English

This year I want to share some about what curriculum we use and why we like it. I will start with English because I want to share something that happened recently as Isaac and I were going over English that confirmed why we use this curriculum.

Beginning in Grade 2 we use Rod and Staff English. When Isaac was going in to the 2nd grade I was looking for a good English curriculum and came across Rod and Staff. I thought I would give it a try and I will admit that in the beginning we were a little overwhelmed. :) Once we hung in there and took small steps I realized that it was a very good curriculum.

Last year I had considered using another English program. I asked Isaac and Sarah to tell me what they did and did not like about Rod and Staff. The things they liked about it was that it had lots of scripture in it and all their names (the kids) were in it. I was sold to stay with Rod and Staff. That may sound silly but the Bible is a BIG part of why we homeschool and we want our curriculum to have scripture woven in. 

 The other week Isaac and I were going over his English assignment. Not only was he getting his English for the day, he learned some sience and Bible in that lesson as well (below is a picture of that lesson). A BIG confirmation that we are using the curriculum that is right for our family!! I have been very pleased with Rod and Staff English!

Baseball Unit Study

In the spring we did a Baseball Unit Study by Amanda Bennett. We did her unit study on Easter and really loved it so I thought we would give this baseball one a try. I was very pleased with all that Isaac and Sarah learned!

This was a four week study and was packed with lots of information. Each day the kids would copy a quote from a baseball legend, learned baseball terms, would research interesting baseball legend players, and would discover some very neat things about a few of the baseball teams. She has lots of resources to use, so many that we didn’t get to use all of them. Which means that I can redo the Unit Study in a couple of years and use some of those resources that I didn’t get to use...awesome!

I downloaded the study onto our laptops and Isaac and Sarah could access the study themselves. They would click on the links that are provided in the study and be able to have tons of information. Isaac and Sarah would even get on some of the sites and look up information about other teams and players. They were so excited about things they learned, like whose birthday was the same as or close to theirs. One of the things they had to do each day for the teams was to figure up the distance from our home to that teams field. They loved doing that!

This Unit Study also had a few Project Ideas for us to do through out the study. One of the ones we did was to write a letter to a baseball team and ask for information about their team. Isaac and Sarah were hesitant about this, afraid they would not get a response. Isaac wrote a letter to the Atlanta Braves and Sarah wrote one to the Dodgers. Both teams did respond and sent back very good information. It was a great encouragement to Isaac and Sarah, something they will always remember! Another thing we did is made baseball cookies. Actually I put peanut butter between two Ritz crackers and dipped them in white chocolate then put “laces” on them with red icing. There were so many possibilities with this study!!

I would recommend Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett to anyone. Very reasonably priced and so much to learn! She does an excellent job on her unit studies and each one I have seen is packed with tons of information! They are also easy to use and can be for all the kids. I have placed a link on the right side of our blog for you to click that will take you to her web site (or you can click here). She has specials each week and sometimes you can get these studies at a great price!

*I was not paid to write this review. I just wanted to share with others something fun and educational that I had come across.*

Forgotten Chicken

I got this recipe off of pinterest and it is so easy and so delicious! I fixed this with our Zuchinni and Tomato Bake....talk about DELICIOUS!! YUMMMMM!!

Forgotten chicken

2 cans of "cream of" soups
1 can of water
2 cups of minute rice (uncooked)
Chicken breast (cut up if you prefer)
1 package of onion soup mix

Mix together "cream of" soups, 1 can of water, and 2 cups of minute rice (uncooked.) Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Lay chicken on top of rice mixture and sprinkle onion soup mix on top. Cover with tin foil. Don't forget that important step. Once you have it in the casserole dish you can put it in the oven and forget it! You can put it in on a low temp. (around 250-275) before you leave for church and when you get home three hours later it will be ready. Or you can cook it at 350-375 (depending on your oven) for one to one and a half hours.

Tricks, Tattoos, and Pizza

Bryan was gone for a couple of nights this month on a staff planning retreat which left me and the kids home alone. When Bryan is away I try to make things more fun than usual around here. :)

Thought I would share some of the "Fun" the kids and I had while he was away!

Isaac did this trick. Some how he had got the straw to suction on his upper lip. Elijah thought that was so neat but could never figure out how to do it. We had fun watching Elijah try!! :)

Joanna's tattoo...She liked it more than I thought she would.

Timothy showing off his tattoo on his muscle. He was so cute!

Big sister wanted a butterfly on her face. She made that butterfly look beautiful. Elijah had a tattoo but quickly decided he didn't want it so he rubbed it off. :)

 I got this pizza deal at Wal-Mart that had two pizza's, bread sticks, and cookies. That was just right for us! Great deal!! 

These are our cookies.....they didn't last long! :)

We miss Bryan every time he is gone! It makes our days seem so long. We are so glad to see him when he comes home. This time he came home early and surprised us!!

A Message

This was the message on my computer this morning....

I love you very much!! You are a good, no great mother. I am so glad that you are my mother and daddy’s wife.

Love, Your Son, Isaac Chandler Camp

"May I take your order?"

My kids love to play restaurant! I remember playing it when I was little and taking "orders" from my "customers". :) My kids even love to play restaurant at our real meals. They make up some silly name for the restaurant and seat each other. It is so sweet and fun to watch them. Their restaurant names always consist of Cantina's... So funny!

Here is a table they set up in Sarah's room and was having the best time playing together!

Here is another table they had set up. So cute!

Sarah took orders and Timothy was the "cooker man".

Now it was Elijah's turn to take orders and Timothy was the customer.

This was the food critic. LOL!! Joanna doesn't quite understand that she can't really eat the food....she is learning. :)

Happy Birthday Isaac!

My oldest turned another year older this week! Isaac was 11 on Monday! So hard to believe that this is my little man! He is no longer a "boy" but is becoming a young man. It has been a long time ago but I can still remember the day he was born. Matter of fact, he was born on a Monday and his birthday this year was on a Monday....neat! :) Isaac has grown up so fast that I have to remind myself often that he is not "little" any more. Bryan and I are so thankful for this precious life that the Lord has blessed us with. As we faithfully point him toward Jesus our prayer is that he will grow into a Godly man that is a Godly leader of his home, church, and world.

Isaac is a very special young man. He is talented and loves animals. Isaac loves words of affirmation and quality time. I love watching Isaac play and enjoy being outside. He gets outside and would spend hours out there and not even realize how long he has been out there. :) Oh, how I wish I could go back 11 years ago and know then what I know now. Since Isaac is the oldest I look back and see the many times I have failed as a mom and not done my best. My prayer is that Isaac sees me look to Jesus in the good times and the bad.

Dear God,
Thank you for Isaac, a wonderfully and fearfully made blessing! I ask that you would continue to change his heart and mold him into a man of God who fears You and walks with you daily! I know you have great plans for Isaac, to use him as a leader in the world around him. I am so blessed that you have made me to be Isaac's mommy! It is a challenge at times to mother a boy, but I know that You can equip me, through prayer and Your Word, with all that I need to train, teach, and love him the way he needs me to. Thank you so very much for giving him a Godly father to be an example of what a man of God looks like. I pray that Bryan would have wisdom in teaching Isaac your ways and how to follow and love you!  May Isaac grow in stature and in wisdom to be a man after God's own heart that lives a life that causes others to glorify You!!
In Jesus' Name, Amen

A Few Surprises

I don't know if I will ever get caught up on blogging, but that is OK because first things first (family)!!

We have been on vacation this week and I wanted to share a few surprises we have had. We left last Friday morning headed to Alabama. We didn't tell the kids anything and I secretly packed their bags.
By the time we got in the van Friday morning the children knew we were going some where but just didn't know where.

Isaac's birthday was Monday so we had planned a few surprises for him. The whole way to Alabama the kids were trying to guess where we were going. :) Bryan and I were having the best time! We pulled up at my parents house on Friday evening. The kids were excited! We had the best time with my parents and we were all glad to spend time with them!!

Paw was glad we were with him and maw!

Joanna has so much fun playing at Paw and Maw's house....all the kids do!

Watching TV at Paw and Maw's house in their bed!!

Then Saturday morning we woke up and after breakfast and getting ready, Bryan and I took Isaac and Sarah for a surprise.....Six Flags!! This was their first trip to six flags. We did not tell them where we were going until we pulled up in the parking lot! It was a GREAT surprise! The weather was perfect, they were just the right age, and we only had to really wait for 3 rides, that made for the perfect trip!!My parents kept the 3 little ones and of coarse spoiled enjoyed them! :)

They both had never been on a roller coaster so that first one was so much fun to watch their faces. I couldn't wait to hear what they thought! Isaac rode 19 rides and Sarah rode 18!! It was fun for Bryan and I to see these two have so much fun! We told Elijah that the next time we go he will be going with us! He needs to be a little older so it may be a few years before we go again.

Then on Sunday afternoon we headed to Bryan's parents house. Again we didn't tell the kids where we were going. We had lunch there and had Isaac a birthday party with family. Isaac was very surprised!

Opening presents! He asked for an ice cream sandwich cake for his birthday cake. I made just what he wanted but forgot to take pictures. :(

He asked for the board game Risk, Legos,....

and the book The Little Man in the Map book.

We all enjoyed being at Pop and Gigi's! My kids would stay in their pool if they could! :) We had a great visit and much much fun!!

Zuchinni and Tomato Bake

I have come up with a new dish and we love it!! We have been on a zuchinni kick and this recipe is delicious!! Perfect for a side dish.  

Zuchinni and Tomato Bake
~Sliced Zuchinni (I did one large one, but slice up how many you would like)
~Tomatoes sliced and then cut into fourths (whatever amount you like)
~Bacon bits (I usually do about half a small bag of bits)
~1-2 cups cheese (I use cheddar)
~garlic powder
~Zesty Italian Salad dressing

In a grease casserole dish place sliced zuchinni and then top that with your tomato. Sprinkle garlic powder and salad dressing over that. Then sprinkle bacon bits on top (how ever many you like). Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese (again whatever you feel like is enough) and you might want to add a little bit of parmesan cheese too. Then bake for another 10 minutes are until your cheese is melted enough. Enjoy!!

Bowling with the kids

Back at the end of June I signed the kids up for the "Kids Bowl Free" program but it took us about a month before we were able to go and enjoy it. At the end of July we finally got to go and went with some friends of ours (The Smith's).

They have become some sweet dear friends of ours. They have 5 kids also and we got together on July 4th, it was so fun to see ALL our kids playing together! They have two older boys that our Youth age, two boys that are Isaac and Sarah's age and then a little girl that is younger than Timothy but older than Joanna.

We went bowling on a Friday because Bryan would be off and he kept Joanna for me...and boy was I so thankful! :) The big kids (their two oldest didn't go) loved it and had so much fun! The little ones had fun at the beginning but was VERY ready to go by the end of the first game. After a game of bowling we headed to McDonald's to have lunch. It was a fun day and nice to be with friends!

First time Timothy has ever bowled! We was so cute!

Can you tell these two are ready to go?

Isaac did really well!

Elijah was having a great time! He liked handing everyone their ball and being a helper. He loves to play bowling on the Wii and does a really good job! :)

Sarah was putting all she had into bowling, needless to say she was really sore the next day!

I actually got all our kids in one picture...don't think I meant to do that. So glad we got to go and hope we get to go before the end of August when it's over.

Another Race

Last Saturday Isaac and Sarah ran a race in Alabama. It was the Kidstock, it is a pretty big race. A few years ago Isaac ran in this race and did pretty well, he placed 42 out of about 200 kids. His goal was to atleast get in the top 10 of his age group this time. Sarah and Isaac did really well this time and we were so proud of them.

Before the race...

On your mark...

Isaac's time was 7:06. He placed 17th (out of 117) overall and was 4th in the boys ages 9-11. :)

Sarah's time was 7:25. She placed 23rd (out of 117) overall and was 3rd in the girls ages 9-11. :)

Here they are with Dad during the race. Isaac is beside Bryan and Sarah is behind Bryan.

Here are the great racers with their coach (Dad) and photographer (mom) also known as their cheerleaders!! :)

First Day of School

We had our official first day of school last week. I always try and make that first day a fun and special day for the kids. They all love getting their new books and seeing what is in their "cubbies". So I thought I would share some pictures of our first morning.

Timothy was so excited to find a glue stick in his pencil box!!

A couple of years ago I started using these baskets for the kids school stuff. We call them their cubbies. This has been a great way to keep our things together. Sarah is so excited about all her new books for the new school year!

Yes, even Joanna got some crayons and a notebook. She was so happy and I know she felt as big as the others! :)

Elijah started K5! He got new books, a pencil box full of good things, and a new notebook.

Timothy got to look through his new books.

Isaac was so excited about his new spelling book because it has a horse on the cover.

We are off to a great start! I would like to share every now and then about our curriculum that we use and our likes and dislikes. I have discovered that it is going to be a busy year so I may not be able to blog as often as I would like.

Hope all of you have had a great start to your school year! What do you do to start your year off?

A Camp for the kids!

I wanted the kids to go to an art camp or something along those lines and nothing worked out for us. That is when I decided that our first week of school would be a "Camp" week! :) Our week consisted of Art, Music, and Computer. The kids did two sessions of each each day. We had so much fun and learned lots!

Day 1 Art- Elijah (Age 5)

Timothy's art work. He had such a good time doing school with the big kiddos!!

The big kids did so well!

Sarah's art work! This was so exciting for her!

Some of Isaac's art work from the week. He enjoyed the art and did so well!

More of Sarah's art work.

The Art curriculum we used was How Great Thou Art. I am very pleased with this curriculum. We will be using it during the year, maybe once a week.

The next pictures are of our Music part. Isaac and Sarah are taking piano lessons so each day they practiced their lessons, reviewed the hymn songs they have already learned, and then they worked on some theory.

I taught Elijah a couple of music things.

Then I let each child have time to play on an educational web-site (www.abcya.com). Then the big kids also blogged each day on their blog. It was a fun learning week! A great way to start the year off!!