Sweet Sunday

Well, much of what some people would call "fluff" in our plans for last week did not happen. We had an offer on our house. It's not the kind of offer you LOVE to get; it has lots of contingencies. But, in this market, it is still a fairly decent offer. It did disrupt things though. Extra energy and time went to prayer and I mean lots of it. We are still hoping for he best and trusting the Lord for whatever outcome He brings. If all goes well, we will be moving out of our house very quickly, before the end of November.

My mind is tangled in what if and held back by probably not. I don't even have a great plan for the week. I'm so thankful that we plunged ahead with lots of our work last week; especially our math and language. Narrations were done beautifully and we did find ourselves in the middle of some of the real-life learning that simply happens when curiosity and good books come together. Handcrafts went by the wayside, but we added much in the way of scripture memory and have now almost successfully completed memory work on John 14:1-4.

God is sovereign and I must be faithful with the tasks with which He's entrusted me; I do not need to take on burdens He hasn't given me, so I'm going back to doing what I know I must. All the rest will fall into place in His perfect timing.

Monday Musings

It's a beautiful day here and we plan to enjoy time outside later this afternoon. We're doing leaf rubbings this afternoon. Maybe we'll build fairy houses, too!

This week's schedule for school for our younger ones:

Math - Measurements of length (Metric and US)
Language - Plural Nouns, Picture Study, and Creative Writing Narration of Picture Study
Memorization - Continue perfecting Ephesians 6:10-16 & Autumn Fires by Robert Louis Stevenson
Spelling Words - gardens, vale, autumn, bonfire, smoke, trail, pleasant, blazes, gray, seasons, bright, towers, summer, something, flowers
Nature Study - Make a nature study journal; Nature scavenger hunt; Nature walk - observations
Zoology - Notebooking habitats, biomes,instinct,extinct, endangered species, and fossils
Handcrafts - Monday - Thanksgiving Cards, Tuesday - Watercolor, Wednesday - Turkey napkin rings, Thursday - Autumn Hot Pads, Friday - Mobcap and Tricorner Hat
History - Paul Revere's Ride; Import/Export worksheet - The Light and the Glory Activity Book; Chapters 9-10 The Light and the Glory; Name the 13 colonies and work on memorizing the Preamble of the Constitution
Reading (Fluency) - Tippy Lemmy, The Paint Brush Kid, Jake Drake Bully Buster
Read Aloud - The Animal Family, Rabbit Hill, The Bible

For my personal reading, I've started Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur. I'm also beginning my holiday check list and countdown for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I can't believe it will be here before we know it.

School for our older son is so much more independent. I am so pleased with what we chose for Bible. We chose "Rooted and Grounded" from Deeper Roots for our general Bible. We're also using "Don't Check Your Brains at the Door" for apologetics. In addition, we use BJU Geography, BJU Physical Science, BJU Spanish 2, Glencoe Geometry and Smarr Publishers Intro to Literature. I love the Smarr course; it includes great literature like The Importance of Being Earnest, White Fang, The Prince and the Pauper, The Merchant of Venice and more. It also includes a writing course with tips for improving writing and essay assignments of various types. We have been very pleased with that. It's a full day for our high schooler and a challenge to stay on track, but he is learning so much and really doing well.

I'm busy trying to revamp our schedule so that I'm doing all my fine-tuning of our weekly plans on the Thursday prior. I think it will make Monday mornings go smoother and we'll all be more productive. There never seem to be enough hours in the day, but I think this will make better use of them.

On that subject, I do have another recommendation. There is a wonderful cd that I got from Vision Forum that speaks to the subject of prioritizing and wise use of time. It's called Twenty-Four Hours is all you get. Here's a link:

http://www.visionforum.com/search/productdetail.aspx?search=Twenty-Four+Hours+is+all+you+get&productid=37952

I highly recommend it; it has been a blessing for me!

Happy Monday!

Vision Forum Contest from Life in a Shoe Blog

Okay, first day blogging and zipped over to a blog that someone recommended and WOW. You must take a look at Kim's Life in a Shoe blog! Here's your link for a fantastic contest, but be sure you look at her great blog: http://inashoe.com/?p=1853. Run, do not walk to this link; the contest ends tonight! So, I easily made my wish list from all the fantastic offerings from Vision Forum. My children literally wear our catalog out looking at all the things they love and want. So hurry over to Vision Forum and take a look yourself. Here's you link to their site:
http://www.visionforum.com/. I'm trying to get the link feature to work within my post, but I can't seem to get it to, so be sure you copy and post the complete links. Here they are again:

Kim'sBlog - http://www.inashoe.com/?p=1853
Vision Forum - http://www.visionforum.com

And here's my wish list:

Pouch of Ancient Coins #98550 $18
All American Boys Spy Cipher #83740 $12
Teach Them to Your Children #17820 $17
Regina's Colonial Dress(Size S) #11017 $49
Ladylike Nightgowns for Ladylike Girls (Sz S) #12015 $24
The Liberty Doll #72564 $89
The Adventures of Missionary Heroism #74642 $24
Passionate Housewives Desperate for God #84332 $16

Total $249

Thanks, Kim! Even if I don't win, the shopping was fun!

Living in the Land of Story-Books

There are two poems that I love that capture what I want for our children at home. One is "The Land of Story-Books" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Our home is truly the land of stories, not just for our little boy (as the poem is specifically about a boy), but for all of us. Seems to be a common thing among homeschooling families, but not so common elsewhere. To start this blog, I'm including the full text of the poem because I just think everyone should read it and be inspired to take little visits to their own "land of the story-books" no matter how old you are.

The Land of the Story-Books
by Robert Louis Stevenson

At evening when the lamp is lit,
Around the fire my parents sit;
They sit at home and talk and sing,
And do not play at anything.

Now, with my little gun, I crawl
All in the dark along the wall,
And follow round the forest track
Away behind the sofa back.

There, in the night, where none can spy,
All in my hunter's camp I lie,
And play at books that I have read
Till it is time to go to bed.

These are the hills, these are the woods,
These are my starry solitudes;
And there the river by whose brink
The roaring lions come to drink.

I see the others far away
As if in firelit camp they lay,
And I, like to an Indian scout,
Around their party prowled about.

So, when my nurse comes in for me,
Home I return across the sea,
And go to bed with backward looks
At my dear land of Story-Books.

More on my other favorite poem next time. Today, we'll be in the Brambly Hedge with Jill Barklem. Her Autumn Story is a perfect place for us today.

Until next time,
Suzanne