Only two more days

I just can't wait for Friday to roll around. This weekend is the annual GHEA conference and it's something the whole family looks forward to. On Friday morning there will be a HUGE used book sale where I hope to find many things on my list for school next year.

I started a new book last week called Homeschooling and Loving It, which prompted me to ask the kids, "If you could learn about anything you wanted to, what would it be?" I was a bit surprised with their answers...I guess I just didn't know what to expect. Well, Jacob's answer wasn't suprising, and if you know him you won't be surprised either. He said, "I don't really want to learn about anything." After some prompting and suggestions, he decided that computer animation sounds like fun (he wants to learn how to make Lego movies). So, I did some checking and found out that there's a Beginning 3-D Computer Animation Camp for kids in June, and Jon said we should sign him up! When I asked Caleb what he would like to learn about, he didn't hesitate and said, 'Rocks.' Rocks? Really? I never would've guessed that! So I went to our library's website and reserved several geology books for kids including an experiment book called Geology Rocks that Caleb is now devouring. Abbi did not hesitate with her answer of 'horses.' Horses. Two years ago I bought a horse curriculum with Abbi in mind and I've look through it several times, but have never begun it. So, I got it out and reserved the first few books we'd need from the library. I handed the curriculum guide to Abbi and said, 'have fun!' And boy, is she!

I love to see the kids get excited about learning! This year we're using Sonlight for History and I had purchased some kits to go along with it that were full of projects to do to help bring it to life. The projects have all been wonderful...but did I take any photos of the kids actually doing them? Nope...I thought about my camera too late. The kids have made Buffalo Tooth Necklaces, Talking Feathers, Hornbooks, Pomanders, Sachets, and more. We're currently learning about Lewis & Clark. On Monday the kids' project was to figure out the cipher that Thomas Jefferson created when he sent Lewis & Clark out. They spent hours making and breaking secret messages to each other using Jefferson's cipher. How fun!Above - the kids displaying some of the projects they've made...

Below - Jacob's Talking Feather, Abbi's Leather Pouch and Caleb's Buffalo Tooth Necklace

So, what's on my list for the used book sale?

Here are a few things that I'm really hoping to find...

Sonlight Core 4

Total Language Plus

Teaching Textbooks Pre Algebra (for Jacob)

Noeo Science Physics II

Next year is gonna be great!

Three Little Words

There are three little words that homeschoolers love to hear. I'm sure others enjoy these words too, but I don't know that they invoke the same feelings as they do for homeschoolers. Anticipation, excitement, eagerness and hopeful could all describe a homeschooler who hears these three little words...can you guess what they are?

USED BOOK SALE

Woo Hoo! That's where I got to go on Saturday morning! Abbi went with me and we managed to find a few things on our list for school next year. Of course, we also managed to find a few things that were not on our list...I didn't stray by much though, and Jon was very pleased about that. There were a few books that I almost bought, but then decided since they weren't on my list I better not (even though I knew we'd need them next year). When I was putting the 'new' books on our school shelves, I ran across several books that I almost bought! Good thing I went with my instincts on that one...no wonder they weren't on my list!

While Abbi and I were at the book sale, Jon and the boys were out buying supplies to rebuild our front porch. Jon's dad drove down from TN to help.

Caleb held the wood while Jon sawed...

Then he sanded the ends and got them all nice & smooth.

While Jacob and Papa screwed all the boards in.

The new porch is not quite finished...we still need to sand and paint the railing, but it already looks (and feels) 100% better. Thank you, men, for all your hard work!

While the men worked on the porch, Abbi and I got lots of weeding done in the backyard. I had to take some photos of my gorgeous azaleas...Overall, it was a beautiful, productive weekend!

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands...

Deuteronomy 2:7

Birthday Re-cap

Well, yesterday marked my 35th birthday, and what a great day it was! The kids and I spent the day at the Bogaski's house for lunch (Italian beef sandwiches...so yummy) and crafts (which I'll get to in another post). The weather was gorgeous and Annette and I got to sit on her porch swing and watch the kids play. We got home just in time for Jon to arrive and ask where I wanted to go for my birthday dinner. Well, I was still a little full from my wonderful lunch, but Jon was starving after his long day at work. So off to On the Border we went! On the Border is a family favorite and we eat there often, but we're never disappointed. Last night was no exception.

After we got home, it was time for presents and cake (Jon brought home the AWESOME cake shown above).

Last weekend Jon took Caleb gem mining up in Franklin. They came home with PILES of gems and Caleb gave me some of them for my birthday. I need to figure out some way to display them...any ideas?

Abbi painted me this beautiful picture! If you can't make it out, it's a dog with two puppies sitting near a doghouse. There are even purple mountains in the background.

And Jacob colored this great picture of 3 giraffes for me. Giraffes are my very favorite animal! Now I need to find a great frame for it...sounds like a trip to Hobby Lobby is in my near future!

Jon got me seasons 5 & 6 of Little House on the Prairie on DVD. I didn't grow up watching this show (gasp! is how most people respond to this piece of news), but I got seasons 1 & 2 for Christmas and we all LOVE it! Why don't they make shows like that anymore?

Anyway, it was a great day and I am so thankful for my family and friends who made it extra special! I always spend time in Psalm 139 on my birthday, and yesterday was no exception to this tradition. Some of my favorite verses are 13 - 18 which say, "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand."

Spring Break 2009

A few weeks ago we met Jon's family up in Pigeon Forge, TN, to spend a long weekend playing and fellowshipping together. By Jon's family I mean: his parents, his two sisters and their families, his brother and his wife. All together there were 20 of us. 10 of those were kids and 5 of those kids are under age 4. We had a great time together and are planning to do this again next spring.

We planned dinner in teams...Tonya and I had Friday night. Below is a great shot of the girls helping us make dessert.

Our cabin had 2 hot tubs, but this day it was a little too chilly outside for the kids, so we let them play in one of the jacuzzi tubs. Above are Alex and Abbi.

Above - Clayton and AJ

I wasn't there when this photo was taken, but I just love it. It makes me smile every time I look at it. Clayton is so happy to share his ice cream with his little brother, AJ.

After our weekend in TN, Jon's two sisters and their seven children (combined), and Jon's mom all came down to stay with us for several days.

Above - Jacob and Matthew

Below - Abbi and Laura

The pets got plenty of lovin'!

It was a very eventful 4 days...

Above - Robin and Jacob play a heated game of chess

Below - the get-ready-for-bed assembly line

We were so blessed to have sunshine during their visit!

The kids all had so much fun on our trampoline.

Above - me helping Alex with her math homework

Below - we headed to Discover Mills mall one cool afternoon after naps to let the kids run around. Kristin and I put all the little ones on this cute train and let them ride around. They all loved it!

Robin took a crew of kids down to our playground one afternoon.

All the kids - from left to right: Alex holding Matthew, Devon holding Clayton, Abbi holding Aiden, Jacob holding Laura and Caleb holding AJ. What precious memories we made!

More thoughts on Education

Well, the post I wrote about yesterday concerning the purpose of education is still an ongoing discussion on one of the Yahoo groups I'm a member of. It is a homeschool group and here are some thoughts from others that helped me articulate my own thoughts on the subject of our children being salt and light in public schools. I hear this argument a lot from friends trying to decide how to educate their children (public, private, home, etc.) and also from teachers and public school employees.

"Just a little tidbit - Very early on in our homeschooling experience we attended a convention where Greg Harris was speaking and his take on this is that our children ARE (emphasis Greg's) the mission field, and we as Christian parents are the missionaries." Judy

"I totally agree, our children are currently our mission field. And we as parents need to be equipping our children to be a witness in the world. But I do not believe that they are at all ready for this in elementary school. I heard a statistic recently that 87% of children from Christian homes leave the church during their college years. This speaks volumes about how we as parents (in general) and the modern American church are so lacking in equipping our children to stay firm in their faith. If that many college age kids have trouble maintaining their faith against the onslaught of college, how much more our little ones in public school." Beth

"I believe that until my children accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are lost. So, I cannot have them as ministers of something that they are not even doing themselves. My children are my mission field. If my children step away from Jesus, what am I doing with other children? Their influence is effected by the adults and children around them. Putting my children in public school to be a missionary, I believe that I would be sending the blind to lead the blind as a wise man put it." Karen

"That was one of my answers to people that asked me why I didn't want my children to be "lights to the world". I said they couldn't be lights to the world until they were on fire themselves." Cara

Well put, ladies!

Purpose of Education

I saw a post today about the purpose of education, which led me on a rabbit trail. Here are some of my favorite quotes that I found...

"It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated." - Alec Bourne, A Doctor's Creed

"The authority of those who teach is often an obstacle to those who want to learn." - Cicero

"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't." - Anatole France

"I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." - Socrates

"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts." - C. S. Lewis

"Education would be so much more effective if its purpose were to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they don't know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it." - Sir William Haley

"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built up on the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think." - Anne Sullivan

"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune." - Jim Rohn

"Education costs money, but then so does ignorance." - Sir Claus Moser

"In large states public education will always be mediocre, for the same reason that in large kitchens the cooking is usually bad." - Friedrich Nietzsche

"An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life." - Source Unknown

"Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave." - Henry Peter Broughan

"Education ... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading." - G. M. Trevelyan

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." - Henry Brooks Adams

"What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child." - George Bernard Shaw

"We have come to realise that for most men the right to learn is curtailed by the obligation to attend school" - Ivan Illich

"All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education." - Sir Walter Scott

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats

"He is educated who knows how to find out what he doesn't know." - George Simmel, German Philosopher

"I learned most, not from those who taught me but from those who talked with me." - St. Augustine

"I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." - Albert Einstein

"I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays, and have things arranged for them, that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas." - Agatha Christie

"The idea is to educate, not follow anyone's schedule about when something should be studied." - Ray Drouillard

"The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives." - Robert Maynard Hutchins

"Parents give up their rights when they drop the children off at public school." - Melinda Harmon, Federal Judge, 1996

Easter 2009

Last weekend was Easter and what a busy weekend it was! On Saturday our church hosted an Easter Egg Hunt and we had to be there EARLY to help.

The kids started by spreading out all the eggs (5,000 of them) in 3 designated areas - 0 - 3, 4 - 7 and 8 up.

Above - Caleb with his friend, Noah and Noah's puppy, Molly.

Above - Abbi and Jenna

Below - Abbi and Olivia

Pre-Hunt prayer
Above - Jan and I helped at the registration table. We registered over 160 families (not including church members)!

Above - the twins checking out their stash!

Above - Easter day - we had gorgeous weather! After church, we had lunch at the home of some new, wonderful friends, the Webb's. I don't know how many people were there, but it was alot! Everything was great and we had so much fun! We are so thankful for our new church and new friends!

Easter evening, we went to the Barr's for our small group gathering and the kids did another egg hunt in their yard. Above - Abbi and Olivia race for the eggs...well, Olivia did anyway!Amelia got to hang out on her blanket in the grass while the big kids did their egg hunt. This is the baby I watch 3 days a week...isn't she darling?!