, helps me and is easy to use...I want to tell the whole world!! I'm a chronic planner, organization junkie and all around nerd when it comes to homeschooling. I'm constantly looking for ways to make my life easier and more streamlined. With 6 kids, keeping our homeschool organized is a top priority.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Before the beginning of our homeschool year in August, I decided that I needed an easier way to organize lessons for my 3 grammar stage kids. Fitting everyone's schedule in my planner just wasn't working and adding any more kids to it was just not realistic. So I decided to give the electronic planner a try.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>I started with a popular, downloadable "Tracker" program. It took me a whole weekend to type everything in, understand how to use it and get the ball rolling with it. I was on the brink of throwing in the towel with it's learning curve, but decided to stick it out because of all the time I had already invested in it. But then something wonderful happened. I got rid of my dinosaur PC and upgraded to an iMac.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Upgrading to an iMac is awesome...but not so awesome for Tracker users. I found out that not only could I not transfer my Tracker files, but that I couldn't even start over with Tracker because it is not compatible with Macs!! All that precious time wasted! I nearly cried with frustration!</div><div><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 85px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkM4b_-w4VFycVde9GgoUCJBooiKX5cmwacZf0A3VrAaCbrLb4eClZoU-8eBb7tR6oD9uxBzrMb0A3S21Iz4usJwnvlj5ujZzOu_8bAMe9HsB6adbwjyR3kx7VCn1CFTafrLInRvDEnQY/s400/scholaric.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649349479935404242" /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Thus began my search for a homeschool planner that was Mac compatible. Luckily, it didn't take long before someone recommended <a href="http://www.scholaric.com">Scholaric</a>. Could it be that I had found something I could download to my Mac that would save me from a planning crisis? Read on.</div><div><br /></div><div>It turns out that Scholaric doesn't need to be downloaded into any computer because it's web-based. That means all your planning stays online and not your computer. I wasn't sure I liked this. My lesson plans floating around in virtual space? I didn't buy into the hype until a light bulb lit up over my head. My lesson plans....accessible from any computer!</div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Once I realized that I could plan my school week not only from my desktop, but from our MacBook from anywhere in the house, I got so excited! Not only that, but you could use it on your iPad too! How much more convenient and terrific could this Scholaric program be? I signed up for the trial version immediately. After all, not just because you can have easy access to something does it mean that it's easy to set up or use, right?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Well...Scholaric is <i>extremely</i> easy to set up and use. If you like to spend hours typing information into a planner before you actually get to use it...this program is probably not for you. But if you like to get started right away, Scholaric is perfect! Setting up our homeschool account on Scholaric was a breeze. It's like opening a notebook planner and just filling in the days with what you are doing. You can schedule repeating lessons, record time spent on a subject (necessary in some states), reschedule lessons easily and even share lessons if you have more than one student.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUdQG8tbBYt3xHElptgcMZ6Mg8Vs964ASLv9a3zvYLaXsnc1Hy6eU7b0LZBhaAGGw5t_VARi0kdWpiyptNxkGFE0wlzAeuv4eQ6ebmME2xuMCWfVtYQZipDz1MSvD1ornUdny_uWjpXs/s400/Screen+Shot+2011-09-06+at+2.06.41+PM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649346192704308850" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 192px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>Scholaric makes it easy to record grades too and even generates a report card if needed. What I really like about Scholaric, beside all these great features? I can print out a daily or weekly assignment for my kids that they can check off. Here is a quick screenshot (sorry it's blurry).</div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSOIcN6FESZn8WGY4H55rQgvmtHGfZqS7Et_kFdqSsiQeQ8vxrKPOIbEze7VW_6ZJKxrOG7x7Eq4br-0-RfwbT4-JiHK0ugWFMCu81aFoXnwaUlFhl31JNCm7_JgMQGCpEG5OsEm44Iz0/s400/Screen+Shot+2011-09-06+at+3.30.35+PM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649344792849389138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 321px; height: 400px; " /></div><div><br /></div><div>Is Scholaric perfect? Probably not. There is no perfect planner, although for me it's as close to perfection as I've ever had. Sign up for a <a href="http://www.scholaric.com">free 15 day trial</a> to find out how easy it is to use this amazing online planner. It's only $1 per month, per child after that! </div><div><br /></div><div>Check them out and become a fan! They post tips and updates on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scholaric/129952190416060">FaceBook page</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div> </div></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-62150760768855035582011-09-04T13:28:00.006-04:002011-09-04T13:51:13.672-04:00New Pup?<div>We are finally settling into the routine of being back to school. Co-op started this past Monday and it was great. The kids were so excited to be back! It was a great first day and I was happy to see all the kids and my friends!</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Of course, things are never dull around here with school, co-op, a new baby and just our daily routines. But I decided to throw in a little curve ball this past week. We are fostering a dog!! I know it's crazy of me to even think of adding a dog to a family of 8, but I couldn't justify not allowing my kids to get a pet. After all, I have very fond memories of growing up with pets myself.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>So enters Sierra. This little pup is a year old and the sweetest thing. We actually weren't planning on adopting a dog just yet. We were waiting to see if we could swing buying a nice poodle mix so that I wouldn't have to add vacuuming dog hair to my list of chores. But as I took Anthony on a mother-son lunch date, we decided to stop by the humane society just to look at the puppies. And there was Sierra. More timid that my own little Anthony (he's a shy one!), but just so sweet. We fell in love with her! Now we are fostering her for a week or so to see how she adjusts to living with our family and how our family adjusts to having her around. So far, things are going great!</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Yea...she sheds. She's not a designer dog. But the kids love her! I'll have to let you know if we decide to go through with an adoption and having her become one of the family! </div><div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLvE7QPEWe4CB7TSdhsblxzFixrXaWEoTCAKf0NAFb03ft1vwZlFg0dWABFgbSDiHolkdmy4SiGYAPRvLmsU03kSzakcqC0pvkVQ-NeTuGdGGjAcS3jaI5czimTw3c2I_CJdfMxhaynA/s1600/IMG_0439.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZLvE7QPEWe4CB7TSdhsblxzFixrXaWEoTCAKf0NAFb03ft1vwZlFg0dWABFgbSDiHolkdmy4SiGYAPRvLmsU03kSzakcqC0pvkVQ-NeTuGdGGjAcS3jaI5czimTw3c2I_CJdfMxhaynA/s400/IMG_0439.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648561800194559714" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i>She was so shy at the shelter. She was almost afraid to be pet.</i></div></div><div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzVG65_ieu_Lh7wwvnfKgsdV12mrRjCzNw2Kf3SwRSvW7hH5lyKeV8pGsr23-z4FXAqkvxTgIN67bwvv-bibMjm-Xj0t4YE69VAWSdEGyVzhjFINOepRbuBShmSj0Op2nrQZgBGjYs30/s1600/IMG_0450.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzVG65_ieu_Lh7wwvnfKgsdV12mrRjCzNw2Kf3SwRSvW7hH5lyKeV8pGsr23-z4FXAqkvxTgIN67bwvv-bibMjm-Xj0t4YE69VAWSdEGyVzhjFINOepRbuBShmSj0Op2nrQZgBGjYs30/s400/IMG_0450.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648561805184297026" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><i>As soon as we got home, she opened up. She loves the kids and is excellent with them! She is not one bit shy anymore!!</i></div>
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<br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSrypTFTrZOkvHtJaseOS6SIZKWAxYbmP9nXCumt_yjTzgY1VeGpTSkg5F4Bk90MrTqqgPIf0CovHV_eeX0h6K7al3TZbQNbrVcHjMgjeAndF2K0x8qSW6hk7ReFKZHGWMtPD57myXvw/s400/IMG_0456.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648561807638755618" /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>With 6 kids, she gets plenty of attention. Here she is taking a nap after a long walk.</i></div>
<br />Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-55997063774931891522011-08-22T21:59:00.002-04:002011-08-22T22:34:15.091-04:00FaceBook. Bringing Out The Worst.I remember a couple of years ago I kept getting invitations to join <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Facebook</span> from family and friends. "What a time suck!!" was my initial response. How could anyone waste their time reading all the mindless posts from friends they hadn't seen since high school? And not only that, who cared? If someone really wanted to be your "friend" why didn't they give you a call or send you a letter?<div>
<br /></div><div>Well, here we are 2 years later and I'm constantly checking my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Facebook</span> home page. Did my sister update her status? Is my aunt in Chicago doing well? How about my cousins? Don't forget all my old friends who live far away. What are they up to? Oh! I better update my status and let everyone know that I just gave little Jimmy the third bath of the day because he decided to pour maple syrup on his head...again.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Yes. This is what part of my days look like. Granted, I check in for only about a minute and then I'm off. But add those minutes up and who knows how many hours I spend a week on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Facebook</span>. How did I get sucked into this? And why is it so difficult to stop?</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Today I finally made a realization. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Facebook</span> brings out the worst in me. As I sat checking <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">everyones</span> updates on my phone today, I caught myself doing something. I wasn't surprised or suddenly appalled...I was just AWARE of what I was doing. I was judging. Criticizing. Forming bad opinions. Snickering. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>And as I read a friend's post, I realized just how addictive <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Facebook</span> is. And addictive is not good. Sure, I get to keep in touch with friends and family. My dad looks forward to all the pictures I post of the kids. It's the way I message our babysitter. But is being on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Facebook</span> really bringing out the best in me? Probably not. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>This past Lent, I remember talking with a friend about our sacrifices. Giving up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Facebook</span> was one of them. I remember her saying how difficult it was going to not check in and asking if it counted to just read and not post. Wow. Talk about the incredible grip that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Facebook</span> has on our daily lives! Even more recently, another friend gave up <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Facebook</span> as a prayerful cause. But of course, it's impossible to really "give it up" and you can still see where she checks in daily and Sundays don't count.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Is it that hard to stop? I say yes. After choosing to go without it for Lent, I realized just how tempting it was to "drop in." The first week was the hardest. My husband kept saying, "If you even visit the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">FB</span> page, you are breaking your fast." So I didn't. Not even on Sunday. I went the whole season without even opening the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">FB</span> page. It was a little liberating.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>But now here I am again. Should I "give it up" as my friends say? I'm not sure. On the one hand, I love keeping in touch with my family. On the other hand, I'm sometimes creating negative thoughts and bringing out the worst in me. Which way to go? </div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-89696283550394422572011-08-17T12:43:00.011-04:002011-08-18T09:20:40.358-04:00Back to School 2011!<div style="text-align: left;">Is it August already??!!! Of course it's August. I've known that for the past 17 days!!! But really...here I go again. Life gets in the way of blogging...blah, blah, blah. Let's get down to the nitty-gritty.</div><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div><div>We actually started school on August 1st! Yes we had our first day of school celebrations and all. It was a fantastic day and the kids had the best time, like always. I won't say that it was easy, as I wasn't ready to start school at all! But I sucked it up, planned as much as I could, gathered whatever materials I had and got to it. The first two weeks were a MESS!! I couldn't find all my materials, our old books were still on the shelves while our new books sat in piles all over our school room. Not only that but our daily schedules weren't set up, my lesson plans weren't organized, the kids' planners were nowhere to be found, and our school room was a disaster.</div><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div><div>Sounds like a nice start to the school year, huh? Well, I finally got my act together. Every night last week I stayed up late organizing and planning. It was painful, but now I can say that I'm <i>mostly</i> done! The only thing left for me to do is get our daily schedules done. I have a tentative schedule, but I'm still experimenting on how our days are going to flow best with 4 kids doing school, a toddler, and a baby.</div><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div><div>This week we are well into our 3rd week of school and it's going GREAT! Our lessons are getting done, the kids are happy (for the most part), and I can finally find all our books. I'm sure that this year's beginning isn't going to scar the kids. They have been having a wonderful time since our new school year started. Our first day of school traditions helped, of course.</div><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div><div>As you may know, every year we celebrate the first day of school with schultutes or school cones that I usually spend a couple of weeks working on. It's like Christmas around here! The cones are full of school supplies, candy, and toys. The kids get to spend half of the morning playing with their treats before officially starting their school work. Check out the celebration!</div><div>
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<br /></div><div> </div></div></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-42097053626547877142011-06-23T12:27:00.007-04:002011-06-23T13:23:22.295-04:00Language Arts Decisions and Reviews.It seems that if you are a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">homeschooler</span>, this time of year is mainly focused on curriculum decisions, planning, organizing, and hunting for reviews for new products. It's my favorite time of the school year!!Of course, we are using mainly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Angelicum</span> Academy for our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">homeschool</span>. But after having tried out their language arts curriculum for the past 3 years...I just don't like it!!<div><br /><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqzJ_EH9HxngRkUwvw3z2FvACmtYVr7kE0NQOFh4JOcuuseghe3vmFZHr2-zyRFRBdn6tNexSA17wnVv83jqce-Zo6WNGZp1CTYt_-xFdulrsAgPU_Kre4xm4_CZzT8XlMCpGG1zUjEA/s400/rod+and+staff.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621463891973477026" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" ><i>(Photo from Habits of a Happy Home blog)</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" ><i><br /></i></span></div><div> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Shurley</span> English was not only torture for me to teach, but Marco totally hated it. So we ditched it and switched to Rod and Staff English. It's rigorous and boring, but I actually like that it's straightforward to teach. Marco doesn't like it, but he doesn't hate it either. I like that there's tons of review, which is important for him. Isabella used it this past year and she flew through their 2<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">nd</span> grade book. She loved it! But she's just that kind of student. I plan on using First Language Lessons for Anthony's 1st grade and then jumping into Rod and Staff for him too.</div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div>Well, that's grammar. But how did our year go with using <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Angelicum's</span> recommendation of Hooked on Phonics for phonics instruction? I totally dislike the program, but the kids loved it. In the end, we're ditching this too. The program might get your kids reading, but it completely lacks phonics instructions. There is no explanation of phonics rules and I felt it was more like teaching word families. So in the future, when your child comes across a more difficult word, he won't be able to apply any phonics rules to learn to read it because none were ever taught!! Come on!! Even I remember learning things like "When 2 vowels go a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">walkin</span>', the first one does the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">talkin</span>'." HOP consists of watching a video, repeating the words they say, and then reading the same words in the workbook. Not my idea of a solid phonics foundation.</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTphMxkjGUukjWknEmx11TiHpYd8T0hs-MsEf9FKvsXOvUcS3nB7ti0gmXjHvvKZVCYBdaE8udbhdHEtLN2xqq8adb_HxCBYd9TWKMfqNNW3p9YnLoYolGo26BGv35PkDFAXUt_L0WDJY/s400/001814.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 322px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621463906706949186" /><div><br /></div><div>Anyways...we're switching to <a href="http://cathyduffyreviews.com/phonics_reading/saxon-phonics-k.htm">Saxon Phonics</a> this year (click for a Cathy Duffy review). After reading review after review, I made up my mind and have received Saxon Phonics 1 for Anthony. It looks fabulous!!! It's completely scripted like their Saxon math program, and I love that! It has lots of review, explains all the rules, teaches coding, and comes with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">manipulatives</span>. We are starting this next week!! I'm even tempted to do Saxon Phonics 2 with Isabella. She completed HOP 2, but I feel that she needs a better grasp of phonics rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>And although Saxon Phonics covers spelling, we are still continuing with All About Spelling. It really is a great program and Anthony is doing well with it. Marco and Isabella are also moving along and enjoy the program. By the time the kids are done with Saxon and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">AAS</span>, they are going to have such a great grasp of phonics and spelling!</div><div><br /></div><div>Did I cover writing?? Well, after much consideration and back-and-forth, I took the plunge and bought the Institute for Excellence in Writing program. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdmAJBu2-SW3UP3hri0ZqPcZt6U2FTAEy17NC7bSGAh39NE8IqcuAkBUhqKS5gnYIHJavs4GN2FNVTgYnJTgU9gjkwTTEu1TieQKrsy-EDmQ7rd4K571ixygIrCBbkv_pV284BsFcwwY/s1600/twss.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdmAJBu2-SW3UP3hri0ZqPcZt6U2FTAEy17NC7bSGAh39NE8IqcuAkBUhqKS5gnYIHJavs4GN2FNVTgYnJTgU9gjkwTTEu1TieQKrsy-EDmQ7rd4K571ixygIrCBbkv_pV284BsFcwwY/s400/twss.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621463903378891298" /></a>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">IEW</span> program always looked pretty awesome, but the price always seemed a little steep. But after hearing Andrew <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Pudewa</span> speak at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">homeschool</span> conference, I was completely convinced! I bought the <a href="http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/twss-d">Teaching Writing: Structure and Style</a> set, as well as two of their themed-based writing books: <a href="http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/aff">All Things Fun and Fascinating</a> and <a href="http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/fmf">Fables, Myths and Fairy Tales</a>. To top it off, I'm also starting poetry memorization using <a href="http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/pmc"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">IEW's</span> Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization</a>.</div><div><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-syvCqPdolXfsKfggqpzn9DlFFMEnb4EHY3FbvggS6_n7K9qoJyw1sDYsrCs0F2HZoiBefAAcTJte3u1AIL5aG7IbepjxuaPstnGjvutL0ufwoPPS-HjSf3mUQXjh-DQYIsRbKFS5bg/s1600/poetry.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 381px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-syvCqPdolXfsKfggqpzn9DlFFMEnb4EHY3FbvggS6_n7K9qoJyw1sDYsrCs0F2HZoiBefAAcTJte3u1AIL5aG7IbepjxuaPstnGjvutL0ufwoPPS-HjSf3mUQXjh-DQYIsRbKFS5bg/s400/poetry.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621463896365043970" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Is that all for language arts? I think so. The wonderful thing about homeschooling is finding what works for you and your children. I am completely thankful, however, that there are programs out there that lay out a plan. Most of the thinking is done for you and you know that you won't be missing on any core subjects. </div><div><br /></div></div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1418014079806563743.post-42255523682846840202011-06-21T08:10:00.003-04:002011-06-21T09:00:05.481-04:00Get Ready For Some Books! Angelicum Sale.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5089qAoyr06hIrsuwyxbfn1xk4jay-1OBWlc6YiYthsuCyyso1CWaHYRG6pB2WDHjbvYyudozrKZq0RdDW2dq9qtTdmLtVnj4Gkn78R89wS0s3cuiGkshBZTddTOLJTCXOg3H-R24vt8/s1600/summersale.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 374px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5089qAoyr06hIrsuwyxbfn1xk4jay-1OBWlc6YiYthsuCyyso1CWaHYRG6pB2WDHjbvYyudozrKZq0RdDW2dq9qtTdmLtVnj4Gkn78R89wS0s3cuiGkshBZTddTOLJTCXOg3H-R24vt8/s400/summersale.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620644367586518850" /></a><br /><div>If you are planning on enrolling with <a href="http://www.angelicum.net/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Angelicum</span> Academy</a> or just purchasing their lesson plans books...now is the time to do it! They have their summer sale going on until July 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span>. </div><div><br /></div><div>We decided not to enroll this year and will just be purchasing all the lesson plans that we need for the kids. Perhaps when Marco is older and we feel it more necessary to have grading services and support, we'll enroll him again.</div><div><br /></div><div>For now, I'm getting all our lesson plans in order, our books ordered, and new school materials organized. It's something that I'm sure will take a while to accomplish.</div>Lizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16248966150540696313noreply@blogger.com3