A Post About Why

It is a homeschooling post. . . so I posted it here. If you are a homeschooling family or if you are thinking it over, you might be interested in what one homeschooling mama has to say. Since that post is on the kinda serious side, the remainder of this post is all about the funny!

Otherwise, since today it's school talk here are a couple of videos that I must share. I must!

This is just hilarious! And it has truth too it too! If you know a homeschooler and you have asked these, please except these answers and never ask again! ~Laughter~



And if you have never heard this song written by Tim Hawkins about homeschooling families. . cracks me up every time!



I'll be back tomorrow with some Lovelock funnies. . . it's been awhile and I would hate for you all to think that my kids aren't funny anymore!

School is in Session. . . .Almost

That's right, we here at the Lovelocks have not yet begun school. Because we do a year around program we finished summer session at the end of July, that means we don't resume until the end of August. So, in an effort to answer several questions from various people and to stop neglecting Principle Things Academy's blog, I post over there today.

Homeschooling 101, as taught by this mama.

As for Mamalovelock, well, I'm getting ready for an influx of school books and prepping schedules for three kiddos doing three very different areas of learning. I am pulling together crafts, supplies, creating attendance sheets, writing letters to local school boards informing them of our homeschool and deep cleaning so that I feel ahead of the curve ball.

Now I am pretty sure that Daniel is attempting to pour his own glass of milk, so on that note this post is coming to a close. ~Smile~

Breathing Fresh Air

The last two days have been splendidly beautiful outside. So today I have my front door open and my kids have spent most of this day outside. It is a win-win situation people; they LOVE it outside and it is quiet inside. What more could this mama ask for?!?!? Makiah did all of her school work lying on a blanket outside in the sun. I love homeschooling.



Sam officially started Kindergarten last week. Yes, we are doing school year round so I figured why not. If I am going to homeschool one child, why not do two?? The trip to crazy is already paid for, I might as well ride first class. (I truly love, love, love homeschooling, but there are days that I think I am crazy for getting in this, just to explain) Let me explain my location called crazy. See every morning, VERY. SINGLE. MORNING. first thing, Sam asks me "what are we doing tomorrow mama"? Not today, but tomorrow. I am there still figuring out today and he wants an itinerary for tomorrow???? So my standard answer has become, "we are going to crazy (sometimes it is ville, state or town or just plain crazy)". I have said this so much in fact that now he asks this, "what are we doing tomorrow mama, still going to crazy"? ~~Laugh out Loud~~ "Yes son, still going to crazy". (By-the-way, I totally feel Brain during this dialogue and now understand his frustration with Pinky. If you have never watched Pinky and the Brain, I have now confused you). This answer, however, appeases him and I get to move on with figuring out the current day. He loves to do school work and he is plowing through Math at breakneck speed. He told me that this math was too simple and he needs harder math not this, as Sam puts it, "preschool math I already know". I agree with him. He already knows how to add and subtract simple numbers up to ten. At this rate that rocket ship he has been saying he will build should be done by Christmas. Course I'll just be happy if he is reading by Christmas.

Sam just came in and asked for a drink. I gave him one and he proceeded to tell me he needed that because he is "sweating like a pig in a waffle iron".

Thank you son, you should have that girlfriend you keep talking about any day now with lovely conversation pieces like that.

Well, you have now peeked into my day. I am feeling my bloggy groove returning. Watch out people, I have typing skills and I am not afraid to post! (Finally, right? I know!)

By-the-way, I know that I overused parentheses in this post, but that's just how I roll. ~~Smile~~

Beginnings

I love new beginnings. Its new, fresh and fun. We started a new school year today and I am so excited. I have a fourth grader and a pre-k kiddo and of course a wild 2 year old! I have lots of fabulous things planned and I'm very excited. The kids are too.

I actually blogged over here today. Poor little neglected blog. Come on over and visit, comments welcome!

The School Bell Has Rung and We Are Back in Session

We officially began summer school after taking the month of June off. I needed a break, she needed a break and I had to pack. So now that we are moved, I can focus on school work again. We have already finished the "official" second grade work, so we are doing some extra work until the official stuff is ordered, around the first week of August. I have also "officially" started Sam on his preschool work! So here is a run down of what we are and will be doing over the next few weeks! By-the-way, I am feeling official as my word for the day, so you may see it a few more times.

Makiah is doing a LOT of reading, of which some is forced upon her and the rest she is doing on her own. I really shouldn't say forced, but I am having her read a new book that I just purchased for her and she is going to do her first book report. I plan on helping her quite a bit, but that's okay, just want her to get the concept of a book report. She will also be doing a report on penguins--her favorite animal. Tomorrow, Makiah will begin a study on Three Old Testament Kings. I have the Teachers Manual and a student manual from a Sunday School class a couple of years ago. It's perfect for her age and she is really into studying the Bible--again something I won't stop. . . ever. Math, now that's another story. Math frustrates her most of the time. She knows it, but she just doesn't really like it. So I bought a 2nd grade Math workbook from a local mega bookstore that looks fun, colorful, has lots of clowns and she is really excited about going through it. I want to keep her Math skills going since she starts multiplication in 3rd grade. She also has a couple of Animal Science and Literature and Creative Writing paces that we are going to work through. I also have a Hooked On Phonics--Learn Spanish that I am going to start with her. I am having Makiah keep a journal. I remember when I did this school and she really likes getting to write down what she did and such. Shhhh. . . don't tell her, but it's great writing practice. ~~Smile~~

Samuel has done really well during our first week back to school. He is now officially in preschool and he is doing great. Most importantly though, he loves it and it keeps him busy and this is a good thing. He sat right there with us during the whole school time. He does worksheets that I purchased on colors, shapes, numbers and letters. He can count to twenty already, so we started on number recognition. He recognizes and identifies numbers 0-9, can write his name, knows all his shapes and colors. We start patterns, dot-to-dot that is 0-9 and mazes next week. If he continues to do this well, then we might be able to start phonics in January!

We do science experiments, they really love those!! This week we have been talking about things that float and sink. We did two experiments and a craft. Most of the time Sam is involved in the experiments, no reason to exclude him, but as her work gets harder she will have some on her own.

I am still in planning mode for the fall session of school, but I have some great ideas on paper. I'll share those more in my "BIG Homeschool Post" sometime in the next couple of weeks.

~This post was originally started on 7/9/09, but because I haven't had to finish it, you are just now getting it!!

~~I am getting ready to reconstruct my blog, so if your link or button disappears, don't fret, it will be back!!

Spring Cleaning and Packing. . . Again!

Yes dear followers, we are moving again. {Insert a very big UGH here, along with a sigh and an eye roll}

Our lease is coming up here and we have decided not to renew this lease. We don't really like this apartment now that we have actually been living here. And it's way too expensive compared to some others. So we are going to be moving at the end of June. So not only am I spring cleaning, I am cleaning out stuff. I am not moving all this stuff again. Some of it has to go!!

I am going through clothes and more clothes and then more clothes. It's no wonder my laundry is never done. We have so many clothes. I am weeding through Daniel's clothes that he is now too big for and packing away winter stuff (Makiah and Sam's) in hopes that it will fit again this coming winter. FIngers crossed.

I am also going to be seriously scaling back our toy inventory. We have way too many. A lot of them I have held onto over the last 9 years and now we just have too much. So a lot of them are going to have to find new homes or start paying rent.

Even though I absolutely hate moving, but I am looking forward to doing some decorating things that I didn't do here for too many reasons to list. I have some things in mind, lets see if I can get them out of my mind and actually in place.

We finished the last quarter of school and are taking a two week break before starting out summer quarter. I have some big plans for homeschooling this summer too, but it all has to work together with the move.

So that means enough blogging for now. More cleaning out and laundry. I live such an exciting life, don't I?? ~~Smile~~

Alive and Well (Hopefully)

I am still here and still alive, being well. . . . well it seems to come and go. Currently all we are fighting is allergies. I can deal with those. Allergies don't land us in the hospital.

I have been super busy around here and just haven't made time to write a post. So here goes.

School is going okay, but it could be better. I take full responsibility on that matter. I just can't seem to get things balanced back out after the hospital stay nearly three weeks ago. I just feel like everything is running around me and I can't grab hold of it. I mean we are doing the required work, but if you know me, I have been doing other things with her outside of the curriculum. There has been no extra and I am frustrated by that. My days seem to be getting shorter. Makiah is doing really well with reading. Her progress astounds me. Her favorite thing to read. . . are you ready for this. . . her BIBLE. That's right. Her Bible, which is pink and purple. I came in from the kitchen the other day (the boys were taking a nap) and found Makiah laying on the floor, on her belly, with her Mix Stick in her ears, reading her Bible. I am thankful she reads and enjoys it, but I am really thankful that she loves to read the Bible. Despite the music, she recounted everything she had just read. My buttons were popping, I have to say.

Daniel is doing really well with physical therapy. He actually got behind the walking toy and walked it! YAY!! Mommy was so happy and proud of her boy. He is showing improvement in occupational therapy as well. Hopefully he will be up to his age level soon. He babbles and giggles all the time. He is also showing off his temper too. So in some areas he is right where he should be. Cognitively he is fine.

Sam is getting better with the potty. Again I take responsibility for this too. I slacked off a bit and so he did too. We aren't back at the beginning (no where near it actually) but I was hoping to being closer to the end by now. But at least I can say he does go to the potty and for the most part is accident free. YAY!!

The other night at bedtime, both Sam and Makiah say a prayer. It's not something they repeat of memorize, they say what they are thinking and sometimes Hubs or I help them out. On this particular night, Sam was still sick and he said this, "Thank you Jesus for my birthday, for firetrucks and firemans, and for my medicine." I had to laugh. Firemen, let this be known, Sam Lovelock is praying for you! Little man was so sick that he was actually thankful for his medicine. Didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that! The whole thing was funny though. Hubs thought so too.

Well, I could talk about The Great Slim Down of '09, cloth diapers and Hubs current Open Grill project, but I will probably need the blog fodder for another day. Yes, I am actually going to try and be back everyday.

I will post pics later this week too. Really.

Have a fabulous Thursday!!!

Cookin' It Up

Last week I mentioned a post about some kitchen fun, well, needless to say we didn't get around to it until today. Makiah got her school work done and I have to say this was the first day since coming off Christmas break that I didn't consider public school. It went really well, she finished it all, focused and it was peaceful. {Thank you Lord for answering prayer}

Anyhoo, everyone was so good today, I mean they ALL took a nap and everything that mama decided today was a good day to do some fun in the kitchen, my term for learning in disguise.

My Aunt Sadie is a very talented seamstress. Actually my Nanny (who passed away) and all her sisters are amazing with a sewing machine. My aunt is very happy that I am teaching my kiddos something in the kitchen, especially Makiah, as part of our homeschool program. So Aunt Sadie took to the sewing machine and sent them matching aprons and Daniel has a bib that matches. So today we put them into use, well the use they were intended for. The kids have been wearing them practically all day every day.

After naps and playing Wii, we headed to the kitchen to make cornbread and blueberry muffin bread (that would be muffins not cooked in the muffin pan). We had a great time. I did a lot of teaching, but Makiah was having so much fun, she didn't even notice. ~Smile~

They did really well and they didn't even argue. I'm telling you today was like a miracle of peace. I'm already praying that tomorrow goes the same.



She is very focused and he is looking at the measuring spoons. He was waiting patiently for his turn.


He REALLY likes to stir, but he listened the whole time and waited his turn for everything. I was beginning to wonder where my son was?!?!


Wild hair, half naked, but ready to cook!

We had a really good time and lots-o-fun! I love it when a day goes this well.

Did I Come with an Off Button?

Busy, busy, busy weekend. So busy, I was glad to see Monday come.

Then Monday was busy. Very busy and by the time I sat down to have a minute of quiet to type, I was too tired. I wrote that first line and then went to bed!

So this is a Monday post, published on Tuesday morning.

Makiah is having a very hard time getting back into the school routine. Still. There have been a couple days where I was looking for the nearest public school. But, we will press on and get at it, I know it's what is best for us, but there are days. . .

The lifestyle change (diet) is going well. The soreness is getting better every day and last week I lost a pound (wanted more, but I'll take it) and melted away 6.5 inches off of various locations! So at least I see progress and that is what I want.

I need to feed Makiah and get started on school. I also have a mountain of laundry and some errands to run. Looks like busy bled over into another day.

Have a very blessed Tuesday.

My thought of the day:
Studies have found that dark chocolate helps prevent heart disease and cancer, and has also been shown to improve mood by boosting the brain chemical serotonin. ~~So I say, enjoy a little chocolate everyday, even on a diet! :)

First Injury of 2009

This post is sans pictures because I can't find the camera cord to upload the photos!! Arg!!

Anyhoo, Samuel has begun the New Year with a bang. . . literally, a bang on the nose. We were playing on Monday, actually having dance time. We crank up the music and dance. It's fun, good exercise and a great stress reliever. Sam was doing is infamous jump and spin. This is where he jumps and spins at the same time, but rather than land on his feet he comes down all the way to his eyes. Looks painful, but when you're three what's a little pain when having fun. So on, what turned out to be the last jump and spin of the day, he shut his eyes. He was getting very dramatic with it and he came down on his knees but also brought his head down. Because his eyes were closed and moving at warp speed he didn't know that his face was going to make impact with the floor. And make impact it did. I was dancing and didn't see the whole thing unfold, being the attentive mother I am and all. I scooped him up and almost immediately the swelling began. Within 15 minutes he had a fat, red-purplish nose. He looked like Rudolph gone wrong. I know it had to hurt, made my eyes water just looking at it. I gave him Tylenol and he fell asleep. He woke up and it was even more red and purplish and a little fatter. Hubs insisted that it was just bruised and so we didn't go to the doctor.

The swelling has gone down considerably and he doesn't have a red and purple nose anymore. It's now just a fainting memory, well, kind of. See for Sam the memory is still very vivid. He tells me about 100 times a day--"I won't bump my nose anymore, that was ouchy". Does he still go at warp speed? Yes, of course. Does he still do his famous jump spin dance move? Yes, only this time, he leaves his eyes open and doesn't drop to his knees.

As for the rest of us, no injuries, only if you don't count the ones to my nervous system. Makiah is having a had time getting back into a school groove. She is easily distracted and I am constantly telling her to get back to work. I should just record it and play it looping every 15 minutes. Hopefully, we will be better in the coming days, but I have to say that the last three days have been difficult to say the least.

The diet, I mean, lifestyle change is going well. I have been soda free for 4 days! That's saying a lot for a Dr. Pepper addict like me. I haven't had any caffeine for 3 days and haven't hurt anyone yet. Who says miracles aren't still happening?!? I have increased my water intake and trips to the bathroom have also increased. All in all, things are progressing well. I plan on posting my progress about once a week. I know you all are excited about that, but I have to share my joy with everyone.

Well, since I am rather nauseated (I think the stomach flu is trying to venture back into my life), I think I'll go take a nap. Resting is part of a healthy lifestyle, don't you agree??

Wow It's Almost Here

Every week Heart of the Matter has a meme. I haven't done it in a few weeks, but I really wanted to do this one, so here we go. Goals for 2009 is this weeks meme and I just can't believe it's that time again. You know the time where we sit down and decide all the things we want to do in the coming year. I quit calling them resolutions several years ago and went to calling them goals. I wonder if one goal could be to complete the goals?? I have so many this year, but I won't bore you with all of them.

Personal:
~~To have the mind of Christ everyday, all day.
~~To read the Bible all the way through.
~~To lose weight--and no I won't say how much. :)
~~To exercise daily (different muscle groups)
~~To teach my children the joy of helping others in the community.
~~Including Makiah our community work.
~~To be more organized in every area (house, homeschooling, church duties)
~~To cook healthier, from scratch meals
~~Eat the majority of our meals at home (we eat out too much)
~~To end the year with money in savings (novel concept huh?)
~~Peace and Patience are to be my words of the year!
~~To have Samuel completely potty trained!!!
~~To read a one book a month for my personal enjoyment
~~To make gifts and goodies for people throughout the year (birthday's, anniversaries, Christmas and for no reason at all)
~~To try at least one new recipe a week the whole year.
~~To crochet a little everyday (Mental health time) :)
~~To blog something everyday, even if it's just a picture.

Homeschooling:
~~Become more focused and have a better daily schedule
~~Research and possibly change curriculum
~~Add more art, music and physical exercise into our days (like they don't run and jump enough)
~~Start Makiah on piano lessons
~~Complete letter and number recognition with Samuel, maybe begin early reading skills
~~Read more to my kids (we already read a lot, but I want to do more)

I have a lot of things I want to see accomplished in my life and home in 2009. I am looking forward to the challenges, joys, and fresh starts of the new year. One goal was to read one book a month for my enjoyment, I'd rather it was one a week, but my long list of things I want to accomplish probably wouldn't allow for that.

I'll be blogging about my progress. Nothing like being accountable to the internet and the four people who read my blog.

What things do you want to accomplish in the coming year?

Smack My Hands, I'm A Bad Bloggity Friend

I am issuing a sincere apology for not commenting and reading blogs in the last week, or two. Could it be. I read them on the run and don't always have time to comment. I am trying to catch up with reading and commenting. Though it probably won't be today. So if you get comments on all your posts from the last week, in one day, it's because all my kids are sleeping and I can actually do something besides blow noses and do housework. It will probably be time stamped, 2:04 a.m. ~~Smile~~

This is our last week of official homeschooling for 2008. Whew, I am glad. . . I need a break! We will keep our reading going on and we'll do some fun lapbooking over the break, but nothing too strenuous. I plan on lapbooking the Christmas Story, I think it will be fun! I will also use the break to plan our second semester and gather more preschool stuff for Sam. I have three books I am trying to read and can't seem to get through them. I have a fourth I want to start (Thanks to Sheila) I am hoping the school break will give me the opportunity to read something besides Junie B. Jones and Amelia Bedelia. Not that Junie B. and Amelia aren't exciting, but I feel my brain get mushy.

We are expecting to get hit with an ice storm overnight tonight and so I need to make a grocery list and get some things done. Also need to pull out candles, flashlights and board games. Just in case we have no power. Got tons-o-planning to do, must leave the interweb and get stuff done.

Have an awesome Monday!!

Grab the Glue and Let's Learn

I am loving a concept I had never heard about before--lapbooking. In my search for more homeschooling "stuff" (I know you love my technical language) I stumbled upon a great website--Homeschool Share. There I discovered, for us, lapbooking. We are in love.

Last week I was looking for more to do with Samuel, without spending a fortune on workbooks, and clicked on the preschool tab in Homeschool Share. They had a counting lapbook that was apples. It was more than counting though, it's colors, sorting and counting. I was so excited. I printed it all out and here's what we got:


These are the pockets. I decided to do it on a piece of cardboard, rather than a folder. At little sturdier, for the need sturdier type.


These are the apple cards that go into the pockets. It is great. He will sit there for almost a hour and work on it. He does it, then does it all again. Anything that holds his attention that long is my friend.

I am working on an animal one for him. Then maybe we'll have two hours of being occupied. ~Smile~

We are working on telling time with Makiah, so she is working on one on the book, The Grouchy Ladybug. Really cute book and great for telling time. She loved reading the book and then putting together her lapbook. We are still working on hers, we'll probably finish it up today. But here it is so far, hopefully I'll have better pictures of the finished product.




Like I said, I need better pics the next time.

Anyway, that is what we have been working on--you know between book work, potty training, feeding a baby, dishes, laundry--I think I should stop now. You get the point.

I am also working on rearranging the blog, but as you can see I haven't completed that task yet.

Daniel waves now, but he doesn't like it when you say bye-bye, he cries. So to show him how to wave, we say hi! It is so funny. His eyes are still yucky, but I think they are getting better.

Samuel told me yesterday that he wants a pet. A pet ELEPHANT!! Yeah, okay, that will be happening real soon. Somehow I think the apartment complex would frown on that. Just sayin'.

Well, I need to go feed the masses and I should probably put actual clothes on. Yes, it is past noon and I am still in pj's.

Have a blessed Friday!!

What Makes My Family Unique?? Oh, the List is Long

Every week this great site, Heart of the Matter, I stumbled upon has a meme and so I thought for a Saturday and all-I-am-doing-is-cleaning-out-closets-and-you-would-not-be-interested-in-that we would participate in the meme, ya know, for a post with a point. Aren't I nice?

1. We are inter-racial family. I could stop right here, that's almost more uniqueness than one post can handle, but I won't. Trying to give our children the best from both cultures.

2. Hubs is Jamacian. He likes hot, very hot food. He likes to think he's a gourmet chef. He's an excellent cook, just a messy one. He's also an artist. Need I say more about that? I didn't think so.

3. We had a special needs child, Nathaniel, and he passed away at age 3. Grief and I are well acquainted. But so is God and I.

4. Hubs is the Associate Pastor of the church we attend--that lends itself to all kinds of uniqueness.

5. We watch a lot of documentaries. We also watch a lot of cartoons. There really is no middle ground for us.

6. We don't have a TV. Well we have one that we watch movies on, but it doesn't get any channels. No cable, no satellite. Most people find that to be strange--we think it's normal. In all of our married life we have never had one. We are okay with that, we don't feel we are missing out.

7. I love nonfiction books. Even as a child I would head straight for the nonfiction section of the library. I guess that works well with the whole documentary thing huh? I guess we are knowledge hounds.

8. We don't have any pets. Hubs and I have no desire for animals to live amongst us.

9. We grow fresh herbs. Yum!!

10. We cloth diaper our youngest son. I love it, wish I had done it with the other 3.

I think that's enough interesting info for one post, don't you?

I hope you all have a blessed and joy-filled weekend.

I leave you with this Thanksgiving wisdom from Maxine:



Keep laughing, it's like medicine for your soul!

Calling All Creative, Party-Type People

I am helping to organize our Homeschool Field Trip Group Christmas Party and I think my creative brain is on vacation. I am in need of games, that can be played in limited space, simple craft ideas and a I need a theme. I thought I'd get out here and ask all you creative, bright people for any suggestions you might have.

This Mama is running low on creativity right now. Thanks!!

Homeschooling Chit Chat

I love homeschooling, it has it's moments, but I still love it. We're in our third year and no one has been injured yet, so I say it's going well.

As I said, we are in our third year and I still feel rather green about the whole homeschooling thing. We made the decision to homeschool before we were married. It was one of those things that we discussed before hand so that we would know where the other stood. Let me say parenthically, that if you are engaged, and reading this blog, education should be something you discuss before marrying--it is just that big a deal, okay. So when Makiah reached the ripe old age of 5 and Kindergarten was looming ahead, I went to the guru of homeschooling--Sis. Pastor's Wife located somewhere in Missouri. She is awesome folks, just awesome. I knew about School of Tomorrow and PACE's, because I used them at various points on my education pathway. I went with what I knew. Until recently, I was thoroughly in the dark about how much info, support and curricula is out there. I do mean so much curricula. It's mind boggling. I knew of two when we started: School of Tomorrow and www.abeka.com. That was it. I am still in my curriculum discovery journey and interested in learning about more options.

While researching online (another reasons those big projects aren't getting done) I have come across some very helpful online sites that I would like to pass along. Now, if you are a veteran homeschool parent and you are reading this, please be patient, for you probably know all these already.

I stumbled upon this site and Makiah LOVES it, she actually asked if she could get online and do some more. It's math drills. It's free. Perfect. Click here to check it out. This is the drill page, but Math U See is also a curriculum. She did drills for a whole hour and was upset with me for making her stop to do book work.

Heart of the Matter is another site, a blog, I recently came upon and it is full of helpful information and encouragement. I could spend all kinds of time over there reading and reading, but I do have to feed the kiddos occasionally. And Hubs likes clean clothes. I know they are very unreasonable.

About.com has a really good site dedicated to homeschooling and it has a lot of good info if you are just trying to decide whether or not to homeschool. They also have a lot of links to sites about legal issues, record keeping, special needs and much more. They also have a tab on unit studies complete with printables.

Also, when we moved to Indiana I really wanted to find more homeschooling families and see what all was out there. There is so much!! We found a homeschool field trip group which is great. I encourage all homeschool families to seek out a field trip group or start one of your own! Also, talk to your local library and see what they have going on for homeschool families. One local library here has a program once a month specifically for homeschool kids. If they don't have a program, it's possible they know of a local group or at the very least other families that you could connect with.

So in my quest to always be bettering my "school" I will be posting about things or sites I find, ideas for crafts/teaching techniques/organization and of course about the zany, crazy Lovelock home. I would also love feedback. If you have suggestions, ideas or questions--live me a comment and tell me about it. I am an information hound and I always want/need to know more. I would love to hear what curriculum any of you use and how you incorporate your preschoolers without taking away from your older child/children.

Now that I have a novel, I am done for now. Makiah is begging to do more math drills. ~~Smile~~

Monday Randomness

Today has been a busy day and yet I don't feel like I accomplished anything. I did, I just don't feel like it. I don't mean just everyday stuff, you know, you have those things everyday. I mean big projects. I have so many big projects that I want to get done, yet they get swamped under the day to day stuff. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Samuel started the morning with washing his hat--in the bathroom sink. I guess I should just be thankful that he didn't wash it in the toilet.

We have a subscription to Turtle Magazine for Sam and we were working through a few pages of the current issue and we came upon a maze. Sam loved it!! He sat there for probably 45 minutes working that maze and then came back to it 3 or 4 more times. I was happy. He was happy. Thank you Turtle. Seriously though, if you have a preschooler, it's a great magazine for them and it has given me several good craft and food ideas for the kids. We use it at preschool time as a curriculum for him. He liked the maze so much, I may have to buy a maze book or print some from the internet. Anything that keeps him busy for more than 45 minutes has my complete attention and appreciation. ~Grin~

Daniel's first tooth is just barely up. You can feel little ridges and I am sure in a couple of days we will have a cute, razor sharp little tooth. He is chewing on everything and is very drooly, but he is a happy boy. I love to hear him laugh out loud.

I did warn you about the randomness at the beginning. Just another warning, it doesn't change. Keep reading if you can stomach it.

Makiah wants to bake something, but I just don't have the energy for that this evening, so that will have to be a project for tomorrow. We try to work in a couple of cooking events (where she helps) as part of school work. she enjoys it and it's a great way for us to spend time together.

I journeyed to the library today and got several documentaries for the kids. We are a documentary watching family. We watch a lot of them. I also picked up some more Dr. Seuss books because my kids are currently just fascinated with the rhyming. They both rhyme a lot, sometimes too much. You know, when your child is using her rhyming abilities at church and she happens upon a bad word mixed in there, she doesn't know it is a bad word, she's just rhyming. But the people within ear shot gasp and then turn red/purple trying to stifle their laughter. Yeah, rhyming is great. Truly.

Well, I know this is just thrilling blog fodder, but I am going to close this thing out for today. I have several posts running around in my head. I need to catch one and write it for tomorrow so you don't have to endure this type of randomness everyday.

Thank you and goodnight.

Grocery Shopping or Homeschooling???

Sam went shopping with me. *Gasp* *Groan*

Dont' get me wrong, I love my three year old dearly, but I would rather have blood drawn than to take him shopping with me.

Maybe I exaggerate. . . maybe not. By now you are wondering where in the world this post is going. I'll get there I promise.

Today Sam had to go with me because I was shopping for shoes for him and well, I needed his feet. So off goes Mama and Sam to a couple of different places.

We end up at Wal-Mart, because the first two places I went looking for shoes were a bust, and I needed to get the supplies for some yummy soup I am making tonight, we decided to try Wally for some shoes.

We start through the food aisles and of course, he wants to help. So I start putting various items in the cart and he counts them. After a few more items I realize that this has him totally occupied. He is so focused on counting the stuff in the cart that he no longer cares about standing up and declaring various observations to every passer-by there be.

We continue on, and he is still totally occupied with counting what I am putting in there, and then go back over the items in the cart. When I added an item I would ask him where my can counter was and how many there were, and the counting would begin again.

This! was! awesome!!

I got through the food portion of the store without whinning, crying, screaming and nashing of teeth. Sam did well too.

Oh, I kid.

He did really well and he had a blast counting, telling me what the pictures were (fruit, veggies, etc), guessing what might be in that container and naming the colors of the food, labels or containers. We made it to the check-out in record time and I didn't have any more hair turn gray while we were there.

So I turned a random shopping event into a learning time and fun for both of us and any random customers passing by our cart. Yes, I have had similar experiences with my seven year old, but not with the busy toddler, recently turned preschooler. He is usually attempting a coup. I love it when everyday life becomes a lesson and the kid doesn't even know it. One motto we live by is "Never pass up a teaching moment". You just never know where preschool can happen.

Oh, and no, we still didn't find any shoes. He has cute, chubby, Flintstone type feet--they are cute but they are hard to fit shoes on. Samuel would rather not wear shoes anyway, but I think he should since it's wintery type weather. I'm concerned like that. The search continues. So does the education of my children.

Who Wrote That Book?

As part of Makiah's school work this year, I have decided to have her learn about different authors. We are compiling Makiah's Big Book of Authors. Using one of the binders I purchased during the school supply sale rush, we will decorate the front and we'll start filling it up with the info on a different author every few weeks. I think learning about the authors will help fuel a love for reading and an appreciation for the work that goes into a book.

My kids really love Dr. Seuss and I decided we would start with him. I went online and printed out his picture and some information about his life and books.

While looking for information on Dr. Seuss I ran across this website: Seussville. Its a great site for kids to go to and play some games, take a look at books, make your own stories and quotes. There are also several printables for activities. So I printed a couple of things to go in the Big Book of Authors and Makiah is lovin' it.

I am always on the look out for new and fun things to learn, do, color, play, etc.

Do you all have any favorite sites or projects for your kids?

Homeschoolers, what extras, as I like to call them, are you putting into your daily work?

Having Fun In the Story Fort

Whew, what a week it's been. We have been running around so busy and working in the house. So this post was actually supposed to go up last Saturday, but alas, it didn't.

In my quest to come up with fun things to do at home and ways to incorporate Samuel into our school day I had the idea for a story carpet.

The story carpet is simply four yards of fleece, one yard each of four different pieces (two girly, two boyish) and they were cut and tied together to form a large rectangle.

So the story carpet is finally finished and in use---AND WE LOVE IT!!

We have story time on it, we do flash cards and then of course Mama also decided it would be great to use for the Story Fort.

Every Friday is Fort day. Its a fairly new tradition, started last Friday. We told stories, sang songs, played games like I Spy, we counted, sang ABC's, counted by 2's, 5's and 10's. Mama also allowed lunch to be eaten in the fort. Typically a big no-no, eating in the living room, but you gotta live a little. A little bit of education going on and a lot of fun!

It was a great day. The kids had a blast.


Samuel in the fort. That afro is small compared to what it looks like all picked out.


Makiah in the fort, wild hair and all.


Daniel sitting in his bumbo. He joined us in the fort for stories and singing and then I looked around and . . . .

this is what I saw. We had completely wore him out. He was picked up and laid down for a good nap.


And then after all the fun, they even napped in there, even Makiah. She only takes a nap every three months unless she's sick, so it was a blissful afternoon.

At the end of the day we picked up the pillows and folded up our fort, but the memories linger. Sam asks everyday if we can build the fort.

Story Fort Friday was a huge success and will now be a tradition. Fun and educational is a happy combo.

I'll be back tomorrow with more great pics and talk of corn. You won't to miss it.

Edited to add, that yes Samuel is only in a pull-up and Makiah is wearing her umbrella pj's. . . what fun is a story fort if you can't be comfortable in it.