our dozen beautiful feet

We continued our study of World War I this week.  We really hit our stride this week.  What was taking us 3-4 hours, is now taking us 1-1.5 hours to get done.  That makes this mama happy!  Here's a look at our student's schedule each week: (this is really just a guide, and something to shoot for, it rarely happens like this!) We reviewed our states geography.  Here, we are using Legos to build different types of molecules.  Chemistry is totally fun! It takes a lot of energy to keep the little ones busy and quiet.  More energy than I have most days! But this game was a success!!! :) Luke is growing up and is really taking to the independence required by his Tapestry studies this year.  He likes to be in control of his work and gets it done quickly, though not always well.  We're working on it. : )  Kiryn does not like having her picture taken. She was also not happy about drawing a soldier.  ...

I found this digging through some old files on my computer. I think I wrote it maybe five years ago, long before I was blogging, as a note to myself.  It was an excellent reminder to me this week. I got an email from a friend and it mentioned not praising what is not praiseworthy. This friend was talking about reading People magazine and how it’s truly hypocritical.   I think what she means is she enjoys reading it, but is disgusted with what she’s reading, which is why she enjoys it. J   It struck a chord with me and caused me to consider, what do I do with my actions or words that teach my kids to praise what is not praiseworthy?   If the kids see me spending more time on my appearance each morning than I do with the Lord, it teaches my girls that beauty is more valuable than Christ, and my boys that a beautiful woman is more valuable than a spiritually deep one. If the kids observe that Paul and I would prefer to watch television or read a book *every*...

This week we began a four week study of World War I.  I admit, I didn't really understand what this war was about, or really know very many facts about it.  I have learned a lot in my planning and preparation for this unit!  I'm so thankful that my kids will hopefully grow up with a better understanding of the events and chronology of history, how things fit together, and God's plan in it all, thanks to Tapestry! :)  We did a big fun project this week: we build a model of a trench and played trench warfare!   Our trench was not dug in the ground, but we pretended it was.  :) The kids spent several hours drawing and coloring on the inside walls. HUGE imaginations at work! Finished product: Luke's medical aid hut. Kiryn drew pictures and postcards from home on th ewall. Paul bought Luke this belt in Leh, India on a trip once, and it looks very similar to the WWI soldier belts.  Helmet and gun, not so authen...

We had a fun week!  We finished up learning about Teddy Roosevelt, read about William Taft's presidency, and learned about the construction of the Panama Canal, as well as the San Francisco earthquake.  I didn't get too many pictures of this week! Luke and Kiryn are really doing great in Latin. I'm very impressed with Song School Latin, and am glad that we continued with the second book this year.  It is still their "favorite subject".  I'm also really impressed with their level of retention of what they learned last year.  Here's a video of them using what they know: We are working through Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics this year.  We did a fun activity this week of building atoms with candy! :)  It helped them learn in a hands-on way about protons, neutrons, electrons, and the structure of atoms. We made two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, and in the end, we had one molecule of water! :)   We'r...

We are so excited to be settled enough to begin school this week!  We are looking forward to completing our first cycle of Tapestry of Grace and continuing with all of our other curriculums that we've grown to love.  Here's some pictures of our first week! We're kicking off a study of the early 1900's, beginning with learning about President Theodore Roosevelt.We reviewed our major continents and oceans in geography, and got off to a good start in Latin, science, and writing as well.  We're still finishing up last years math books! : ) My students for the year: Luke and Kiryn are in the Upper Grammar level of Tapestry this year.  That means they have an increased amount of independent reading for history and worldview studies.  They're finding lots of fun places to get this reading done.  Our school room needs some organizing still.  I need to get some bookshelves, and plan to go to IKEA in Kansas City after it opens on ...