tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16142794477669245322024-02-07T04:06:33.943-08:00Homeschool or BustTonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.comBlogger201125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-82114816209460731132015-08-04T08:04:00.000-07:002015-08-04T08:04:02.724-07:00Treasuring a Word in My Heart...<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm really enjoying my new Bible study app "She Reads Truth". Right now I'm doing their "Women of the New Testament" study. This morning I read about Jesus's mother who I love to think about what she must have felt and thought with everything she went through. Today's reading contained what's always been one of my favorite phrases in the Bible "Mary treasured all these things in her heart". I just love that phrase as it makes Mary seem like a mom just like me. Of course, knowing me I usually grab my camera as my version of "treasuring in my heart". </div>
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Things like snuggling with a new kitten:</div>
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A rare dinner date with my two wild and crazy guys:</div>
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Seeing my oldest patiently read with one of my youngers (believe me, as much as they fight I was definitely treasuring THIS moment up in my heart!):</div>
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But sometimes, I will pause in a moment and tell myself that I need to soak a great moment in and commit to never forget. I understand Mary and her need to treasure moments.</div>
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But today, my Bible study pointed out that she treasured these things, these promises of God, so she could pull them out when she wasn't so confident:</div>
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When she was being reviled for her pregnancy.</div>
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When she was giving birth in a stable.</div>
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When she had to flee to a foreign land amid the cries of other mothers whose babies were being slaughtered.</div>
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While she searched for THREE days for her 12 year old.</div>
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While she watched Him be rejected in their own home town.</div>
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And finally, as she stood at the foot of the cross upon which hung her baby boy. If <i>ever</i> a woman needed a treasure it had to be in that moment. So she pulled out those promises as an assurance to her that <i><b>even this</b></i> was part of God's plan and would work out as it should in the end.</div>
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When I have talks with my stressing self, a lot, I have to tell myself the saying "don't doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light". Mary is a shining example of that because there hasn't been a darker time than the cross when God turned His face away from Jesus- and even more so if that was your child hanging there. I'm not saying that Mary didn't doubt or didn't fear then, but the fact that she didn't curl in the dust and die herself, as I might have done if it were one of my boys, shows me that she was holding tight to her "treasure"!</div>
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I've had some "foot of the cross moments" this summer at the hospice bedside of my precious mother-in-law. Those faith-trying moments when you see someone you love suffer so much that you believe in God's promises of life after death and beg Him to come get her. Yeah, I was squeezing onto some treasure for dear life in those moments. Perhaps, a little like Mary, His promises were the only thing keeping me from completely curling into a ball and giving into complete despare.</div>
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I love thinking about scripture, the thoughts and feelings of these heroes of the faith. But I also am asking myself what this means for my life. Right now my days and hours are revolving around homeschool planning. So, today my thoughts went immediately to how treasuring relates to that. I know without a doubt that God called our family to homeschooling because I certainly would never have dreamed up something so crazy- heehee (<a href="http://homeschoolorbust.blogspot.com/2009/01/divine-cofirmation.html" target="_blank">here's my post about the first confirmation he gave me</a>). </div>
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But then there are <i>those </i>days. The ones where the enemy tells me I'm screwing up my children's entire lives because I'm not doing enough. Yeah, I hate those days. So, I've always repeated my dark and light saying to talk myself off that cliff. But now I'm going to be more like Mary. I'm going to stop and pull out the promises God made to me and hold them up to my current struggle to show myself (and silence the voice of the enemy) that even though things may seem hard right now that God's got this and it will work out in the end. </div>
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What could be a greater treasure?</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-21489478760225028752015-08-04T07:32:00.003-07:002015-08-04T07:32:35.329-07:00Reasons I Love CC #16......Essentials Chart Copying- EXTREME Version....<div style="text-align: center;">
An important part of Classical Conversation's Essentials program (and classical education in general) is copying to learn. Our Essentials notebook has these great charts which break down all the Essentials (hence the name) of grammar. They are encouraged to copy at least one chart a day.</div>
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Our awesome Essentials tutor came up with a great idea to challenge the class to set a goal of how many charts they could copy. Their class of 12 was up to 450 in less than a month! It was so impressive!<br />
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She also had a mom chart copying contest. It was so hard for me to find time to copy charts, but it was well worth it. I have learned so much in Essentials class and I'm an English major! Once I started copying charts myself I really learned what an effective way to learn that was. I have to confess I may have had doubts about if simple copying was an effective method to learn.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: red;">Why do I keep doubting? </span></i></b><br />
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I truly learned everything at a deeper level by chart copying! I'm determined to incorporate copying into other areas of things we need to learn which right now is Latin declensions!!!<br />
The best part of the contest was it motivated my daughter to copy charts<br />
We had some intense competitors in her class who copied more than I ever could've imagined possible (they have to have carpal tunnel!) which discouraged my daughter who struggles with writing.<br />
Enter the "Extreme Chart Copying" part of the competition! They had to copy charts in weird places and text the pictures to their tutor. The kids L.O.V.E.D. it. Our Essential's tutor (being the genius that she is) awarded that prize to kids who weren't able to copy massive amounts for different reasons so everyone ended up being recognized and celebrated.<br />
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We had fun thinking of places to copy charts, and it helped me feel less guilty about running errands during school hours :)<br />
to the phone store:</div>
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to Walmart:</div>
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watching Dr. Who, cough, cough....</div>
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We both couldn't wait to go find some extreme places at my grandmother's farm.</div>
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Like the roof:</div>
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where she was a little nervous :)</div>
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and then, of course, my dad had to lock her out and she became a LOT nervous!</div>
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The roof might have won her the contest, but the outhouse sealed the deal!</div>
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Yes, my dad has an outhouse, but luckily for her it's more for a conversation piece than use!</div>
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She was doing all of this with my dad who was loving it as much as she did (I get my "grab the camera" instinct from him!).</div>
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It was nice to not have to nag her about chart copying and to see her get so into it! Of course, with the moms competing too she nagged me quite a bit, but it was so cool to do it together. I still stand amazed that I learned so much from copying, and feel old that my hand hurt so much after copying just one chart!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-32099266233429463232015-04-13T15:15:00.001-07:002015-04-13T15:15:36.354-07:00Reasons I Love CC #1.....It Works!<div style="text-align: center;">
My daughter chose Clara Barton to research and do her Faces of History report for Essentials (CC's grammar, math and writing program). Therefore, I decided to read aloud a book about her to everyone. We chose the Heroes of History version. They decided to play Legos while I read. I learned early on in my homeschooling career that kids listen better when they can keep their hands busy. Of course, sometimes I wonder if they are really listening, but every time I ask them a question they repeat back the exact words I said!</div>
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When I first learned about Classical Conversations I wondered about all the memorization they do. My public school teacher self wondered if that was just the lowest form of learning. Boy was I wrong! It was explained to me that when kids memorize facts it gives them a peg to hang any knowledge they come across upon. I have seen how much my kids are learning this year, but today I really got to see it in action.</div>
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We were on the chapter about Clara Barton's service during the Civil War. I could hardly read for the boys interrupting me excitedly saying, "I know about that!" They started spouting off their history sentences about Lincoln, Lee, and the Civil War. They truly understood it more because they already had a basic understanding of the big picture of that time period. Plus, because it sounds familiar to them and they are proud to know about it, they are instantly engaged. </div>
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This was such a great time. They loved this book so much that they have begged me to order some more Heroes of History biographies! It was so wonderful to get such a confirmation that this method truly works and that my kids are flourishing with the classical method!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-41916988696673399832015-04-13T12:00:00.000-07:002015-04-13T12:00:31.994-07:00A Perfect Day...<div style="text-align: center;">
I'm ashamed to admit that way too often as a homeschooling mom I listen to my doubts and insecurities (which certainly don't come from my heavenly father) and think I'm the worst mom/teacher ever. No days are perfect, and we should never expect them to be no matter how perfect other moms look on their blogs :) BUT sometimes, you have one of those days where you think you are really rocking this homeschool thing!</div>
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Ours all started when my daughter was invited to spend the weekend with her bestie (who recently moved to London!) at her grandmother's house. Her face looked something like this:</div>
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After we took big brother to his Challenge B class and sister to her weekend get away, it was just me and these two cuties. Since their older siblings' schoolwork can be so challenging that they need me, I feel like these two get the shaft sometimes. That just made me even more excited to have this alone time with them.</div>
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There were some American history books that go along with CC cycle 3 that I wanted to read to them. I had read them to my older kids when they were younger so since they had already heard them this was a great time to read them. They worked on puzzles while I read to them. We read two entire chapter books: <u>The Bears on Hemlock Mountain</u> and <u>Sarah Witcher's Story!</u> They listened and were really into them the whole time. It was epic! I may have called my husband to brag.</div>
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We love our All About Spelling program, but the boys aren't thrilled when I pull out a big stack of their review cards for them to read. So, today I tried something different. I made a little path of them, and they drove their cars and jets on them. In order to move on they had to read the words on the cards.</div>
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We got through more cards than ever before!</div>
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Will especially gets overwhelmed when faced with a large stack of cards, but he really got into this. Any time I can find something super active for him he does so much better.</div>
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Next, we did not one but TWO Saxon math lessons!</div>
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The first one had pattern blocks- their all-time favorite manipulative.</div>
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They will play with these things for an hour. Wesley made a deer.</div>
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I can't remember what animal he built, but he was super proud of it.</div>
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And then it's fun to play with the bag....</div>
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Our 2nd lesson was on weighing so I made these little boxes with different items in them. They had to measure and determine which ones were the heaviest.</div>
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They did really well with this and worked well as a team.</div>
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I love watching them do their Saxon worksheets. It brings back such memories of when we started homeschooling and I did these with their big bro.</div>
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We had an ideal homeschooling day together. Then big brother got home and this happened...</div>
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Now you see why we don't get as much done when he's home......</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-13461341022144221892015-04-13T10:54:00.002-07:002015-04-13T10:54:24.167-07:00Reasons I Love CC #39; Presentation Time...<div style="text-align: center;">
Every week in Classical Conversations the kids give a presentation. The tutors give topic suggestions, but you can choose what you want your kids to present about. As the director I am popping in and out of classrooms so I don't always get to see my kids' presentations. This day I made it a point to see them because they were so excited about them.</div>
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This is Will telling all about his Blue Angels jet. He was so cute I could eat him up!</div>
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Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-34053636073255687842014-10-16T10:49:00.000-07:002015-04-13T10:50:42.059-07:00Reason #68 I Love CC: Fall Break...<div style="text-align: center;">
So, here I am at my happy place for my birthday, no less. We aren't even missing school which is such a blessing. </div>
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Despite how this picture looks, the beach was not very crowded (vacationing in the off season is one of my favorite things about homeschooling). It was just what we all needed to refresh ourselves and be together as a family.</div>
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Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-60531090660460771012014-10-10T21:14:00.000-07:002014-10-10T21:14:20.526-07:00Challenge B: an Answered Prayer...<div style="text-align: center;">
When we first decided to change from our tutorial we had been at for 4 years, our son was a little worried. A few of his friends were also returning to public school, so he even mentioned that for the first time ever. He's also very much like me in that change makes me nervous (when we were looking for a new church one time my husband called me a church chicken!). I so wanted him to be happy in his Challenge group. I was also worried he would rebel against all the hard work.</div>
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So, my husband and I began praying about it. We prayed fervently all summer that he would make new friends and enjoy Challenge B. They had a few get-togethers that seemed to help, but I was still worried that the work load would turn him off.</div>
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Then class started. I was a little nervous after the parent meetings and looking at the assignments, but he wasn't at all. He loved it. Sometimes I wish he'd be a <i>little</i> more stressed just so it would light a fire under him to get things done :)</div>
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I'm so impressed with everything about the Challenge program. One of best parts is it is such a great blend of schoolwork and a great social outlet. Part of his willingly doing the work is due to peer pressure- but the good kind! I'll take all the help I can get getting him to do his work. He has made such great friends which makes this mommy very grateful.</div>
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It's not just the social part though, I can really see the things he's learning beginning to impact him. He has loved both the books, which is saying something for him. Then the ultimate confirmation came last week. We were to leave for the beach Saturday, and Thursday we were joking about jumping in the car and leave early. Jackson said he didn't want to miss school! Really, for the beach???</div>
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Then when we were at the beach we were trying to decide what our fun activity would be- renting jet skis or a pontoon boat. Jackson said, "We should make an ANI chart!" He got a piece of paper and wrote down all the Affirmatives and Negatives for renting a pontoon boat. I had to send a picture to his tutor to show her it was soaking in!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMiAPIRtlLT_G8kP7dfK6cPnQXFRPN1ubb85hBngflxFUs9bH2755elYVg71Wr8ouGzjpwWmqVYmPHy__F7fY_r1tjYhB1YFV0A2E7ObmpHBO8Qc8k-uWxgIOls9TZ9K4oyMUjXuZ8_WXA/s640/blogger-image-844636652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMiAPIRtlLT_G8kP7dfK6cPnQXFRPN1ubb85hBngflxFUs9bH2755elYVg71Wr8ouGzjpwWmqVYmPHy__F7fY_r1tjYhB1YFV0A2E7ObmpHBO8Qc8k-uWxgIOls9TZ9K4oyMUjXuZ8_WXA/s640/blogger-image-844636652.jpg" /></a></div>
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My husband and I truly believe that God answered our prayers. Our son is happy and flourishing, and we are reassuringly confident that Challenge B is just what he needed. As everything in CC, it has been a great blessing to our family.</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-44172082488670307572014-05-02T13:12:00.000-07:002014-05-02T13:12:20.794-07:00Nature Walk...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Since my hubby was gone all week on a mission trip to Nicaragua, we decided to go stay with my mom. She had found a new park for us to check out. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. We even brought our dog who loved it. Will is always a great poser!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhBzrkTgvJpj5Rd3gm0s7dcIfvLKX7Qwg2Dbzu4_A9NlM7FNfXJpuQC1vnQEMFxJUgvXv5pvoGjD0UdcM5Z20QY1t-AsrNMT_hVg5kzpjPxYWoIoRbI06MEpYkOBYjj9ES7D5u-YfyWSk/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhBzrkTgvJpj5Rd3gm0s7dcIfvLKX7Qwg2Dbzu4_A9NlM7FNfXJpuQC1vnQEMFxJUgvXv5pvoGjD0UdcM5Z20QY1t-AsrNMT_hVg5kzpjPxYWoIoRbI06MEpYkOBYjj9ES7D5u-YfyWSk/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+400.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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My family is on that bridge but you can't quite see them. Isn't it beautiful?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6Qq6r4Jk4legfas23LHPoGDopljWwGKsyjN5K3xi7WKIkqwLddxEjRq0KXhSCG-mvbTCABad246XYDaMGMp5J4jlcveUCbUDzi4AUR_abZR5Zsen1lTRoTdweUsqt2PllOrxWzbimpup/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp6Qq6r4Jk4legfas23LHPoGDopljWwGKsyjN5K3xi7WKIkqwLddxEjRq0KXhSCG-mvbTCABad246XYDaMGMp5J4jlcveUCbUDzi4AUR_abZR5Zsen1lTRoTdweUsqt2PllOrxWzbimpup/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+403.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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We loved the bridge because we could see turtles and all the geese with their babies.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wBjfjF6qfagatO1VrtRYrTsk4Nu6dYxQiD4cSK8zaUdYC1IhYauQdvKK0QmMZKOa9yH9ZEs0lQXdBI8x3piXazeLyNURpRKh7Ar0xRCSQwOCD9gcMFkER_KRaljnfxGsrWT9pec5lE2h/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wBjfjF6qfagatO1VrtRYrTsk4Nu6dYxQiD4cSK8zaUdYC1IhYauQdvKK0QmMZKOa9yH9ZEs0lQXdBI8x3piXazeLyNURpRKh7Ar0xRCSQwOCD9gcMFkER_KRaljnfxGsrWT9pec5lE2h/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+406.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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After several tries (sorry Mom, I couldn't resist) Gram snapped a picture of me and my girl. I'm actually in a picture!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNH1MJB8TQ6v97GH9FimD5FqC-ggVXHwnYgUHC2ooySJmylnGDBUL00wRSwYja0e2xIChiaBoTxdcSbLhcQ-03dmZNgWTKYCNt9N-Ik0fQdwiVUPboJ5VEF1cxjhDeCaU_lR_6mpkAz09G/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNH1MJB8TQ6v97GH9FimD5FqC-ggVXHwnYgUHC2ooySJmylnGDBUL00wRSwYja0e2xIChiaBoTxdcSbLhcQ-03dmZNgWTKYCNt9N-Ik0fQdwiVUPboJ5VEF1cxjhDeCaU_lR_6mpkAz09G/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+411.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The boys LOVED the babies!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcKXxRBCYmCB7OQhPmW-bc1SComX72Nk1Ex17v9KPQdWQgw54UpFkD-IWdJ7PbBV8keWox_OtT_lhyphenhyphenof_SdGTRXEFmtKaR5cE-jSbhj8Z3WGz6cwi66-N3Kc2Ne4VDf1POSPakCk9xB04/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvcKXxRBCYmCB7OQhPmW-bc1SComX72Nk1Ex17v9KPQdWQgw54UpFkD-IWdJ7PbBV8keWox_OtT_lhyphenhyphenof_SdGTRXEFmtKaR5cE-jSbhj8Z3WGz6cwi66-N3Kc2Ne4VDf1POSPakCk9xB04/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+413.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had to snap this picture because we found where someone had scratched "I love Will" into the bridge. He thought that was cool.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgU1T5QshJUskQhPsys_OxXAQ58u_On4IXdmVdCLBYpak66VwnvJj4S-HUSD2UJDATPlZWV__GS4g3CkpfXU1xTsTgem7y-26PGVSIeA9sZwXSzJPdQ3X0Tg66X3t682hbdVnhh7JETdy8/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgU1T5QshJUskQhPsys_OxXAQ58u_On4IXdmVdCLBYpak66VwnvJj4S-HUSD2UJDATPlZWV__GS4g3CkpfXU1xTsTgem7y-26PGVSIeA9sZwXSzJPdQ3X0Tg66X3t682hbdVnhh7JETdy8/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+415.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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As we walked we saw tons and tons of turtles. Being a homeschooler, I had to use the opportunity to teach them about reptiles and what it means to be cold-blooded. To top off our great walk we saw this snake hanging out on this branch.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ab2CVqd0Ujkbm3ql6Y3vWW-b2VNKAFKDanDtdsNNGiSlJ6cyHe3sPM_wI2yTtsQqu0ZMneR2FjAPN-u5KNPMRRWfdVuHyttRw9ibOrqZ8VMIoQ-buX_DbQLd9kBkDGhj9G8oKfme1UXh/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ab2CVqd0Ujkbm3ql6Y3vWW-b2VNKAFKDanDtdsNNGiSlJ6cyHe3sPM_wI2yTtsQqu0ZMneR2FjAPN-u5KNPMRRWfdVuHyttRw9ibOrqZ8VMIoQ-buX_DbQLd9kBkDGhj9G8oKfme1UXh/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+416.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Luke watched over his kids.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFEKQ-PdSxz0ENHGn5lE9iHu5MnZES4fgjxNju9T-EcCWkNG86TZk8BeedRQItSkf94_vFgb1ZkHhxaBv5In0kY0XqC7i4C-0e_uHifrtqAqJdCjM6i04mVetTjw6Mg5RCvpFeIJJOplU/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFEKQ-PdSxz0ENHGn5lE9iHu5MnZES4fgjxNju9T-EcCWkNG86TZk8BeedRQItSkf94_vFgb1ZkHhxaBv5In0kY0XqC7i4C-0e_uHifrtqAqJdCjM6i04mVetTjw6Mg5RCvpFeIJJOplU/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+419.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some little cute stinker talked big bro into carrying him.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_RDKeTDgXwQOkrB6lBYPC6V258HZjZd6G4AGeH6Zlhtu8l_wGP5fYJQB9pNxP7Q_zKax8_HUyznPxSYk4X3IPPes-d_5QWelV9AKIgXBnegfx7ml1Wy-lqHINT3nKKtLigGQ0UPiJi9X/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja_RDKeTDgXwQOkrB6lBYPC6V258HZjZd6G4AGeH6Zlhtu8l_wGP5fYJQB9pNxP7Q_zKax8_HUyznPxSYk4X3IPPes-d_5QWelV9AKIgXBnegfx7ml1Wy-lqHINT3nKKtLigGQ0UPiJi9X/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+420.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I love this picture so much I may frame it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQ0smEeyKouX4RIz0pwDV1M6LC-U5TpOrRNSgXUlnsIiN6NY0jb5vmpkz0tVwucc6bGYoZL5QwPgwIOJ1ZCL4I5B5gpIBkr3zsMw4VGRKH8FHFN3FU_tO1yOR19Qo2b_VJSFQdUprZxQR/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQ0smEeyKouX4RIz0pwDV1M6LC-U5TpOrRNSgXUlnsIiN6NY0jb5vmpkz0tVwucc6bGYoZL5QwPgwIOJ1ZCL4I5B5gpIBkr3zsMw4VGRKH8FHFN3FU_tO1yOR19Qo2b_VJSFQdUprZxQR/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+421.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This one melts my heart!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghV5Ljig3btcP9djsUbavnmmadRHzkRoq385pAww6LrWiGdFU9X73h_hBrOMPRRH_IjPHR8O9LvHiVOoUtZ7iOQ1GZJaKdUXecsd2nUIQzQ2cDKUECd5q5qX5rxcenhjHbehc6onTUt4oO/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghV5Ljig3btcP9djsUbavnmmadRHzkRoq385pAww6LrWiGdFU9X73h_hBrOMPRRH_IjPHR8O9LvHiVOoUtZ7iOQ1GZJaKdUXecsd2nUIQzQ2cDKUECd5q5qX5rxcenhjHbehc6onTUt4oO/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+430.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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As we were leaving they were making a movie about the city and asked us if we would be in it because a family out walking their dog was perfect. So we walked across the bridge a couple of times while they filmed us. We will keep watching the website looking for our debut! At least it will be a fun story to tell daddy when he gets home!</div>
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We spent the night and, let the record show, got up and did some school in the morning. It was fun doing it somewhere different. I enjoyed having a co-teacher as Gram did Bible with Ashton.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1VtQka15nov-zEwwjpn9P66Vl5uorc3BxgDEc_hidpPHmP0Os7ssajhzrCIeSzBzVpMvZVVD_ozJbqQgAQNQ8WKA526st12mQ8aPT0jdULO2cNkwYWeLwPxiQvxQydI4dE2wb4xoj_tW/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv1VtQka15nov-zEwwjpn9P66Vl5uorc3BxgDEc_hidpPHmP0Os7ssajhzrCIeSzBzVpMvZVVD_ozJbqQgAQNQ8WKA526st12mQ8aPT0jdULO2cNkwYWeLwPxiQvxQydI4dE2wb4xoj_tW/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+435.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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We just started a new math program and they are doing great on it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOPy-hR2htQH3tZgXn_RHIVVvC4yejPuMD9_MQ_9mo3ngOOIu52EK623V9rDc4F6ysMvmXYzpZ8Yy_okiwKCHLrlZ1A4NOpbvE0HrwZlHdtzOBuBEW3jjLgPfEsuuC1xRrN2o2jKchD-4/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOPy-hR2htQH3tZgXn_RHIVVvC4yejPuMD9_MQ_9mo3ngOOIu52EK623V9rDc4F6ysMvmXYzpZ8Yy_okiwKCHLrlZ1A4NOpbvE0HrwZlHdtzOBuBEW3jjLgPfEsuuC1xRrN2o2jKchD-4/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+438.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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When a 13 year old sees you taking pictures they have to be goof balls...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBbvQvfiryZX2sfC_9B78d7CuaSvvfg1Jjynhj8R6Hd409F2uBmSFSuLQXwuWJirezPyKm8dw3YWKbjlYFggjPP4m9dTfBZhYVjFyEkjjBd71YnOLOgc7HF6aHW7gA3fItoHPSP3st-6W/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitBbvQvfiryZX2sfC_9B78d7CuaSvvfg1Jjynhj8R6Hd409F2uBmSFSuLQXwuWJirezPyKm8dw3YWKbjlYFggjPP4m9dTfBZhYVjFyEkjjBd71YnOLOgc7HF6aHW7gA3fItoHPSP3st-6W/s1600/Tonya's+phone+2013-14+440.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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We had a great visit. The kids spent hours and hours playing outside and in the creek. We love being here. I'm thinking we should just move in. It takes a village after all!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-20146399561530716022014-05-02T10:54:00.003-07:002014-05-02T11:20:23.534-07:00Our New Adventure...<div style="text-align: center;">
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For four years we have been part of a great tutorial. It is led by some of the godliest women I know who I have the pleasure of calling some of my dearest friends. I have also been the history teacher there for four years teaching all 4 volumes of Story of the World. I loved teaching. It was great to be back in a classroom setting again teaching the most precious children. It has been a pleasure to relearn history by looking at it as His-story. I loved the families in our tutorial and have been blessed beyond measure by our participation in it!</div>
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However, after much prayerful consideration we have decided to do something different this upcoming year- Classical Conversations. With the twins starting kindergarten this year my official student load doubled! I have just felt so overwhelmed trying to teach 2 kids to read, a fifth grader who has been diagnosed with an eye problem (convergence insufficiency) requiring therapy at home and 45 minutes away, and a middle schooler diving into Latin and chemistry!</div>
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I have always felt this constant pressure to reinvent the wheel in my homeschooling. I am also always stressed about filling in the gaps. Confession time: my kids have never learned about plants. How did that happen? Along with that comes the mommy guilt all homeschoolers face of "Am I messing them up?", "Can I do this?", "Are they missing out on things by not being in public school?" Of course, I know that God called us to this and it is absolutely the right things for my kids, but the devil certainly knows how to attack me in my thoughts and doubts.</div>
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I don't want to have to worry about missing things on the "2nd go round" with the twins so I really wanted something that was laid out K-12. We had visited a friend's Classical Conversations Community the year before, and I was blown away by how much my kids learned in just that one visit. I knew the fast pace would be great for my very active boys, and the auditory aspect is ideal for my daughter.</div>
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With all of that said, there is nothing I enjoy more than lesson planning- no seriously! I love reading blogs and pinning ideas on Pinterest. Therefore, I wanted a curriculum that was laid out but not scripted. I am just enough of a rebel that I don't want it to tell me what to say and when (that is terrible, I know). I feel that Classical Conversations gives me an outline of what to cover but allows me the freedom to decide how deep I want to go. This cycle we will be studying the human body. When we get to the five senses I already have some cool hands-on activities and crafts I'm planning to do.</div>
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<b><i>But here is the beauty part</i></b>: if life gets busy (as it does more often than not) and we don't get to all that hands-on goodness, it's OK. Did you guilt-ridden mommies hear that? It's OK if I'm only able to do the CC memory work with some math and reading because they are <i>still</i> learning a huge amount of information. There is such freedom in that- freedom from guilt of not doing over-the-top crafts every day while still allowing me freedom to do things the way that best fits my kids. The thought of it makes me giddy :)</div>
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So now that you know I'm a planning geek, I am hoping to use this blog to document our new adventure and share anything I figure out that might help others as we begin our new classical adventure!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-33024810920151476712013-08-22T11:17:00.000-07:002014-05-02T11:37:26.412-07:00Story of the World Year 4 Week 1...I always assign some kind of get to know you activity which is due the first day of tutorial. I always try to make the activity relate to what we are studying that year. For example, the first year they made timelines of their lives. The 2nd year they made a coat of arms since we were studying medieval times. Last year they had a trunk pop-up and they had to illustrate and tell the class what 5 items they would've taken with them on the Mayflower if they were a Pilgrim.<br />
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I was really struggling with what to do this year. First of all, I am now teaching history to 4th grade-8th grade verses 2nd through 5th I've done in the past so I wanted something a little more age appropriate than a pop-up. Secondly, I've never really considered how war ridden the last century has been until I began thinking about teaching it! <br />
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During one of my insomnia brainstorming nights with the help of Pinterest I hit upon the perfect solution. Since we will be working our way all the way to modern times I wanted the kids to realize that they are part of HIS-story too. So, I decided to give them an assignment to research their family history. Plus, I really wanted them to make the connection that they have people in their families that lived through these events we are studying!!! I truly believe I fell in love with history by hearing my grandmother tell about how her dresses were all made of flower sacks or my grandfather tell about how on his way to Korea another soldier missed his birthday when they sailed over the International Date Line.<br />
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I found <a href="http://i0.wp.com/thehouseofhendrix.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/interview.jpg" target="_blank">this great list</a> of questions to use to interview your grandparents. I adapted it a little.<br />
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My kids are both in my class so one of they each interviewed a different great-grandmother. We all enjoyed spending time talking with both of them.<br />
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The kids all had to talk about their interviews for about three minutes in class. It was truly fascinating to see how many different places and interesting lives the kids' families have had! It sparked so many conversations and got us all excited about learning history! It was my favorite back to school activity ever!<br />
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The rest of the class was spent organizing our notebooks, passing out their timelines, and doing the map of Great Britain.<br />
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I was so blown away that I now have 45 students between my 4 classes, but the day went great and was really enjoyable. I'm excited about this year.Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-67910460898858253902013-08-13T19:29:00.002-07:002013-08-13T19:29:56.329-07:00First Day of School 2013-2014...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Well, after a ridiculously busy and therefore short summer the first full day of school was upon us. </div>
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The last few weeks I have been frantically planning and organizing to make sure it is a good year, although I could use about another month to plan and organize! I have also been trying to anoint all the plans and preparations in prayer because I finally understand that there is NO way I can do what I've been called to do, but I can do ALL things through HIM who gives me strength.</div>
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So far, my best idea has been assigning daily meal helpers. I have 4 kids and we are home 4 days a week (Thursdays we go to our tutorial) so I assigned a helper for 4 meals: breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner. They have to either prepare or help me prepare their meal and clean up after. It has been such a great help in the two days we've done it so far!</div>
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Sweet Sissy was my breakfast helper on the first day and was excited because pancakes are her favorite things to cook. Plus, her pretty smile makes cooking more fun :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCOvDMtZciX17fcDrjGJCVRmBwwIBL3sOdl7ZHhEhi4r2z5RJJ3KOPd-HcC2zTjd6B4UKxys8Ec6heBu8DB85Wf9vnNwJcFKO4REFqvzaL3or1DFTfMDM90Ze3Wgbdljkq6CYxI6AMsc7/s1600/July-Aug2013+260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCOvDMtZciX17fcDrjGJCVRmBwwIBL3sOdl7ZHhEhi4r2z5RJJ3KOPd-HcC2zTjd6B4UKxys8Ec6heBu8DB85Wf9vnNwJcFKO4REFqvzaL3or1DFTfMDM90Ze3Wgbdljkq6CYxI6AMsc7/s320/July-Aug2013+260.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I usually do cinnamon rolls in the shape of their grade, but we also do that for birthdays so I thought I'd try something new this year- pancake numbers:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9Jp1pNUZXEl7xNmwmzWgZqBDszTjjfuZ_-IB1LLZjjFDqQwB35A6LHBY6KiCh-AnzOu4ubyEI1IDhyphenhyphenGLcoE7xTgwPL-BFF_Jgup8f7twhtQ2-9Gfvzvez_rog-NkKN8DmKIlFmntm-kg/s1600/July-Aug2013+261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9Jp1pNUZXEl7xNmwmzWgZqBDszTjjfuZ_-IB1LLZjjFDqQwB35A6LHBY6KiCh-AnzOu4ubyEI1IDhyphenhyphenGLcoE7xTgwPL-BFF_Jgup8f7twhtQ2-9Gfvzvez_rog-NkKN8DmKIlFmntm-kg/s320/July-Aug2013+261.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Thanks to our new morning schedule before these shining faces sat down they had their quiet time, wrote in their thankful journals (part of their quiet time), made their beds, brushed their teeth and hair (although I think Sissy skipped that step), got dressed and practiced piano or guitar. That's a successful day already in my book!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5IhIwhZL8BpToVVlkoCEuvn5ZwrpVUfszgkg3hjTYfQ3VeCetFlnzG5RjVDC6ZoTXnE9jDJppEo_TOGo9nkbwq9zqJPuW3kRxjBye7F0yLyCNfbtOwnjkqYjAp0MQfxIuONc-a9apdlT/s1600/July-Aug2013+262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5IhIwhZL8BpToVVlkoCEuvn5ZwrpVUfszgkg3hjTYfQ3VeCetFlnzG5RjVDC6ZoTXnE9jDJppEo_TOGo9nkbwq9zqJPuW3kRxjBye7F0yLyCNfbtOwnjkqYjAp0MQfxIuONc-a9apdlT/s320/July-Aug2013+262.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After breakfast and Bible study we come upstairs to the carpet. Today was a giant, important day- the first official day of kindergarten for my two babies! To me, when I think kindergarten I think calendar time. I got some great calendar printables in their notebooks, and we were ready to rock.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5sbvvkThqGsC2avJ3p2GCECsTvFy3cs0qrVzOTN3nMmpC2HVYBh7VdK6nzccRSoJQPBIuav5WQSg1o17vdhK0o7eR20-aviR13VYNnNn2WPDowf4wZAlI0dXXP_o5efsj3EklCl48iRU/s1600/July-Aug2013+265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd5sbvvkThqGsC2avJ3p2GCECsTvFy3cs0qrVzOTN3nMmpC2HVYBh7VdK6nzccRSoJQPBIuav5WQSg1o17vdhK0o7eR20-aviR13VYNnNn2WPDowf4wZAlI0dXXP_o5efsj3EklCl48iRU/s320/July-Aug2013+265.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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My other sweet kindergarten face. I had to document this moment because somehow in the middle of calendar time his arm got stuck in the chair! That sounds about right around here.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOZS8lYQrQfrBX2XX0LnV6Rgw_Ktd22ffvLrdZ3SMBFa4YtOwRHB5fCQVjMKOCw4Wh3jy_vMmCGzota0azIQQGVoz2epmzZJKoO7sgYdci-0xOfjlxs98ioQ1oWKqlZheinyBCmY_uafX/s1600/July-Aug2013+266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOZS8lYQrQfrBX2XX0LnV6Rgw_Ktd22ffvLrdZ3SMBFa4YtOwRHB5fCQVjMKOCw4Wh3jy_vMmCGzota0azIQQGVoz2epmzZJKoO7sgYdci-0xOfjlxs98ioQ1oWKqlZheinyBCmY_uafX/s320/July-Aug2013+266.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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Since it is kindergarten after all there must be dance breaks. This one was to a Seeds of Worship song so it was doubly good.</div>
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I have workboxes set up full of learning games for the boys to pull out during the day. Will was all about the pattern blocks on this day and did them several different times.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjwJxCu2Z9lcuo7PvlwOCIp3tY1niC4u_z5b0Lv0TdhD9QuK5kyPxNEixKxPkdzShX4ckigTX4m-g_mZlfuhEmPOruK8rtQapSxgyEetUr5k_zWd0dw1MXiUFljp8V5GwHUYt-CeubD6q/s1600/July-Aug2013+270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicjwJxCu2Z9lcuo7PvlwOCIp3tY1niC4u_z5b0Lv0TdhD9QuK5kyPxNEixKxPkdzShX4ckigTX4m-g_mZlfuhEmPOruK8rtQapSxgyEetUr5k_zWd0dw1MXiUFljp8V5GwHUYt-CeubD6q/s320/July-Aug2013+270.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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Wesley loved the bears and figuring out they had to be equal to balance. I love his sweet smile!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXYIA9ZUgpxeVIz6DXjUX4_0NNHi89l7_os1c1L1qu51kUk4ZhBHKEsDhxJf_nd8ckGUp10kGNWyaWINQIZ3jFpZRGy83-A4wLccL4XJz-qFRwvsCFx1X28sGcP_O-BOa1o79yykF4U1Y/s1600/July-Aug2013+271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVXYIA9ZUgpxeVIz6DXjUX4_0NNHi89l7_os1c1L1qu51kUk4ZhBHKEsDhxJf_nd8ckGUp10kGNWyaWINQIZ3jFpZRGy83-A4wLccL4XJz-qFRwvsCFx1X28sGcP_O-BOa1o79yykF4U1Y/s320/July-Aug2013+271.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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Although Wesley pretty much knows all his upper and lowercase letters, I still have learning activities for him to practice them.</div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIfC7ayGiV8m0QJbTBnujqfbUWnqqTeITwsKi-BQxQ4LaMVxWxlL5Uysvl6iX0Ke0A4GAzIjFxoKQ8WlEFS_Ztx_Uqp1V8CGzTsu_yqWVytilAwArzW3499RBJIlqFMh-NJyVpy9mpzgbi/s320/July-Aug2013+276.JPG" width="212" /></div>
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One thing I'm infamous for is saying we are going to do art and music at the end of the day and never get to them. I was determined not to let that happen this day at least. I've decided to spend a month, maybe even a semester per composer. So today we kept it simple and just listened to some compositions by Vivaldi. I had them draw what the picture made them think of as they listened. However, they thought it was more fun to use two pencils like a violin and bow and play along! </div>
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Not counting the fact that during recess they rearranged my entire living room to make it into a "jail" for their Nerf gun war which made the biggest mess ever, this was really and truly a picture perfect day. Even Principal Daddy couldn't get over how stress free the teacher was when he came home. Of course, it was four o'clock and she was just finishing reading aloud a book about Patrick Henry, but he learned some new things as he listened so it's all good!</div>
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Never underestimate the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit. </div>
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The Maker of the Universe cares about me having a successful math lesson- </div>
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<strong><em>how amazing is that???</em></strong></div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-72869461333011491592013-08-13T18:56:00.001-07:002013-08-13T18:57:34.824-07:00Reading Workshop Day 1...When I was teaching public school my very favorite part of the day was our Reading and Writing Workshops. This year I want to make this our priority in our homeschool because if I can teach them one thing I want it to be to love reading.<br />
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Patricia Polacco is my VERY favorite children's author so I decided to kick the year off with a great book of hers about the importance of reading. I read them <u>Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair</u>. It's about a town that closes their library to put up a TV tower. It was a really sweet book, and I hardly cried! The kids love for me to read her books because they ALWAYS make me tear up. They think it is hilarious :)<br />
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Then we went over our notebooks. We probably have too many. I <em>may </em>have an addiction to notebooks :) We have spiral notebooks where we keep their list of books they read throughout the year plus a genre graph to see what types of books they are reading.<br />
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They also have a brand new Reading Response notebook. When I taught school I always gave homework three nights a week to read for twenty minutes and write me a short letter about what they read. Then I would write them back, and we would talk reading. It was a great way to get to know my students. Since there are too many books and not enough time, I decided my kids could have some homework too. So, this year they will have to read for 20 minutes and write me a letter two times a week. I even put it at the bottom of their weekly assignment page so they won't forget.<br />
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The most important one is their Reading Notebook. This is where they take notes from our mini-lessons. We are using the same one they had last year so we can just review the lessons we did last year. I will try to post pictures of this soon.<br />
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So, we basically just reviewed all these and got to the best part- reading time. They read for at least 20 minutes but ideally 30 minutes a day. For the most part, they get to pick their own books. However, this year I get to pick a book a month that they must read. I tried to pick books they'd enjoy but were classics that I wanted to make sure they read. Sometimes they also will read their Sonlight history books.<br />
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We are experimenting with a reading log where they have to write down what book and pages they read each day. I'd love to have this information because I'm interested in increasing their reading speed, but we will see if it worth keeping up with one more paper.<br />
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Day one wasn't anything too special besides a great book, but it set us up for lots of great learning together this year!Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-37806404445752315472013-08-12T21:18:00.002-07:002013-08-12T21:18:44.536-07:00Kindergarten Reading Workshop Day 1...Since one of my main goals with the kids this year was to spend a lot more time reading and learning about reading I knew I wanted to include my two kindergartners in on that as well. I've decided to do a reading mini-lesson with them as well while the big kids are having their silent reading time.<br />
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It has been a long time since I have done or read about mini-lessons for kindergartners. I had some last minute planning panic as I sat down to actually plan mini-lessons for the first week. What should I teach my non-readers? My master plan also included them having silent reading time on their own as well, so next I panicked if I would in the real world (as opposed to my favorite world- picture perfect planning family) be able to get them to sit and read quietly <em>when they don't know how to read???</em><br />
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When I read up on the Daily 5 and from hanging out with my teacher friends, I knew that they had to build "reading stamina" so I would work them into reading a little longer each day. As I tried to picture what that time would look like a good reading instruction term popped into my head and mini-lesson #1 was born.<br />
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So, today I had them sit on the carpet and I very dramatically told them I had a book for them that they had never read before. I had the book turned around and told them when I turned it over they had to use their best reading thinking and make some predictions as to what it was about.<br />
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They were part of the opening Reading Workshop Lesson I did with all the kids where I read them Patricia Polacco's <u>Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair</u>. I reminded them how we learned in that book that "Books hold treasures and the key to unlocking the treasure is reading". Then I dramatically explained to them that this was their kindergarten year which meant that they were going to get the key to the treasure- learning to read. However, they don't have it yet so today we were going to learn one way to read which was reading by the pictures.<br />
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I turned the book over. It was <u>If You Take a Mouse to School</u> (I'd like to tell you I researched the perfect book for this lesson but really at the last minute I grabbed the first book I could find that I hadn't read to them yet. It was PERFECT!). They have read <u>If You Give A Mouse a Cookie</u> which worked out beautifully because they understood the flow of the story and were better able to make good predictions based on the pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh46AHBMLACvA3fOxKr0byzdgxriDFv7qb1xbz_Pi08n2s8rI2v8vYh-tSzkaKClPbbTwA8uWqp2JfmKjK0K5JgY4ePzrJ3w1k0bayottGWkHvfZpFEE0dI2WW9VAdqKAAnyr_pIPiXlL/s1600/July-Aug2013+272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh46AHBMLACvA3fOxKr0byzdgxriDFv7qb1xbz_Pi08n2s8rI2v8vYh-tSzkaKClPbbTwA8uWqp2JfmKjK0K5JgY4ePzrJ3w1k0bayottGWkHvfZpFEE0dI2WW9VAdqKAAnyr_pIPiXlL/s320/July-Aug2013+272.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I told them we were going to "picture walk" through the book, and they were to tell me what happens by looking at the pictures. Then I literally made my two fingers walk across the book as we turned each page. They LOVED it!<br />
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After all their great predictions we read the book and talked about how well they predicted what would happen. Then I got my timer out and explained that now they GOT to go read quietly on their own. I showed them the timer and we counted out 4 minutes together. I laid out all the other books in that series and told them they could choose one of them or another book from their shelf. <br />
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Interestingly, Will grabbed three books but actually spent the entire time rereading the one we had done together. He's my very active child, but if you get him to buy into an activity there is none better. Well, I must have sold this well because he took his books to his table and didn't look up until the timer went off!<br />
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Wesley, God bless him, is going to struggle with the silent part of silent reading! He's my chatty kid. Well, one of two I should say (Big sister was in her room reading!). In his defense, he was sitting close to me and was just telling me about the book so it was good!<br />
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They read perfectly for 4 minutes today, and we will try 5 tomorrow. At the dinner table when they had to tell Daddy what they learned and what their favorite thing was they both answered "Picture Walking" for both so I'm counting Reading Workshop Day 1 as a complete success!<br />
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Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-45178995310747918302013-06-26T19:07:00.002-07:002013-06-26T19:07:44.579-07:00Bible Drill...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-88539343930850852082013-05-02T11:35:00.000-07:002014-05-02T11:36:31.570-07:00Presentation Night...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our tutorial has a great night where kids get to display all their work they've done that year. It was fun pulling out all the stuff the twins had done. They did more than I had thought- pretty good for pre-K! They were very proud to show it off too.</div>
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Sissy showed off her awesome Saturn project.</div>
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Jackson had his earth project to share. We have also been doing a lot of chalk pastels from tutorials at HodgePodge which made for a great display!</div>
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The kids also get to show off a talent. Ashton sang "Glory to God". I know you shouldn't be prideful: but my girl <i style="font-weight: bold;">rocked </i>it! Seriously, it brought tears to my eyes. I was so proud of her.</div>
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Sweet Mrs. Renee gave her a great singing lesson and played piano for her because if she was dependent upon my knowledge... let's just thank God for talented friends!</div>
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We love Presentation Night and being able to show the family what we've been working on. It was a great night we will never forget.</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-34759853559671703042013-05-02T11:27:00.000-07:002014-05-02T11:36:55.513-07:00Weekly Wrap Up: Sonlight P4/5 Week 1...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We used our super cool Sonlight case to make a castle. They thought that was really cool.</div>
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We were reading about eggs and chicks so we broke out the ipad (which by some miracle was actually charged) and watched a video of an egg hatching. The boys loved this. I need to do this more.</div>
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Sissy took this. I wish I could remember what we were laughing about. I think it was a funny nursery rhyme or maybe something these silly boys said.</div>
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Nothing beats snuggling with my boys reading.</div>
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This week we were just beginning our new Sonlight p4/5 and really enjoyed it. It helped me be more intentional with my boys which is what we needed.</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-65024217350903089012013-03-14T18:58:00.000-07:002013-03-14T18:58:32.984-07:00Float or Sink? Sonlight P4/5 Week 3...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This week the instructor's manual suggested doing a floating and sinking activity which I knew my boys would be all about. One of my main goals is to start doing a LOT more science because they are eating it up.</div>
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I found a floating and sinking worksheet so tried to find items to test that matched the pictures on the worksheet. We headed to the bathtub to test them, but first they had to come up with a prediction of whether they'd float or sink.</div>
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Their faces were <em>priceless</em> because they would get so excited if something did the opposite of what they expected. I kept trying to snap a picture, but this was as close as I got. This is Will's "wow" face:</div>
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We used our big foam letters and sounded out what letter "float" and "sink" start with then labeled our bins. The items on the side were great learning experiences because they learned they float on top of the water but sink if filled with water. That was a fun add-on to the lesson.</div>
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Then they had to cut apart the pictures on their worksheet and glue them under "float" or "sink". And, yes, we like to work with no shirts on- especially if they happen to get wet when you play in the tub full of water you were supposed to be using for your experiemnt :) </div>
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We had an interesting discussion on where would be the best place to glue the pictures of the items that did both- float and sink (depending on if they had water in them). I loved how they were really thinking!</div>
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I've been thining floating and sinking would be good to do, but I probably wouldn't have gotten around to doing floating and sinking if it hadn't been mentioned in my Sonlight teacher manual. I am such a planner though that I have to say I am adding a lot of stuff into our Sonlight studies that I don't really <em>have </em>to but that's what I enjoy doing. That makes it Ok, right? Of course, it also means we are getting "behind" in our Sonlight reading though- again, that's OK too. I have to keep reminding myself to just breathe and enjoy!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-11734564520586259342013-02-16T19:36:00.000-08:002013-02-16T19:36:03.049-08:00Weekly Wrap Up...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had a great week in homeschool this week. It started off great when my awesome hubby finished my Ikea inspired bookshelves! You can see the little green and red beauties behind our pictures. We were all excited.</div>
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I had this cool spy dude show up. I wonder if he noticed the twin doing bunny ears behind him???</div>
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One of those miraculous moments where they seemed to like each other :)</div>
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We decided to start our day with a dance break!</div>
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We start our day with our Grapevine Bible study stick figuring our way through the Old Testament. I LOVE this Bible study, and it's so cool that we can all do it together. This was Adam and Eve:</div>
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After we finish our Bible study, the twins have activity pages they do in their notebooks while I work with the big kids on history or Bible drill. Will is my most active child so I am always so pleasantly when he works so dilligently.</div>
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Wesley works to but does only the exact number of pages I tell him he has to :)</div>
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After they finished their pages, they get to go pick a learning toy (made much easier now that they are in the green bins at their height!). Will picked the people builders and built a heart for me. That's me and him in the middle- I love my boys!!!</div>
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Meanwhile, Ashton is working on taking notes from our reading minilesson.</div>
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While Wesley built a tower, Will made a seahorse- complete with a pouch for their babies. I thought it was very creative.</div>
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I told them all if they worked hard they could use their desks and notebooks to make a ramp for their remote control cars. It made for great motivation!</div>
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Jackson enjoyed his spider book so much. He must get it from his father who keeps a brown recluse as a pet on his desk at work...</div>
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I can't remember why but these two were giving me their stubborn looks:</div>
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We played basketball to study for Bible drill- they had to answer questions to earn a shot. These two were celebrating their win.</div>
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While I read history to them, they all get to choose a toy to play with.</div>
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I was a little surprised my 11 year old chose blocks, heehee.</div>
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This picture represents a miracle: WILL VOLUNTARILY PICKING UP TOYS THAT HE WASN'T EVEN PLAYING WITH!!!! It made every penny and hour spent building those bins totally worth it!</div>
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These pictures are all from one day, but overall it was a great week.</div>
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I'm SO excited to be blogging again and able to link up to the <a href="http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/2013/02/weekly-wrap-up-the-one-with-the-video/" target="_blank">weekly wrap up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.</a></div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-34255146364575176592013-02-16T18:23:00.000-08:002013-02-16T18:23:29.384-08:00Sweet Sister Story Time....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ashton is such a good big sis. It's such a blessing when she reads to the boys at bedtime. I think this is one of the sweetest sights ever (even if she is reading them her favorite books like Pinkalicious). This reminds me if our first days of homeschooling when they were only 18 months old but she had them trained to go sit down when they saw her coming with a book :)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNj2zmaJEaQQ6fIFzkpGxAOZctp4oAJBUvi2JDbzdimHcIHcaWljJYk9miCs8tpbvB4b2_OwGhP69OFjsrNqXZSBWxI6wD_w-FT_Y34henKBBDrFqJ-DIyqIN46Z_VJmceEtBpHoVAPau/s640/blogger-image-336513943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNj2zmaJEaQQ6fIFzkpGxAOZctp4oAJBUvi2JDbzdimHcIHcaWljJYk9miCs8tpbvB4b2_OwGhP69OFjsrNqXZSBWxI6wD_w-FT_Y34henKBBDrFqJ-DIyqIN46Z_VJmceEtBpHoVAPau/s640/blogger-image-336513943.jpg" /></a></div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-89386501673467042292013-02-16T18:17:00.000-08:002013-02-16T18:17:50.249-08:00Wordless Wednesday...Library Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98vFth6Zc364nt4l51OAu3Z0r4nvcqJ8VhBMYKmU5OM-KJcHW9QcXLy75YHUnCGRDUNqKRnRaAU_UAhR7GytjP8bVQxvRaAsu4IQ_l4y5G95LszkeXwot-8glBcEGgJGW0NPQGjph492u/s640/blogger-image-1864992783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98vFth6Zc364nt4l51OAu3Z0r4nvcqJ8VhBMYKmU5OM-KJcHW9QcXLy75YHUnCGRDUNqKRnRaAU_UAhR7GytjP8bVQxvRaAsu4IQ_l4y5G95LszkeXwot-8glBcEGgJGW0NPQGjph492u/s640/blogger-image-1864992783.jpg" /></a></div>
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Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-83022808632325993532012-11-23T18:00:00.000-08:002012-11-23T18:00:13.098-08:00My Favorite Moments...<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
When I am lucky I have my camera and capture some of the everyday moments that make homeschooling such a gift.</div>
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Any morning that big brother decides to fix omelets, his specialty, for all of us kills 45 minutes but means I don't have to cook. Plus, he really is good at it and gets our days off to a yummy, protein filled start!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2ov_jmjY5oegr76yYdHNmoud-rKZmTUStDtD6OcL4Qugxbs7cqU4z1NUbD4CFNT4zeSJVbiPpK5DO4pgG7gLrv7FM-lAy6ifMgLo6cfKrY3bYyoLpYIpavPuRtdQxhjqSwqydqwyeS5O/s1600/Sept-Oct2012+736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2ov_jmjY5oegr76yYdHNmoud-rKZmTUStDtD6OcL4Qugxbs7cqU4z1NUbD4CFNT4zeSJVbiPpK5DO4pgG7gLrv7FM-lAy6ifMgLo6cfKrY3bYyoLpYIpavPuRtdQxhjqSwqydqwyeS5O/s320/Sept-Oct2012+736.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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On the best of days we have a family quiet reading time. I love to see what and where they choose to read.</div>
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Jackson chose an army book right next to our nonfiction shelf- his favorite.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u8XvCx0-cEInK2Ro0k-PRr8J135R-U8oocGIToz9mxd6yaQmdG0f48HL1VkJ3Ru9jVQqY86vhqCa49CD0HVp4NGnXl8dHyFoKJU8LH5ntclhpVib6uNskSfEB-Z7gRS_ssLZ0k_meIZn/s1600/Sept-Oct2012+124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u8XvCx0-cEInK2Ro0k-PRr8J135R-U8oocGIToz9mxd6yaQmdG0f48HL1VkJ3Ru9jVQqY86vhqCa49CD0HVp4NGnXl8dHyFoKJU8LH5ntclhpVib6uNskSfEB-Z7gRS_ssLZ0k_meIZn/s320/Sept-Oct2012+124.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sissy chose to read in the twins new tent at the top of their bunk bed. Another Junie B book :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLeTSXdzYSyypnFilkmurpWcQx0Q4y8KqwV0Kzwc2lDFDbn8pkT7KLaKIY-Q8qNxWteO7jbchl7vMc2md_6fEnsdFSWA9-jLqvRJXtc22GUsCY3dabrhfIyOkWlfMmt94eyeR-zAsWymb/s1600/Sept-Oct2012+125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLeTSXdzYSyypnFilkmurpWcQx0Q4y8KqwV0Kzwc2lDFDbn8pkT7KLaKIY-Q8qNxWteO7jbchl7vMc2md_6fEnsdFSWA9-jLqvRJXtc22GUsCY3dabrhfIyOkWlfMmt94eyeR-zAsWymb/s320/Sept-Oct2012+125.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jackson is trying Teaching Textbooks for math this year. (We really like it so far!) It reads the problems out loud. Will is usually playing nearby and will say "the answer". He's pretty confident that he is always right. Then Jackson will type in the answer he has figured out and it says, "Great job! Exactly right!" and Will thinks his answer was right. He has no humility whatsoever and always says, "I told you so." It is so cute and I love how Jackson humors him. I have to say I'm VERY impressed by how much the twins learn by just being in the room playing while I teach the older kids. Several times I will have read a history lesson aloud and ask a question only to have the big kids stare at me clueless and Wesley chime in with the answer. I'm really hoping this is all giving them a leg up on learning once they are formally in school! I'll take all the help I can get teaching!</div>
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We are <em>gently</em> starting some sight words. We started with like and see. I had him circle all the sees and x-out all the likes. VERY simple but VERY effective!</div>
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My ipad is indispensable when it's school time. I'm starting to work with the boys one-on-one as we go through their Singapore K and Reading Readiness workbooks. Often, while I work on one I let the other play learning games on the ipad. Our absolute favorite is Team Umizoomi. I'm amazed at how many math skills they are learning from this game. I love watching how into it they are!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGIRxiY1cajPlmmqwtq1-1tBf8SUzsJIl1YMjInr53SFyTQ5gSIF5TjUDt6DHvhN_40dnHAXXvkuA-Yibr0DbFFv3lm_oXOZINygtgDoXX_Nl3sGtpHtLkI2RMoSg2_6a3L0J4vTlHVB-/s1600/Sept-Oct2012+123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGIRxiY1cajPlmmqwtq1-1tBf8SUzsJIl1YMjInr53SFyTQ5gSIF5TjUDt6DHvhN_40dnHAXXvkuA-Yibr0DbFFv3lm_oXOZINygtgDoXX_Nl3sGtpHtLkI2RMoSg2_6a3L0J4vTlHVB-/s320/Sept-Oct2012+123.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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In homeschooling as in all life, the simple moments are the best!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-54973315712762135392012-09-29T15:13:00.000-07:002012-09-29T15:13:23.090-07:00T is for Train...<div style="text-align: center;">
We had been away for a week and were still trying to get back into our regular routine so I needed something quick and easy to do. I had printed off a train unit and had never gotten around to doing it. It was so long ago I can't remember where I got it!<br />
Another idea I'd been wanting to try was writing letters on a page and covering a certain letter with stickers. They did great finding the T's. Wesley was all about this but Will did it for a little and then was ready to move on. This is something we will do some more with some other letters.</div>
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We practiced capital and lowercase letters. They have a pretty good grasp of capitals but lowercase is hit or miss.</div>
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Will is Mr. Train so this unit was really for him. He did the size sorting trains, and the other activities as fast as I could put them in front of him.</div>
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3 part puzzles were perfect.</div>
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I love the shadow matching activities.</div>
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Wesley did so great putting the train cars in order with the numbers on them.</div>
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We've been doing <a href="http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/RaisingRockStarsPreschool.html" target="_blank">Raising Rock Stars Preschool</a> during our morning circle time. We are going the order she suggests so started with the letter L. My favorite part of the program is the Power Point show. I'm amazed at how it completely it holds their attention as it reviews letter, number, color, shape, and Bible verses. It's WELL worth the membership. </div>
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The Bible verse for L was to Let Your Light Shine so of course we made a light to put the Bible verse on. This is part of the RRSP program. I'm always amazed at how much Will gets into the crafts. He did such a great job :)</div>
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They are proudly displayed on our wall. The boys were bursting waiting for Daddy to get home to show him!</div>
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I am loving this age with my boys!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-30567043444493684912012-09-22T14:19:00.000-07:002012-11-09T14:21:47.148-08:00Box Day!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
After going back and forth and back and forth I finally decided to plunge in and buy a Sonlight core. I love Sonlight's approach with being so heavily literature based, but the price has always been intimidating. I finally decided I wasn't able to do it all and wanted something already planned for me. So I splurged and got the P4/5 level. I ordered it, and it happened to come while we were at the beach. I knew we had to make a big deal out of opening the box and have an official "Box Day" like all Sonlighters. Of course, we got home from the beach at about 5:00 and had to go ahead and open it!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibY6OBC7OxB02xu6tZ3E7kI7VaTSL01ZEO65HXGX5KxvHckzB6s9RnH7XStLB0a4q7r3UuzS8FqTf_Poe8woc927Qvjrv9tr8Uoh3fyA5T04HYYKF-oxka7D4TB4VMqxqbbUd0yjYUYNXL/s1600/Sept-Oct2012+108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibY6OBC7OxB02xu6tZ3E7kI7VaTSL01ZEO65HXGX5KxvHckzB6s9RnH7XStLB0a4q7r3UuzS8FqTf_Poe8woc927Qvjrv9tr8Uoh3fyA5T04HYYKF-oxka7D4TB4VMqxqbbUd0yjYUYNXL/s320/Sept-Oct2012+108.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Even though it was for her little brothers, Ashton was pretty excited too.<br />
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The long pieces of packing paper were a big hit to throw out of the box while Wesley had to check out the instructor's manual :)</div>
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Will loves this book, and so do I! It's the perfect introduction to lots of science concepts for their age. I'm amazed at how much info is packed into this fun book with our favorite bears and in poetry no less!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9_Eqw4r-P4OYjl2Bnvpdio5YUn2A12A0J-bRr8GSFWlELmWxrC-Rj08g0L9WaH3l3k8xc1au08okWwL9PT3bP-MmJj1DlRQ4Cx7of7Sp1J2yOvwalvoKHdS9roAJr_FKscEWO8Xwt5W9/s1600/Sept-Oct2012+116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9_Eqw4r-P4OYjl2Bnvpdio5YUn2A12A0J-bRr8GSFWlELmWxrC-Rj08g0L9WaH3l3k8xc1au08okWwL9PT3bP-MmJj1DlRQ4Cx7of7Sp1J2yOvwalvoKHdS9roAJr_FKscEWO8Xwt5W9/s320/Sept-Oct2012+116.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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The other science books look really good too. My boys will eat them up.</div>
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They weren't quite as excited when I told them now they get to do math workbooks like Sissy and JackJack although they have really learned to love them since- no, really!</div>
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How cool is it that the box comes printed so you can make something out of it. They were ready to build the castle right away, but since it was late and we'd just driven 8 hours they had to wait.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_HpgmNZrAsXsyKEaAJcUGIpSz8p-UrsNwiX1r4zGqWGLik3syvRE_zyprTu_1wEEfO6jZ2HW__CBbeAJyAIajbi3vmvboFKcYyEzWlCW_3elRbyqDq8lQB-ja8pWHreLCiqU6kTgeYv9/s1600/Sept-Oct2012+119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_HpgmNZrAsXsyKEaAJcUGIpSz8p-UrsNwiX1r4zGqWGLik3syvRE_zyprTu_1wEEfO6jZ2HW__CBbeAJyAIajbi3vmvboFKcYyEzWlCW_3elRbyqDq8lQB-ja8pWHreLCiqU6kTgeYv9/s320/Sept-Oct2012+119.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was just like I imagined it would be when we had to start reading right away :)</div>
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I can't wait to see how our Sonlught journey continues. Nothing could be bad that comes with a box full of books, right? What's not to love?</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-32228086548895203912012-09-09T21:11:00.002-07:002012-09-09T21:11:28.208-07:00History Fair...<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
Our local homeschool group has a history fair. We decided to choose one of the countries we've been studying in Galloping the Globe to present. They decided they wanted to do Korea. We had the best time getting ready. We used one of the MANY diaper boxes sitting around and transformed it into a dragon head for a parade. <br />
We got pictures and stories from my dad about when my grandfather was serving in Korea during the Korean War. I think that was their favorite thing they learned. They loved having pictures of him on their display board. We also typed up our favorite facts we leaned and included pictures of things we had done at home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuib2R08-iZxmdInfy4ejUo4yEZmzaDixGjl4odkXn3JDaz8CQD_IVVCzVAqjStnFpFzcj_DJFxaM96LZ62iTfpbcJpxk3dUjtB1lcoQTq0aEM_E-FaFZIrxFfy9hKgoDZdRPwznwomTE/s1600-h/DSC_0463.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuib2R08-iZxmdInfy4ejUo4yEZmzaDixGjl4odkXn3JDaz8CQD_IVVCzVAqjStnFpFzcj_DJFxaM96LZ62iTfpbcJpxk3dUjtB1lcoQTq0aEM_E-FaFZIrxFfy9hKgoDZdRPwznwomTE/s400/DSC_0463.JPG" /></a></div>
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Then <em>the night before</em> they decided they wanted to dress up. <em>By the grace of God</em>, I was able to throw something together with items from the dollar aisle in Target. Jackson's Korean warrior armor is a knight's costume he had with two placemats tied together over it! Ashton's is a dress up dress she had, her Cleopatra shawl tied around her in Korean fashion. We put two chopsticks in her hair. Her purse was from Target dollar section and her very Asian silk belt was actually a headband- it's good to be skinny! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BNZCAYYGdsoWImsl6ugB1Cm1hD2zcnVa1ekmlQuqujxn8ZqqQFEwi83D6WmgpUyXkwx6t_WyrRTSIvhcMTvzKobBNdwlS7ieUncfZguk_Kn_c99g0pnzYRJYAurzRofezCKHUEZ4MzE/s1600-h/DSC_0464.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BNZCAYYGdsoWImsl6ugB1Cm1hD2zcnVa1ekmlQuqujxn8ZqqQFEwi83D6WmgpUyXkwx6t_WyrRTSIvhcMTvzKobBNdwlS7ieUncfZguk_Kn_c99g0pnzYRJYAurzRofezCKHUEZ4MzE/s400/DSC_0464.JPG" /></a><br />I probably say this all the time, but this was one of the <em>most amazing</em> homeschool moments ever. The other moms and I sat back and watched in amazement as the kids spent <em>over 2 hours</em> teaching each other about about their countries. And I mean <em>really teaching</em>. They weren't just hanging out and chatting about their favorite TV show. They went table to table and genuinely asked questions and taught each other. <em>It was truly priceless.</em></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1oZ77gaYKH1_TVBRvXEU00d6khSYFTDUZi_t9UsyXcK7qjlGTD8p7s2Gxco9SqZhJ8ntFJFzFw-qmzkBA5nTNw2bV1-wLj984bDHbF2bOMWvV8E5xJcQ27SLtfAe3vzK0G_b0-Wxi14/s1600-h/DSC_0474.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1oZ77gaYKH1_TVBRvXEU00d6khSYFTDUZi_t9UsyXcK7qjlGTD8p7s2Gxco9SqZhJ8ntFJFzFw-qmzkBA5nTNw2bV1-wLj984bDHbF2bOMWvV8E5xJcQ27SLtfAe3vzK0G_b0-Wxi14/s400/DSC_0474.JPG" /></a><br />I almost felt sorry for the some of the adults that came by their table because they <strong>talked their ears off!!!</strong> They told them every single thing we learned, and I learned that they have truly been paying attention! <br />
<strong>Yea Mommy!</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cWqSx1bsClY-oisTAawjiDzBp5ooF01my3NWx8CarbtykMEFlEyUQ2NuJ6-uS-mxd9OrPuNwQ39DADN_cfCQmVYxv-IhW_MHHakPb08-VrLLLNSKkOT9xR9Vin_0jPU0GU_FCZ_2gDQ/s1600-h/DSC_0476.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cWqSx1bsClY-oisTAawjiDzBp5ooF01my3NWx8CarbtykMEFlEyUQ2NuJ6-uS-mxd9OrPuNwQ39DADN_cfCQmVYxv-IhW_MHHakPb08-VrLLLNSKkOT9xR9Vin_0jPU0GU_FCZ_2gDQ/s400/DSC_0476.JPG" /></a> </div>
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I can't express enough how wonderful this day was. I'm so happy to see that my children are learning, remembering what they learned, and most importantly loving learning. As a great bonus, today they made some homeschool friends and I did too!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1614279447766924532.post-7796565928401667342012-09-09T20:50:00.000-07:002012-09-09T20:50:07.260-07:00Family Dinner...<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
I found this finger trick in Family Fun and thought it would be fun to stump everyone with at dinner one night. As you can see by Jackson's face, he was stumped:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXG01QSE1YK24qN4iPQuFuGGGi1SmCxFDkmauhNEAobcRz63ScgEa0idfgE7UAIL2OzlHWvDcCHeM-LRBZwYzVMmmWCYjd1LOIvrTi9k5IullmeR1_tDvzXBJp1XH-IYeV9fPaxOvOb_0/s1600-h/DSC_0747.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXG01QSE1YK24qN4iPQuFuGGGi1SmCxFDkmauhNEAobcRz63ScgEa0idfgE7UAIL2OzlHWvDcCHeM-LRBZwYzVMmmWCYjd1LOIvrTi9k5IullmeR1_tDvzXBJp1XH-IYeV9fPaxOvOb_0/s400/DSC_0747.JPG" /></a> </div>
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It was fun to have Daddy try too. I love sweet hand pictures:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyWkBneNEcaClMo8coPzxJl0VPG-XSzxAZxCSPC2JBqA_Cr_m8kTkkyGs0V8peVMa-aM0ezRL7mrC0ZN5yuQs15XnWybwX6ZDifyKtOQZjDex9qN1QHJz8Hh9jpuEI1oEVWaj0VlDwQ4/s1600-h/DSC_0748.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyWkBneNEcaClMo8coPzxJl0VPG-XSzxAZxCSPC2JBqA_Cr_m8kTkkyGs0V8peVMa-aM0ezRL7mrC0ZN5yuQs15XnWybwX6ZDifyKtOQZjDex9qN1QHJz8Hh9jpuEI1oEVWaj0VlDwQ4/s400/DSC_0748.JPG" /></a><br />Wesley watches everything his big bro does and wants to try it out. Look at his sweet hands:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtmaociyYcNhxj7WriVaQYAk0SZp5HkEgAojKmS4G1EP_vrtR9gHMuu7UTy7FSr26XBzuJ1zTgW2nNKn1h3s_F7m8pfLwBfTuhEnw4O1a-YMhOtndewTN85vad3KCsedOPI4GQcAU4qc/s1600-h/DSC_0749.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKtmaociyYcNhxj7WriVaQYAk0SZp5HkEgAojKmS4G1EP_vrtR9gHMuu7UTy7FSr26XBzuJ1zTgW2nNKn1h3s_F7m8pfLwBfTuhEnw4O1a-YMhOtndewTN85vad3KCsedOPI4GQcAU4qc/s400/DSC_0749.JPG" /></a><br />Meanwhile, Will takes advantage of everyone being distracted to steal some candy. That mischievous look- I love it, most times!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVSbdb1slEhcRQJtX5JVI_kFJY5yqeb3lVZVBbzAOcOiBoahcSV4ySagF6Wor-DGh3UCZ08E-74G95t2_rYEV_GnizEw2v5b-C_9t9DGRnOPRyMoD8HR1qeUPyXCy_FUYqo-FMaNaYIk/s1600-h/DSC_0751.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVSbdb1slEhcRQJtX5JVI_kFJY5yqeb3lVZVBbzAOcOiBoahcSV4ySagF6Wor-DGh3UCZ08E-74G95t2_rYEV_GnizEw2v5b-C_9t9DGRnOPRyMoD8HR1qeUPyXCy_FUYqo-FMaNaYIk/s400/DSC_0751.JPG" /></a><br />
The best times are when we are just home together!</div>
Tonya Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14488744267180932145noreply@blogger.com0