Weekly Wrap-Up

The week started out predictable yet ended unpredictable.

We ended up having short school days due to computer issues from the weekend and some unscheduled errands that had to be done. We were able to start our study of Ancient Rome. We are using Homeschoolshare’s Ancient Rome Lapbook . Of course, as electric homeschoolers I have added a few hands on projects (which I hope to share soon), found some other printouts to use along with HSS lapbook.

We spent a little time on reviewing the continents and ocean names of the world and their location. Generally, speaking my kids can identify the continents and oceans on the world map hanging in our dining room. But I wanted to make sure independently they could identify them without looking at the map hanging up. I was pleasantly surprised! After 3 days of practice they knew them perfectly. Down the road, we’ll have to practice spelling but for now I am satisfied with them knowing where they are located on a map and what their proper names are. I printed off Enchanted Learning’s Label Continents Map worksheet. Not only did it require my kids to figure out the continents and oceans but it also made them label the equator, North, and South poles.

As a family, we read a few more chapters from ” The Invention of Hugo Cabret”. This book by far has been one of the best to read out loud as a family! Since you have to look at the illustrations to get the full effect of the story we all snuggle together on our IKEA love seat. I recommend it for anyone that has a kid that loves picture books, inventions, Paris, and/or mystery.

Lastly, we were able to work in a few V-day related art projects. This year we ended up painting a few different ways. Of course, we adapted from the projects below but we thank the following blogs for giving us inspiration!

Side-Ways Hand Heart In A Frame

Double Handprints = Heart

Sponge A Heart

Overall, it was a pretty fulfilling week~even though we ended up doing a ton of unplanned things! Which is just another reason I love homeschooling~ it allows for life to happen!

If The World Were A Village

I read this book last year and really wanted to share it with my kids but never got around to it.  It’s a picture book written by David Smith about the world’s population. At the time this book was published it was estimated that there were 6 billion people in the world. The author makes a hard to visualize concept (6 billion people occupying the world) an easy one to understand and visualize.

I could go on but Lauran Peterson of the American Library Association says it so much more eloquently then I can “…Smith suggests that children imagine the population of the world as a village of just 100 people. That’s one person representing 62 million people in the real world. Surprising, even shocking statistics follow–for example, many kids in the U. S. take computers for granted, but only seven people in the global village own one. Each double-page, picture-book spread relates a few consciousness-raising facts about such topics as nationalities, food, language, and religion. With the aid of a calculator, even younger kids can do the math; the tricky part is to get children to really understand the ideas. Armstrong’s large acrylic paintings, nice complements to the text, look like stained glass windows, with blocks of intense color outlined in thick black lines. This highly informative book will get kids thinking and asking questions, and it can easily be incorporated into a middle-school social studies curriculum. The endnote suggests related activities for home and classroom.

Lauren Peterson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Graciously, my hubby picked up the book from the liberary for us earlier this week. I was going to read it on the coach so both of my kiddos could see the wonderful illustrates but instead our lunch arrived and we adapted. After eating my portion I grabbed the book and read it while my kiddos finished their pizza & bread sticks. My oldest was so wrapped up in the book and stats that I had to remind me several times to “keep eating”. We read the whole book in one sitting and before clearing the table and going about our day. I asked fact questions to see if they remembered what they had been read. It’s a very intensive book filled with lots of information  and I wanted to make sure we didn’t need to re-read it before venturing on. Both of my kiddos recalled many of the facts and we even discussed a few of the things from the book.

If you want to open your eyes and your children’s the what kind of people make up the world and how they live then I strongly encourge you to consider reading this book!

What to write about? Joys, Trials, or Both?

I just finished reading I should say skimming an article (” Personal Blogging, Privacy, & Keeping It Real.”)  posted on Mrs. FussyPants.

What caught my eye was the last part of the title “…Keeping It Real.”

I have wondered sometimes while reading blogs if people only post the joys of life and if so why not the trials?

I have started a handful of blogs in the past and I must admit that I have never stuck with any of them because of my fear of being too honest. I do not want to “sugar coat” my life. It has it’s moments of joy, goodness, kindness, and mercy for sure but it also has moments of hurt, pain, suffering, and anxiety.

Since I was a little girl, I have always wrote letters to “God”. Yes, it’s odd. Many people write to their “journal” or “diary”. I understand it and have tried many times when I was younger I tried but it never stuck and slowly I developed a prayer-letter writing style where I wrote letters to “God”.  Over the years, I have kept the letters and I can look back and see how God has used me for HIS glory. I have to add that a lot of the entries were full of selfish desires or feelings sometimes asking for God’s guidance, other times just complaining or “venting” about life. I know that my letters to “God” are personal and no one knows about them except my spouse.

I understand that blogging allows the world  to see a side of a person or many sides of a person and it’s up to the writer to decide what is ok to give to the world and what is private or not for the world to see. I know there are some things I will never tell my children nor even my mother about my life I reserve those things ( reflections, thoughts, and emotions) for God and my spouse.

I hope to show the joys of my life and the trials of my life (generally speaking) on this blog. I am pretty positive I will leave out some joys and some trials but I hope to find harmony with my blog just as I am finding with my home. Just as I do not eat sugar all the time I do not want my blog to be an unrealistic portrait of my life and thoughts. I instead hope for this blog to be a bit salt and pepper. Salt being the joys of life and Pepper being the trials of life.

If you now blog, I ask you to consider letting your readers see the real you and not blogging about the  you, you want people to see or you think people what to see.

If you are not currently blogging about your life but enjoy reading them I urge you to consider blogging. Just as you enjoy reading others perhaps someone will enjoy reading yours.

Classical Music For Free – MUSOPEN

I should say “mostly” classical music for free. I enjoy listening to classical music but I have not invested in a well rounded collection of cd or mp3′s. I have off and on listened to classical music via a wonderful website Musopen . You can even download pieces to your computer. I have thought about downloading many to Ipod (just haven’t had the time). I typically open a broswer window and listen while I work at my desk. If you are looking for classical music consider Musopen .

Remembering Monday

It’s a silly thing but remembering what I did all day is actually something I can’t always do. So I am going to, I should say I am going to try to remember each Monday night what I did during the day as well as show how I had harmony at home.

Jan 25 AM: Got started a little later than planned. I assigned handwriting, spelling, memory work, math review for each of my kids. Together, we did grammar, social studies, and dictation. I called for the kids to gather the laundry and sort it. I was able to check my email, view a handful of websites, and figure out what we have left to do. We ate lunch together.

PM: Enjoyed about 30 mins of free reading time. I even sat down and read. The kids finished up their independent work. They both needed some help in telling time (it’s been a few months) so I dh review it with them each individually. Dh was home working for a few hours and we enjoyed a game of Rummicube before he left for his night appointment. My oldest did some drill with dh and finished up with his online reading program. My youngest worked on a new reading lesson and reviewed a handful of piano songs with me. I created a new form to write their piano lesson and practice dates. I then taught/reviewed with my oldest piano. They both wrote their memory verse John 3:16 two times. I read about a chapter out loud from “Little Town on the Prairie” . Graded independent work (some of it). Kids got free time, they joined forces and are happily playing playmobil. Loading pictures for rental (the couple just had it repainted and new carpet) hope it rents soon! Checked Facebook, email 3 accounts, Read HOTM online and visited forum. Read a handful of pages in my current fiction novel. Drank Tea. Had snack. Updating my blog

Wow, I can’t believe I remembered all that with only looking at my weekly educating checklist for the kids. Not bad.

Overall, I think I/we got a lot accomplished. I hope to finish up my real estate work on the computer, do some bible study, and read before bed. I do have handful of unfinished projects (craft/sewing) I would like to get started back on but with a sore throat I think I’ll take it easy and wait until I am feeling more crafty.

Remembering the day isn’t so bad if I get a lot done, perhaps the days I don’t remember are busy but meaningless? I think remembering is something I can look forward to instead of dreading.

Finding Harmony At Home

Update Jan. 25, 2010

Harmony At Home is my mission. No matter what I am doing I or where I am I want to find “Harmony At Home” with those I love the most. I use to think I could do it on my own. I spent hours of time trying to figure out how to “do it all” and through God’s grace I have found out that it’s not about “doing it all” but WHO am I doing it for? After years of struggling with home life I laid it all before Him (the Lord) and he gracious has taken my hand and leads me daily into his will of finding Harmony at Home as I have found Harmony with Him.