How history repeats itself

As we were reading history today, I was reminded that history does repeat itself.  Read this quote from Mystery of History, Volume I, Creation to the Resurrection, Lesson 24:

"Problems at home often make a country lose power against its neighbors.  That's what happened to Egypt after the reign of Tutankhamen (King Tut)."

Does this sound like America today?  Due to our leaders inability to work together and negotiate, we (the United States of America) look weak to all of our neighbors and our enemies.

These words spoke volumes to me today.  The boys and I had a lengthy discussion of how we (U.S.A) are looking very weak and how it could be solved.  They absorbed everything I said very well.  If only we can grow a whole generation of kids smart enough to know that negotiations are a good thing, and that no way does one side get everything and the other side just settles for it.  We have to have strong leaders on BOTH sides that are thick skinned enough to take one on the chin and come together to NEGOTIATE, NOT GIVE AWAY THE KINGDOM TO THE OTHER SIDE.  We have strong leaders on one side in our capital, but when it comes to strong leaders on the other side, the weak leaders are too embedded with the other side to give the strong leaders a chance.  They will in turn, call the strong leaders, that are willing to stand up to the other side, names and smear them to all of the press.  This shows weakness on their part.

If the above it too vague for you, let me clarify.  We obviously have strong leaders on the Democratic side.  But, the Republican side of the aisle is weak.  Not all are weak, only the ones that embedded with the Democratic side seem to get a say in anything.  The true strong leaders of the Republican party are not allowed to stand up for anything.  And when they do, the embedded leaders of the Republican party call them names and smear them in the press.

Therefore, until we are able to get these strong leaders in the right position, by voting the weak/embedded name calling ones out of office, we (the USA) will be considered a weak nation to other countries and to our enemies.

I love homeschooling!  How many other kids in public school, or even in private school can have a discussion with their teacher about politics or how the world views us?

I am helping to raise strong leaders for our country!

Have a great day!
Sherie

Living History

Have you ever been to a bridal shower and had to wrap somebody in toilet paper to create a dress?  Me too!  So, when I read about making mummies, this is what I pictured.  Well, when you are dealing with 7 & 8 year olds, it doesn't alway turn out the way you have pictured in your mind.  LOL!  But you know what?  We had fun, no matter what!

I love to make history come to life.  I don't remember doing this in school, EVER!  I remember history being B-O-R-I-N-G!  But, when you bring it to life it embeds history in your mind and you don't forget it (like I did).

So, off we went into the boys room and they picked out the stuffed animal they wanted to mummify.  The first animal my youngest boy wanted to mummify was a whale.  I was like, ummmm no.  That would take all of the toilet paper we have in the house.  LOL!  They then chose small animals to mummify.  Shphew!

Here are the result of the mummification of stuffed animals.

Yes, I have a mess in our office/classroom.  I'm getting ready for a yard sale, but its has rained every weekend this summer, so this stuff is just sitting there.....

Yes, it is 90 degrees outside and my youngest has on long sleeves.  I'm allowing them to pick out their own clothes these days and so we are experimenting with what matched and what doesn't.

Yes, we used A LOT of toilet paper.  But you know what?  The frugal mom in me made them pick it all up and put it in a basket and they had to use it every time the went to the bathroom until it was all gone.  LOL! 

Back to history, I LOVE how Mystery of History has an activity after every lesson.  It really brings history to life for everybody!

I hope this gives you some ideas as to how to bring history to life for your kids!

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Astronomy Update

We are still on Venus.........

I have to say, we are all sick of Venus!

 But, this is our last book for this planet, and we will be moving on to Earth!

 This is the book we are reading now. It has quite a bit of detail in it, so we are reading 1 chapter per day.

 

Do you utilize your library?  We LOVE our library!  We take a trip to the library every week.  The boys get to check out 15 each.  And let me just say, they loooooove to check out books.  And I am happy to say, they read most of what they check out.

We are using our library to do our Astronomy Unit Study.  If you are interested in our previous updates, here is the link.  http://www.genesis129trailblazers.blogspot.com/search/label/Astronomy

I hope you have a GREAT day!
Sherie

First day of School

I'm a little behind in posting this.  My daughter is starting her Senior year in Public School.  Yes, I said Public School.  However, her school is a little different from your typical PS.  She is in a Technical High School, which if you were like me, you would be like, *gasp* a Technical High School?  Yea, its not like that either.  Her school you have to apply to go there in December of your 8th grade year.  Then, they inform you in April if you got in or not.  They only allow 300 kids in each year.  So, if all of the kids stayed at this school, there would 1200 students.  BUT, of the 300 per class some transfer out to other public schools, some are military families, so they transfer out.  Anyway, the senior class ends up with about 150-200 students.  Which does sound like a big number, but when the other schools are graduating 400-500 per school each year, 150-200 is s-weet!

And, they aren't learning hairdressing, or mechanics (which there is nothing wrong with those careers, I have many friends in both of those career fields and making great incomes).  No, this school has Information Technology, Nursing, EMS, and others I can't think of right now.  My daughter happens to be in the career field of Biomedical Technologies.  Her goal is to become a nurse practitioner.  She is a great student.  She is in all AP, Honors, or Dual Enrollment classes.  I am so proud of her!

A little background on her.  She went to private school until 5th grade.  Then I homeschooled her for 3 years.  Then, she went into the public school system. 

Here is a couple of pics.

Isn't she beautiful?!?

And now, this is what the rest of us did on the first day of public school.

(don't be hatin' on our scores!  LOL!)

 

After bowling, we went for pizza, and then we went to see Turbo!  It was a total blast of a day.  It turns out, we had just finished 30 days of school.  I think we may have another fun day after the next 30 days of school are accomplished.

 

Have a GREAT day!

Sherie

 

Making Models

Our Public Library offers free model making classes for kids.  I just found out about it, so we hightailed it downtown to enjoy this experience.  My boys HAD A BLAST!!!!  Here are a few pics of them creating their cars.

( Our great library assistant, helping us figure out the instructions)

They were sooooo proud of themselves!  I am proud of them too.  Coming in November, we will be going back to make Blue Angel Models.  (and word on the street says that one of the pilots may be there.  We will see about that)

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Mystery of History Update

Adding to our timeline!

WE are learning so much during History every day.  Yes, I said we.  There are some things, ok most things, in history I do not remember learning in school. 

 

Yes, I remember learning about the Sumerians and the Tower of Babel.  I remember learning about the Tower of Babel in Sunday School and church.  But, I do not remember learning about the Epic of Gilgamesh. 

 

I found the pictures for our timeline on the internet.  Just a simple Google search and Bam!  It was done.

 

FREE resources, that's what I'm talking about!  LOL!  You  can find so much on the internet.

 

How do you come up with the items for your timeline?  Did you buy the pre-printed pack?  Or do you create your own?  We have a mix of it all.

 

Have a Great day!
Sherie

Astronomy Unit Study Update

We are now past Mercury and are now studying Venus!   I was going to start an art project, but the boys were not very well behaved at the store yesterday, so we moved on from the fun stuff to the not so fun stuff of watching the video of Venus.

I went onto the Public Library's website and searched the catalog for anything on the subject of Venus.  I found a ton of stuff!  So, I sorted through the titles and found 1 video and several books (will post those when we get to them).

This video was a great introduction to Venus.  Although, when it started out, I had to pause it to make sure it wasn't an X rated movie.  LOL!  The introduction was nothing but artwork of the Goddess Venus.  Well, if you've seen any pictures or even any artwork of Venus, you know she is a half naked, if not all naked woman.  I have 2 boys ages 7 & 8.  I was a little concerned.  But, I just forwarded through the introduction and on to the movie/documentary.

Like I said earlier, it was very good.  We will be studying more about Venus in the next few weeks, so be sure to check back for updates!

Check your local library for great resources on study material!

Have a great day!
Sherie

Florida Caverns

We took a trip to the Florida Caverns in Marianna FL.  If you don't know where that is, well its about a 2 hour drive from Pensacola.  We got up early, because it has rained every single weekend this summer in NW Florida.  And almost ever single weekday too.  According to the National Weather  Center, this is the 2nd wettest summer ever recorded (the 1st was last summer, but I don't remember it being this wet.  I think we got all of our rainfall in 1 weekend last year.  This year we are getting rained on every day)

Anyway, back to my story.  We headed out on a beautiful sunny Saturday and got there at the perfect time.  It hadn't got too hot yet.  So, we went into the little gift shop and paid for our tour.  And this is what we saw:

 (I don't remember what any of the formations are called except this one ^.  Its called the wedding cake.  Can you see it?)

(My beautiful children!)

 

WOW!  If you EVER have the chance to go see this gorgeous wonder of nature, DO IT!  You will not regret it!

 

Would you believe that as soon as we walked out of the caverns, it was thundering.  We barely made it to our car before it started downpouring.  And it rained ALL THE WAY HOME!  UGH!  Florida is no longer known as the sunshine state.  :-(

 

Have a great day!

Sherie

Astronomy Update

Well, we are wrapping up our Mercury study.  It has been fascinating.  Have I remembered anything we have learned?  NOPE!  But, the Big Guy has.  The Little Guy is not interested at all, but as long as he is in the room paying attention, I really don't care if he retains any of it.  At this point, he does not want to be a scientist or have anything to do with the space program.  LOL!  Now, the Big guy LOVES science and space.  This is why he is like a sponge during science time.

Here is the last of the books we read about Mercury:

This book had so much information in it, we only read one chapter per day.  There were 7 chapters. We even read the chapters about Pluto, even though we are not to Pluto yet.  It was very interesting to learn about the surface, atmosphere, etc of Mercury.

Utilize your library for great unit studies.

Have a great day!
Sherie

History update

I have decided to use my blog as a daily journal entry of how our homeschool year is going.  Some may get tired of my entries.  I'm hoping it will be inspiration to others.

I am a very, very, very frugal person.  Honestly, my husband and I are so frugal, its scary.  We have worked through the Dave Ramsey program a few years ago, and learned to live on less.  Yes, we are pretty much debt free.  Our only debt is our motorcoach and our home.  And after a budget meeting last week, we have a plan to get both of those paid off in the next 5 years.  WHOO HOO!  I'm so excited about that!

After all of that explanation, I am finding more and more ways to NOT spend money homeschooling.  So, today's post is about building a ziggurat.  We learned about how the Sumerians built Ziggurats and this was the beginning of building pyramids. It was also around the same time frame that the people built the Tower of Babel.  And when the Lord created multiple languages.

So, after reading our Mystery of History book, the boys created their very own Ziggurat.  I was expecting them to build a much bigger building together, but they each created miniature version of the Ziggurat.  LOL!  Its amazing how we get an image in our head and then things turn out completely different than what we had imagined.  Here is their creations:

(This is little guy's creation.  He says, look mom its scary because it has an eye.  LOL!)

What do you use for Grammar, aka Language Arts?????

As some know, I am adding in a new curriculum every month, so we don't break the bank all at one time.  Honestly, last year we were paying $410 per month for the boys to go to private school, so a little curriculum cost is not really going to break the bank, its just nice not to have to spend it all at one time.  And also, it gives the boys time to get used to one subject and then add in the next, and then the next, and then the next. 

Yes, I know this means we will not be finishing all of our curriculum at one time, and I am good with that.  We are homeschooling year round, so we don't really need to finish everything by May 30th (or whatever day public school gets out).

The first subject I started with was math.  Little guy had a real hard time last year with math, so I knew we were going to start there with him.  Well, Big guy kept asking where his math was, so I ordered his a few weeks later.  Then, we added history the next month, then Spelling the next, not to mention the tons of printables I have been using.  (I have got to start saving those links so you can enjoy them also.  I promise I will start saving them.)

But, in the mean time Big guy was needing to be more challenged, so I hit the library.  After talking to him several days in a row, I realized even though he is going into 3rd grade, they had not introduced him to the parts of speech.  So, where do I start?  Where do I start?????  Some how I figured out to start with nouns (I am sure the Lord helped me with this, because I have not found anywhere that says you start with nouns first, then........)

Well, one day Big guy was looking at the books about paper airplanes, and lo and behold on a shelf across from that, were all kinds of books for Grammar (aka Language Arts).  WHOO HOO!!!!!!  I grabbed up the first 2 I found on nouns and called it a day.  Here is what we started with:

I don't know if you have figured it out yet, but I LOVE OUR LIBRARY!!!!!!  I mean, you can find anything there.  

So, on day 1  of Grammar, we read A Mink, A Fink, and A Skating Rink.  And we began the nouns book with what is a noun. 

I found some worksheets about nouns (again, I promise I will start saving those links and sharing them) and we began to work.  Big guy is a very quick learner, so it was no time before he had this book completely read and all of the worksheets completed (correctly).

And then, I was off researching the library online to find our next book.  I have it ordered and will share with you when I pick it up.

All this to say, you don't necessarily  have to have a purchased curriculum to get the most out of homeschooling.  Sometimes, the FREE resources are just what the Lord had in mind when He placed in your brain the idea of homeschooling in the first place.

Have a GREAT day!
Sherie

Astronomy Update

Well, we have been steadily working our way through all of the books I could get from the library on the planet Mercury. 

If you haven't been with me before, we are doing a unit study on Astronomy.  Taking an in depth look at each planet.  Right now, we are focusing on Mercury, since it is the closest to the sun. 

So, we added this book to the study.  Each book we add seems to have something new in it that we didn't know.  We are learning so much, I am really excited!  We don't have very many more books to study about Mercury, then we will be off to the next planet.

See, after looking at several lists of what a 2nd and 3rd grader should know about science, I discovered that at this point, they are just touching on each aspect of science.  Well, we are probably getting more in depth than most 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms on the subject of Astronomy.  But, me and my boys are enjoying it and we are learning a LOT too!

So see, if you are new homeschooler.  Let this be an encouragement to you that you don't have to have an expensive science curriculum.  You can just go visit your local library and find all you need to to learn about science!

God bless you all!
Sherie

Mistery of History

Wow what we have learned!  I am learning right along with my boys.  Yes, I may have heard of some of the stories, but others I have not heard of at all.  It is AWESOME!!!!!!

Since my last update, we have of course learned about creation.  And of course we learned about Adam and Eve, and their sons.  But, then we learned about Jubal and Tubal-Cain.  You know, I think I have read that part of the Bible many times, but it has NEVER stuck!  I had no idea who these two characters were. 

Then we learned about the Ice Age.  We did a little experiment, but it didn't last long enough for me to take pictures, so maybe another time.  The experiment was "how long can you stand the cold?"  Its August in Florida, right?  So, it is HOT as hades outside, right?  Well, this experiment was to take ice and place it on your belly and see how long you could stand it.  Well, my boys couldn't even last long enough for me to get my camera.  LOL!  We did this outside, I was thinking since it was hot, they would last longer.  NOPE!  The said it burned.  Go figure!  I didn't try it, so I still have no idea.

Anyway, how have you explained the Ice Age?  Have you done any cool experiments about this time period?

God Bless you all!
Sherie

Earth Exhibit

Only 10 libraries in the US will get this exhibit.  I am so thankful our library is one of them.  My boys LOVE the exhibit.  We go to the library at least once per week and every time we have to go check out the exhibit.  It will be on display until sometime in September.  Oh Boy!

Not only do they have these cool interactive devices, they also are having excellent lectures.  This past Tuesday, we went to a lecture about the solar system.  WOW!  The taller boy loved it!  He is going to be my science major.  The younger boy sat there and listened, but like me, half of the stuff the Astrophysicist said was wayyyyyy over his head.

There will be one lecture per week now until the exhibit is done.  I can't wait!  Some of the lectures will be about reef making, weather forecasting, etc.

Have a FAR OUT day!
Sherie

Astronomy Unit Study

If you didn't see my first post about our astronomy unit study, here it is.  We have been adding to our ASTRONOMY unit study by reading books about Mercury.

 

 

 

See that word Updated in the title?  Yea, maybe back in 1980.  LOL!  But, since I know absolutely nothing about ASTRONOMY, it did have things in it that we did not know.  It was a fun, short book that kept the boys attention.

 

The next day, we read this book.

 

 

 

This also was a short, fun book as well.  The boys really enjoyed it.

 

New Do's

Nothing is more exciting than getting a new "do"!  Well, at least for us......

You see, where my boys went to school these past few years, there is a VERY VERY VERY strict code on how you are to wear your hair.  You cannot have your hair spiked, cut into a bowl, or any other way that the teacher or principal may think draws attention to yourself. 

Well, my youngest boy has some funky hair that NEVER lays down.  No matter how much gel or hairspray or anything we put on it, by the end of the day, it was sticking up.  So, we started out the year, last year, with spikey hair, just so he wouldn't feel self conscience about it sticking up.  Well, we were immediately told we could not have his hair that way.  So, we had to paste it down to his head every day (not literally, but you get the gist).

So, when they found out they were not going back to that school...... well, they BOTH wanted their hair spikey.  So, here we go!  Our NOT back to school hair do!  HA!!!!!

And as for me, well I had not been happy with my hair for a few months now.  So, when it was my turn, I had her cut most of it off.  And it gave me a new bounce in my step!  I feel soooooooo much better with this shorter hair.  I feel more confident.  I don't know what it is about a new do that does that, but man the exhilaration!  Double HA!

Do you ever get NOT back to school hair cuts?  I never even thought about it until this year, simply because we always went BACK TO SCHOOL! 

The boys love their hair and ask me to spike it up every day.

God Bless you all!
Sherie

Classroom update!

Classroom update!

 

Well, it’s been a week or so since I wrote about our classroom.  We haven’t done a ton of changes, but we have added new chairs.  Office Depot had these cool chairs on sale for $59.99 each, so we hopped on that sale and got 2.  We got the same color, so there would be NO fighting.  Ha-ha!  Yea, I know I am wishfully thinking.

 

 

I just want everybody out there to know, you don’t have to go out and spend a fortune to set up a “classroom”.  Honestly, I had planned on doing just that.  I had a picture in my head that our school was going to look like a school.  Then, I kept putting things off and putting things off until finally the Lord made it clear in my head how things should REALLY be set up.  We moved desks that we already owned into my office.  I mean, I have a huge room that I was using for my office and only had 1 desk in the room.  I had plenty of room to share with my kids.  And why not show them that sharing is good.  Because I am sharing my office, they will get to keep their playroom.  And why do my walls have to be filled with bulletin boards and chalkboards, and whiteboards like a school room?  They don’t!  We have made the conscious decision to school at HOME, so let’s keep it looking like a home!

 

I hope this encourages some new homeschoolers and maybe even some practiced homeschoolers in the realms of your “classroom”.  As long as they have a place to do their work, that is all you need. 

Before I had this epiphany, we were holding school in the kitchen.  And actually, I kind of miss that…… kind of.  I was able to do dishes while the boys were doing their worksheets.  I was able to plan dinner while they were doing their busy work.  I was able to wash clothes and dry them as soon as the washer or dryer went off.

But, you know what?  Even though I was able to do all that stuff, we needed a place to be able to leave out our books and such.  I had to pack up all of our school books and “stuff” every afternoon, just so I could cook dinner.  Lunch was a nightmare.  I would have to prepare lunch on the dinner table, instead of the island.  I mean, we were making it.  But, this is much more comfortable.

I’m still in the process of organizing the room like I want, so stay tuned and see where God leads us!

 

God Bless You ALL!

Sherie

Is your little person having trouble with math??????

I can get sooooooo frustrated some times.  I know my 7 year old can do math, I know it, I know it, I know it!  But, some times................he just goofs off and acts like he is 1 and has no idea what 1+1 is.  AAAAaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Well, I needed something fresh to get him to do his 2+ facts.  So, one night I was playing Bingo on my ipad, trying to drown out the fact that my son could not tell me what 2+5 was that day.  And ALL OF A SUDDEN, my brain kicked into gear.  Yep, that happens sometimes.

So, what is a girl to do you ask?????  Jump over to Amazon.com and see what kind of deals they have on Bingo games.  Yep, they had a Bingo game for $17.99 (here is the link!  http://www.amazon.com/Century-Novelty-Complete-Bingo-Game/dp/B0016HN3GO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375821386&sr=8-2&keywords=Bingo)   AND, thanks to Amazon Prime, we had it in 2 days.  Do you have Amazon Prime?  Oh my goodness, that is the best thing Amazon ever came up with.  For our family, Amazon Prime has saved us so much money on shipping, its crazy!

Here's what we do.  Each boy gets 1 Bingo card.  I will call the number that comes out of the cage, for example 5.  And say, ok what is 5+2?  The 7 year old has to answer.  Then, I say B7 AFTER he answers correctly.  We do the same for the higher number too.  And you know what?  IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm so excited!  He asks to do Math Bingo every day!  WHOO HOO!!!!!  I am one happy momma!

Now, we tried to do this with multiplication for the 8 year old, but the answers were just too high in some cases that the numbers didn't go that high, so only do this with addition and subtraction.

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to get your little person to get better with their math factoids.



God Bless you all!
Thanks for stopping by!
Sherie