growing like a weed!

stella - ten weeks

camdyn's gymnastics performance

camdyn just finished her first semester of gymnastics classes after years of literally BEGGING us to let her take lessons! she is a natural and loves it! go bammer!!!

camdyn's bar routine

sweet

One of the many things that makes Nathan so sweet and precious to me is the way he thinks of me on HIS special days. Yesterday I was surprised with flowers and a card saying that his birthday would not be special without me. I am so blessed to be Nathan's wife and so honored that on his birthday he is thinking of me. I love you so much!!!! Happy birthday babe!!

birchbox

I'm a huge fan of The Small Things Blog and often she reviews and recommends products she received in her Birchbox. Birchbox is a monthly mailing of high end beauty, home, and grooming product samples! For just $10 per month you are mailed a pretty box full of goodies to try out! Full sized samples can be ordered from the site!

I love getting mail and love getting goodies in the mail so I'm going to give it a try!
I just joined this month and can't wait for my first box to arrive!!!

Click this link to find out more:  www.birchbox.com

reflecting on the past and pressing on....

Thought I'd share the printables we will be using tonight at our annual family meeting to set goals for the coming year. Now that the girls are old enough to really reflect on the year behind us it should be fun to share our reflections.

Here is the printable we will complete individually and then share together:

Then we will set our goals for the coming year. Nate and I will complete this sheet:

The girls will work on this one:

I will try and post afterwards with updates on our family meeting and share some of our goals for the coming year. Lord, we may make plans but you determine our path. Keep our eyes focused on what is pleasing and glorifying to you.

change ups to curriculum 2012/2013

My sister's recent post inspired me to record here a few of the change ups we've made in curriculum since we began in June of 2012. We are enjoying most of what we started with but have made a few changes.

Here is our curriculum with changes noted for updates we've made mid year:

Charlotte Mason based Curriculum -

Bible: Apologia - Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him? (Hands down the curriculum that I'm most impressed with so far. Such great truth about worldviews. So thankful for this resource!)

Reading: Living Books, Classic Literature, Sonlight suggested Novels

Math: MATH U SEE (Claire has completed Alpha and Beta and is working on Gamma.)

                                    (Camdyn has completed Alpha and is working on Beta.)

History: Truthquest (We completed the builder binder made by A Journey Through Learning and have found it is just too much on most days, so when we go to book two of American History we don't plan on continuing with the binder booklets.)

Science: Apologia - Exploring Creation with Astronomy

Composition: Institute for Excellence in Writing Method

Grammer: (Claire) Intermediate Language Lessons

                 (Camdyn) Primary Language Lessons

                 The girls did not like this so we changed to Growing with Grammar - Books 2 and 4.

Geography: Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason

                 The girls did not enjoy this either so we changed to doing 5 minute map drills. We've done the Continents and Oceans of the World, the 13 colonies, and are now working on the States of the USA.

Spelling: (Claire) Spelling Wisdom 

Copywork: (Camdyn) Various Scripture, hymns, poetry

Character: Wisdom and the Millers Series

Art Study: Michelangelo, Turner, Rembrandt, Renoir

Poetry Study: Robert Louis Stevenson, Emily Dickinson

Handicrafts: Family Chore List, Cardboard and Paper Crafts

Family Reading: Chronicles of Narnia, Lamplighter Publishing novels

Personal Development: American Heritage Girls

Extras: (Claire) Art Class

            (Camdyn) Gymnastics Class

            Starting this month, both girls will participate in Gymnastics and an Archery Class.

Lapbooks: The girls really enjoy completing lapbooks on various topics we studied. So far we've created lapbooks on the following: 2012 Summer Olympics, Treasure Island/Pirates, 2012 Election, and Arrival of King (Christmas).

thoughts mid-way through our first year.....

We are moving along in our first year schooling at home and thankfully there haven't been too many days where the girls have moved their desks like this (just one day actually and of course I had to capture the image for our records - one day, one day we will look back on this picture and just laugh, right?!?!.....):

And so, midway through this first year my normal tendency would be to list out what the girls have learned this past fall, report on their academic progress and how much I've enjoyed homeschooling....and the truth is: they have thrived and I do love schooling at home!! But, what I need to record first is what I've learned. I've learned that schooling at home has less to do with curriculum choices, transition from public/private school environments, emotions about not seeing friends (the girls and my own) each day and rather much, much more to do with my own heart and my own sin. Not exactly the most attractive reason to homeschool, right? Simply put though: the decision to home school for our family has been a decision that has exposed my deepest and ugliest sin problem: my own selfish desires for my wants, my needs and my feelings. These first 100 or so days have confirmed a quote that I heard back last summer: The books we choose are our curriculum; but the interruptions are God's curriculum. His plan always usurps our plan. And I'm choosing during this second half of our year to be more conscious about what those interruptions can teach the girls and I. What lessons and blessings are we missing because I'm just too anxious to move along or check a box on my lesson planner? Why do I perceive that the academic lessons are more important than the heart lessons? So, starting with my heart and with my own sin, I am confessing my tendency to avoid these interruptions and begin to view them as opportunities to die to myself and seek to be a better display of Christ to Nate and the girls. Lord, keep my eyes focused on you alone. Keep my heart surrendered so that I may continue rightly in our journey of humbly homeschooling.