Delallata School of Excellence and Integrity

Some Awesome Sites!

2010-04-06T10:58:00.003-04:00

I just found out some REALLY Awesome sites!!!

One of them is "Knockoffwood"
This is sooo cool because the owner of the blog is a sassy lady who has made it her mission to make quality furniture in an easy and affordable manner. First of she gives us the plans for free! She also tries not to use any specialty tools so that anybody could make these pieces!
I've always wanted wall to wall good quality wooden furniture but could never afford it! But now I can and I will also have the pride of knowing that I made it myself! This are the kind of heirloom pieces that you can pass down to your children. How many people can say that about their furniture any more?

Another cool blog is "younghouselove" Right now they are having a give away of a Jig Saw. They are a couple who bought house and are sharing their adventures in fixing it up! It is very inspiring!

Well thanks for stopping by! And feel free to let me know what your favorite sites are! I'm always on the look out for inspiration.

Asking for Help

2009-10-01T16:12:00.003-04:00

This is an on going struggle for me. It is so funny to me that I am 30 something years old and I am just now learning things about myself. I blame homeschooling for this. I guess I was just in denial before? Who knows.

Any ways, asking for help is extremely hard for me! I guess I'm afraid that people will tell me "No", or that they will think that I can't handle things.

But I've noticed that when I do ask, I have been blessed with the help that I need. Gives new meaning to the scriptures, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" Matt. 7:7 and D.C. 4:7.

So why is it so hard to ask for help? If anyone were to come up to you for help, you would give it if you could, right? Well than what is the difference?

A friend of mine once said that by not asking I am robbing others the blessings of saying yes. Never thought of it like that before!!!

Heavenly Father, I know that we are not meant to journey on this Earth alone, so please help me to put my pride aside and ask for help when I need it.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints' General Conference April 2009

2009-10-01T09:56:00.004-04:00

Come join us for our next General Conference which will be held on October 3-4. You can go to LDS.org and you can watch Conference right there on your computer. Technology is sooo cool!

WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?

2009-09-30T10:23:00.005-04:00

MAKE SURE YOU TURN THE SOUND UP TO GET THE FULL EFFECT!!! This is what we heard last night as we got out of the car! It flew right over our heads and scared the crap out of us!!! Don't you just love the woods! By the way I didn't record this. It just sounds exactly like what we heard. It was such a creepy sound that I searched it on the internet. And this is what I found. It's Halloween come early :-)

Exploring Creation by Jeannie Fulbright

2009-09-14T11:21:00.004-04:00

I am still very new to homeschooling but I feel very blessed to have been lead to some very wonderful resources.

Apologia Sciences have been one of those blessings.

For those of you who don't know what "Exploring Creation" is, it is a series of science books that tell us of the why's and how's of science through the eyes of one who is appreciative of all that has been created for us. I love Jeannie's unique"Creation" approach to the sciences!

Jeannie Fulbright has an amazing gift for writing about Heavenly Father's creations in such an easy to understand and yet enticing manner. She is not preachy or pushy about any specific religious affiliations, which makes it easy to feel her love for God.It is so refreshing to have science explained through the awe and wonder of all our Heavenly Father has created for us.

We are enjoying studying about astronomy with Jeannie right now. And it has been a wonderful experience. We can't wait to study the rest of the series.

If you'd like to learn more about her products go to http://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

My Little Girl

2009-09-13T18:25:00.030-04:00

This post is dedicated to My Little Girl

She is a very sweet child, though she does remind me of Helen Keller : )

Sock Hop with Daddy-O

2009-09-13T18:05:00.005-04:00

2009 Daddy Daughter Dance.

This one's for you Amber!

2009-08-07T17:44:00.016-04:00

We've made some really cool things this year like this stuff called "Gooey Gunk". We've also made a homemade play dough called "Fruity Play Dough". These recipes and many more can be found in this cool book called "The Ultimate Book of Kid Concoctions". Most everything in this book can be made from stuff you already have at home.

2009-08-07T17:02:00.003-04:00

Samantha's Baptism : )

2009-08-01T00:50:00.004-04:00

Our Mock Election
It was a close race between Chocolate and Vanilla Ice cream, but Chocolate won out in the end.

2009-08-01T00:30:00.007-04:00

We started seeing all these chrysalises outside so we tried to find a caterpillar and see if it would transform for us, and these were the amazing results...

An actual BUTTERFLY!!!

2009-07-31T23:14:00.006-04:00

Cicadas

2009-07-31T13:58:00.006-04:00

Rough Housing with Daddy

2009-07-31T13:07:00.004-04:00

Girl Scout's Daddy Daughter Dance

2009-07-31T12:49:00.009-04:00

Our field trip to Shakey's Pizza in Auburn, AL.
They had a great time behind the scenes making their own pizza.

Home Food Storage

2009-04-01T14:52:00.009-04:00

Our church has always counseled us to be self-reliant. And one of the ways they encourage us to do so, is by having 3 months to a year's worth of food store up. This is nice to have when there is an unexpected decrease in income such as a lay-off or illness. This also makes it possible to not be completely dependent on the grocery stores. When a natural disaster hits, your local Walmart shelves can be swept clean within hours. Stores don't stock things like they use to and it may take days maybe even weeks before they are restocked during a disaster. We've all heard the news in the last couple of years, times are tough right now. So when something, like any of these scenarios, happens it is good to be prepared. I've heard it said that it's better to have money invested in a year's worth of food than to have that money in the bank. For instance, what if that same natural disaster makes it impossible to get to the bank and get your money out. How would you feed your family during that time? There is a certain peace of mind that comes during these tumultuous times when you know all is prepared and stored safely away.

So how do you go about gathering a year's supply of food? I know this can sound overwhelming but if you start slowly, like buying a few extra cans or boxes of the foods your family normally eats and check out some of the links I have listed, you'll be off to a good start. And you'll feel more at ease the next time, say, your car brakes down and needs repairs.
www.homestorage.crookedtreefarm.com
http://www.lds.org/Static%20Files/PDF/Magazines/Liahona/English/2009/LI_2009_03_04___04283_000_005.pdf

Once you've gotten the idea of what food storage is, I have some tips to help you get started...
1. Sit down and make a 2 week menu (including all ingredients) of the meals your family is use to eating. This is no time to get creative and try out new dishes. If your family is under extreme stress there is nothing like comfort food to make everyone feel safe and secure. So write a menu of the foods you're use to cooking and you know your family likes. Double this menu. Families usually eat the same thing twice during a month. Make sure you've included breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. This should give you an idea of what kinds of foods to stock up on.
2. Buying in bulk can be good as long as you can eat all of the food before it goes bad.
3. Once you start bringing your food home, make sure you mark and rotate your food. The idea is to eat the food you already have and rotate in new food as you use it. To do this you'll need to get a permanent marker and mark (on the items)the date you bought the items you bring home from the store. This system helps you see immediately which items are new and which are older. The reason for doing this is to try and cut down on waste. We've all found food in our cabinets that we are not sure if it's still good or not. Wasted food means wasted money.
4.An excellent way to get your food storage up is by growing a garden. You can then put up your harvest by canning, freezing, and/or drying it.
5. We've also been counseled not to go into debt to get our food storage. Just do it a little at a time, bit by bit. And you will be blessed for your efforts.

Our church also recommends that we have a 72 hr kit for every one in the family, in case we have to leave our homes quickly and suddenly. This allows us to be able to get our kits and walk out the door within a moment's notice and have everything we need to survive for 3 days. Here is a couple links for disaster preparedness.
www.fema.gov/
www.redcross.org/
http://www.osha.gov/dts/oohn/disasterrecovery_shchecklist.html

I am making this entry not to alarm or scare anyone. I just wanted to bear testimony that if we do all in our power to be prepared, we will feel at peace even if the world around us is in discord.

What are your favorite homeschooling tips, websites, books to read, etc.?

2009-03-31T16:09:00.002-04:00

I'm just curious. It's a very rainy day and I'm taking some me time to blog today. So tell me what are you favorite things you use in your homeschooling routine? It could be anything from a smart idea that helped pull your homeschool together, your favorite curriculum, books you've read as a family, places you've visited. Some of my favorite things are Currclick . They have

Affordable curriculum, lapbooks, & homeschooling resources.

They also have a freebie every week. And I'm not talking about cheesy freebies. I'm talking about things like downloadable lapbooks. And if you sign up for their newsletter they will alert you of the freebie every week. I really like Sonlight for a complete curriculum. They believe in teaching through "Living Books". If you are like me though and can't afford to buy the whole thing I just piece mine together used. I also like a company called Beautiful Feet Books , they also offer a "Living Books" curriculum. Theirs is not a complete curric though, they are more the reading and history part. You have to add math science and such. A few other great resources are Latter-day Family Resources, and Tobin's Lab. LDFR has pretty much everything you need for HSing or it can just give you some good ideas. I take their books and look for them at the library or try and find them cheaper on Amazon.com, ebay, or local HS book sales. Tobins Lab is a great place to find

Hands-On Science Materials For Families

. Some great FREE resources are your local homeschool groups. And if you can't find any locally, you can always search yahoo groups for a HS group that tickles your fancy. Being able to get support and advice is invaluable when you are first starting out. In our local HS group we alert each other of field trip opportunities (usually free or inexpensive)and are try to help each other with any questions and/or concerns we may have. Its really nice to know there are others out there who have gone through the same things I am.
But my best piece of advice I can think of right now is...Things will not always be perfect, nor do I think they should be(there's no learning in perfect, we learn through mistakes), but that's okay! Figure out what works for you and your children. This may take months or even years,( I've talked to many veteran HS moms who, through the years, learned to keep an open mind when it comes to curriculum.) If it does work for your family find something that does. Don't buy anything pricey without getting it in your hands and really looking at it first. See if you can borrow it for a few days from a HS friend. Then if you still like it, pray about it. Again I try to get things used as much as possible. Any ways after you've gotten your routine down, RELAX and have fun with your kiddos. Learning is so much fun if you let it be.

Community Supported Agriculture ( CSA )

2009-03-31T15:17:00.007-04:00

We have a farm down the road from us (Randle Farms) that allows those in the community who are interested, to be able to pay for a share of the farm's harvest. So I bit the bullet and went for it. I'm so excited to get fresh produce that still has its nutrients in it. Did you know that by the time most produce arrives at the supermarket it has lost almost all of its nutrients. And don't even get me started on pesticides. SO other than growing my own garden (WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND) this is the next best thing. You may be asking yourself why I don't just grow my own garden, and my lame excuse is that I'm a one task at a time kinda gal. And with just starting Home Schooling this year, I'm not ready to start another project just yet. But I do intend on making gardening part of our HS routine in the near future.
If you are curious about CSA Farming, just click on Randle Farms up above, and it will take you to the page where they explain this service. Then maybe you'll want to google a farm near you. Its a wonderful thing, you get to support local farms and you get fresh produce. Truly a win/win situation.

From Snow one Week... To Swimming the Next

2009-03-31T14:31:00.005-04:00

This is our creek. We are very lucky to have one. But it usually dries up in the Summer time when it would be perfect to go and sit in such cold water.

Real Live Miracle in Alabama....SNOW!!!

2009-03-31T12:45:00.009-04:00

It's been about a month now but I wanted to post it anyways. It was like a dream come true for our kiddos. It was Sunday morning and my hubby had just gotten up to take a shower for church when he came back into the bedroom where I was uncharacteristically(wow that's a long word) sleeping in : ). And he says "You are not going to believe this!" Thinking this was an attempt to get me out of bed I groggily say "What?"
"It's SNOWING!!!"
"Really?"
"Come look"
And so it was. We decided to skip church that day just in case it would be melted by the time we got home. Which is what typically happens if we are lucky enough to even get flakes. So we went and gently woke up the munchkins and told them to look outside. They immediately became excited and wanted to run outside and play in it. It didn't look like it was going to last very long at first, so we decided to go further north to see if we could find enough to play in. But by the time we were able to dress everyone in layers and try to scrounge up and dust off the necessary gloves and hats, which luckily I had just gone and bought some because of the last cold snap we had. (Yes, that's all we usually get in Alabama A Cold Snap. They don't really even sell snow appropriate gear where we live.) Any ways by the time we got ready to leave it was snowing really hard. So we decided to call Granny and see if we could go over there instead. The drive over was like a Winter Wonderland. Every where you looked the world was blanketed in glorious snow!
The kids had a blast playing in it, so did Bryan. Rick stayed out in it pretty much the whole day. They made snow men and snow angels and had snow ball fights and even tried to make a few forts. But not being use to snow, they didn't realize how wet and cold it is. All and all I'm so glad Heavenly Father answered our children's prayers this year and let it snow. It will be a treasured childhood memory.
By the way the next week it was warm enough to go swimming. I know CRAZY!

What's your favorite Home Remedy?

2009-02-16T20:11:00.002-05:00

I am a member of some really great yahoo groups. One of which is Natural Moms group. This is a place where moms can help each other out with anything natural. The other day I was asking advise on how to treat a sick baby at home. I got some wonderful responses back.

This got me thinking that maybe other moms would like to share their favorite home remedies. I would really like to know what other moms do at home to take care of their families.

I'll try to start the ball roll'n....
-My mom brought me up on Tissue Salts, they are totally homoeopathic and don't have any side affects that I know of [I would know because when I was little I would eat the whole bottle. I think this maybe one of the reasons I never get sick.].
-And I highly recommend Teething Tablets which are vary similar. When you are at the end of your rope at 2 o'clock in the morning, thinking your baby is never going to settle down and go to sleep, Teething Tablets work like a charm every time.

Ok so there's my secret weapons. I'd love to see what great knowledge the rest of you ladies have to share. Haben

Bath and Body Works Coupon

2009-02-11T09:23:00.003-05:00

Check out this coupon I found on another fellow thrifty mom's blog. http://thompsontimes-b.blogspot.com/2009/01/bath-and-body-works-coupon.html
Thanks, Thompsons.

2009-02-09T11:44:00.005-05:00

We have been struggling to dam up the leaks in our budget for years now. And I am finally at a point where I am serious about doing something about it. I'm so tired of never having anything to show for the money my husband works so hard to make. I'm tired of our checking account being overdrawn. I'm tired of not having the money to buy new furniture when the hand-me-downs finally give out. I want to learn to save. I want to be satisfied with what I have, and I don't have to have alot. But I would like to have the money when I need it. Ok Ok I would like to be able to travel with my children. But other than that I can learn to do better. I've always thought I was thrifty, I shop sales and frequent thrift stores. But even doing those things can eat your money if you don't have a set limit on how much you allow yourself to spend. We think that just because it is a sale or at a yard sale we're getting a good deal, but I think our culture is so obsessed with getting a deal that we lose site of what is really important. So when is enough enough? Is it ok to not be able to pay our monthly bills as long as we get a great deal on that new flat screen tv that was marked down $200? Of course not but in the moment we're not thinking of the bills, all we're thinking about is how much we saved on the monster we just bought. Sorry I can get a little philosophical sometimes, but you have to admit that our priorities can get really screwed up sometimes.

So what can we do to change? IF you have any great advise for saving money let me hear it. I could really use the help!!!

I've never been able to go by a budget because my husband's income is constantly fluctuating. So I could use some advise here to.

Any one have any success with the envelope method of paying bills and saving for certain things?

Another contest!!!

2009-01-07T10:32:00.005-05:00

GIVEAWAY! Crayola Art Studio

It's a really cool computer program w/all kids of different medias you can use. So check out this site and enter to win!
http://www.freelyeducate.com/2009/01/giveaway-crayola-art-studio.html?cid=6a00e55098fdaf8833010536b9fad2970c#comment-form

Turns out she has three contests going on. Here is the second one:
http://www.freelyeducate.com/2009/01/giveaway-corefx-three-level-graphic-design-software.html

And here is the last giveaway. It's two e-cookbooks. Good luck!!!
http://www.freelyeducate.com/2009/01/healthcurriculumgiveaway.html

Check out this new site!

2008-11-03T11:21:00.005-05:00

http://folderfun.ning.com/page/page/show?id=2345210%3APage%3A852

This is a file folder site, and they are having a cool giveaway. File folders are a great way to have fun while learning. So check them out. I haven't learned how to grab pictures off sites and post it on my blog yet, so don't click on the picture click on the link below it. Sorry about my lack of TECHknowledge : ) Hope this is helpful for some of you out there. Haben

The ABC's of Preschool

2008-09-29T19:08:00.018-04:00

It probably seems like my little one's get left out a lot, when in fact we have been very busy with reading lots of books and learning how to count, recognizing our colors, and learning our ABC's. We have also been on field trips to the farmer's market, the library, the fire station, and Shakey's Pizza to learn and make our own pizzas. But even if we do periodically focus on the older two the younger ones are always listening and learning too.

When I first decided to homeschool last year, my older two were given the opportunity to go to Texas to stay with my sister for the summer. This is something they really needed and deserved. They got the chance to step out of their role as older brother and sister, and were allowed to just be kids and have fun.

While this was happening, I took the opportunity to focus on my little ones; fearing that when the older two got back they would be neglected. So this summer, me, the little ones, and Grammee did a thematic study on farms. We read books like The Ox-Cart Manand Stories from Treasured Tales from Beatrix Potter, and we read nursery rhymes(ALL HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). We sang songs like "Old MacDonald". I had a puzzle of a farm and all the animals in groups from one to ten. For example: one cow, two chickens, three mice, ect. And we put that together counting and making the noises of all the animals. We also discussed all the different jobs and purposes of all the animals on a farm. We did an art project making a picture of a barn yard out of beans and macaroni. After we read Beatrix Potter, we got clay out and made turtles, frogs, and other things that went along with the stories.

For food we picked blackberries from our own back yard, we made homemade bread, and we made our own butter. *This is actually very simple, you get small containers like baby food jars, buy some heavy whipping cream, add a little salt, and then shake, shake, shake, shake,shake..........until it turns into butter!!!* This was a lot of fun, plus it tasted SOOOO GOOD on our warm homemade bread! You could even drizzle some honey over it and talk about bees and the job they do. If you look at things creatively enough, every situation can turn into a moment to teach. We also made some homemade ice cream. Delicious! Ok so we used an electric ice cream maker, but it's still considered homemade in my book after all we did add all the ingredients ourselves. :-) And the kiddos thought it was cool.

I really wanted to visit a working farm, but at the time I didn't know where one was. So we settled for visiting the local farmers market and talked about how farmers plant, grow and harvest food so that we can have good food to eat. This too was a lot of fun.

Next year I plan on having a garden so that we can carry this theme even farther. I imagine that planting our own garden will be very rewarding and exciting for our family. Hope this is helpful for someone.

Love, Haben

Dinosaurs

2008-09-29T14:22:00.009-04:00

Well, let me show everyone what we've been up to for the last couple of weeks. We've been slowly working on our dino study that we got from hss. Since we started off our year studying the creation we also looked at what day we thought the dinosaurs were created. And our guess is that they were created on the fifth and sixth days with the rest of the water, air and land creatures. Then we went on to learn about what classification dinosaurs would be in; which of course is the reptile family. After learning about what qualifies as a reptile, we went outside to see if we could find a descendant of a dinosaur. And we were in luck, we were able to find a lizard...well Chloe our dog got to it first and we had to wrangle it away from her. And before we could get it from her, she managed to kill it, which actually ended up being quite useful. Since it was dead we were able to examine it in a way that would have been nearly impossible if it were still alive. We got to turn it upside down and look at it's under belly and open it's mouth and look at that. Really very interesting! Then we went to see if we could find a live specimen and again we were able to find one. This time we caught it before Chloe could. It was the same kind of lizard as the first one we found, we have several different varieties were we are. This particular kind of lizard is able to change colors. I always thought that only chameleons could do that. Learn something new every day huh!

Later we read a couple of the books that are suggested to go along with the unit study. But you could use any books that you have on dinosaurs that your kids enjoy. *Remember to use what resource you already have first. And then try and find the ones you don't have at the library. Most libraries have their catalogs online now so you can check to see if they have the book you need before you drive all the way there. These sort of things will save you a lot of money.* Unfortunately the libraries near me don't have many of the books that I've needed. This is when I've resorted to looking for them on Amazon or Ebay. This can save you the time of tracking books down, which may be worth the money to you. Since I've become a homeschool mom I've had to decide what my time is worth. This may be helpful for you to figure out too. Here are the books that we used:

Amazon.com Widgets

A few days later we learned what a Paleontologist was. Then we went outside and did a dinosaur dig of our own. The study recommends burying an easy to put together dino puzzle, but I found a kit that had a small skeleton of a dinosaur that you excavate and put the pieces together. So I bought 2 kits for my older two and buried some dog bones for two of my little ones. They had a blast doing this.

Here is a kit from Amazon:

I found mine from Hobby Lobby (cheaper) but the convenience of having something shipped to your door is really nice. Plus, it's like Christmas when ever I get packages! I love it!

Next we'll be researching the dinosaurs we like the best and finding out were they lived in the world. We'll also be making a dino diorama, fossils, and paper mache' eggs. So stick with us and find out how the rest of the study goes. As soon as I can figure out how to put pictures on here the way I want them I'll be adding them as well. Love, Haben

Another cool contest

2008-09-15T15:28:00.002-04:00

Here is another really cool contest. It's at BlogMommas.com . She is giving away a Crayola digital scrapbooking kit. So check it out. Haben

The Winner of Contest is...

2008-09-15T14:58:00.005-04:00

Congrats Pitts Family!!! You've won The World God Made set. I hope you enjoy it! And thank you everyone who participated in our little contest. We had fun and I hope you did too.

If I am unable to get in touch with the Pitts Family than we'll draw another winner tomorrow. Thanks again, Haben

Procrastination

2008-09-14T13:18:00.003-04:00

I really wanted to learn about and enjoy the Olympics with my kids but I just never got around to gathering up all the stuff and doing anything about it, so another great teaching opportunity gone. I don't feel too guilty though considering they happen twice every four years. Hopefully we will catch the next one.

But according to my sister Amber, I'm not allowed to overlook this year's Presidential election. It is a historical event either way. Either we will have our first black president or our first woman vice president. I know this is important. My brain just isn't geared up for planning and implementing lessons yet. But lucky for me and my kids, currclick is here to save the day. I was able to find a unit study that has everything all together for me. And the publishers A Journey Through Learning have gotten rave reviews on this particular unit study, nice plug huh...I should really get paid for these kinds of things, and all I had to do was download and print. Can't get much simplier than that.

So this is what we'll be doing for the next couple of weeks, along with a dinosaur lapbook, which we got for free from Homeschool Share . I'll be putting up picture of both as we do them. Well that's all I have for now folks. Love, Haben

To RV or not to RV

2008-09-08T19:37:00.007-04:00

Well that is the topic of interest right now. You see my hubby Bryan works for the carpenter's union, but with the housing market's bottom dropping out and all those far reaching consequences; construction has come to an almost stand still in our area. So he feels that in order to make ends meet that he will have to resort to working out of town. And not just 4 hrs away like his is now, but more like... across the country!

Now we've already decided to HS so RVing isn't completely out of the question. But they (RVs) are pretty expensive, and we have 5 children. Is this even feasible? Then I started thinking about streamlining everything we have to be able to move into an RV! Wow that was mind boggling. How would I possible do it? Fit everything I have become so dependent on into an RV. Would I even survive emotionally? Being stuck in such a SMALL small small space with six other people 365 days a year! I KNOW I sound like a spoiled American who is too accustomed to her personal space and material possessions, but yeah! I am. That's all I know, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to try another way.

I know that like everything in life you have to trade for one thing for the other. Very rarely can you have both. I also know that this kind of experience/education, to be able to travel around America with our children seeing her majesty and learning her history along the way, is priceless. And that unless we were rich, thus enabling us to be able to afford the house and the vacations, we aren't going to be able to give both to our children. I think it would be worth it though, giving up the stuff for the experience.

So what do you people out in cyberspace think? Any RVers out there willing to let me pick your brain? Financially does the trade off make sense? Is the mortgage and gas for an RV, a more affordable way to travel? How do you socialize, or get your mail? :-) On average how much is lot rent? What are the most important features in an RV? Which make and models are best? Gas or Diesel? SO many question!
Curiously, Haben

So unorganized!!!

2008-09-07T11:06:00.002-04:00

I've really got to get this under control. We've been doing school , but very haphazardly. I keep trying to tell myself that its ok, but I know better. There has to be some kind of structure.

Next week we'll finally be finishing the seven days of creation(it only took us a month and a half) and we'll be starting on dinosaurs, which we have a lapbook for. Maybe this will help give me some of the "structure" I know we need. Honestly though, I think I'm going to have to break down and make a tinitive schedule for each week. Uhgg! I don't know why this is so hard for me. I guess it's b/c it requires planning in ahead.

Concerned friends and family : don't freak out! I'm just like this. Heavenly Father knows how stubburn I am, and how I refuse to change until I am practically forced to. So be glad that I'm finally being forced into learning how to organize my time. I love my children and I'll do what's best for them, no matter how agonizing it will be for ME! Sniff Sniff! Just trying to get alittle sympathy here! Because I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles with this. Self- justification niiice...it's funny how we get defensive, even by our own words! LOL

I'm making a promise. I will try (No! No loop holes to wiggle out of) I will make a weekly schedule from now on. THERE, now it's out there and I can't take it back.

Well, thanks for the therapy, just send me the bill. Really I'm good for it! Haben

Our Homeschool Creations: Homeschool Closet Giveaway

2008-09-03T03:58:00.000-04:00

Our Homeschool Creations: Homeschool Closet Giveaway

Song of My Heart: It's A Homeschool Giveaway!

2008-09-03T02:08:00.000-04:00

Song of My Heart: It's A Homeschool Giveaway!

Cleaning Out My Homeschool Closet Contest

2008-09-02T23:10:00.001-04:00

I'm participating in a HS giveaway by the wonderful folks at Christian Preschool Printables (see above banner), which has challenged us to clean out our HS closets and bless someone else with our gently used HS materials, we no longer need/use.

When I started searching around for what I would share I found this... The student manual of -God's Creation Series- The World God Made and the teacher's manual that goes along with it. This book is in like new condition and is geared toward K aged children.

All you have to do to enter is comment on this message and tell me why you need these books for your HS library. Also make sure you leave your em address. The winner will be picked from a "hat" by my kiddos the evening of Sept. 14th., announced Sept. 15th and shipped to you soon after wards. Sorry, but I can only ship to the U.S.

Here is a brief description from the back of the book:
The God's Creation Series is designed to give young students a greater understanding of and appreciation for the handiwork of Almighty God. This book has the following special features:

Interesting facts to engage the minds of students
Colorful images to stimulate a greater understanding of scientific concepts
Helpful review questions for each chapter
Hands-on experiments and activities to encourage student participation

This is sooo exciting! : ) Good luck!!! Love, Haben

Tips for new home school moms

2008-09-01T16:48:00.000-04:00

I'm very new to this great adventure myself, but I have already made good and bad decisions. I thought maybe if I share my triumphs and mistakes, you'll be able to navigate more smoothly through this wonderful journey.

First of all I would say "RELAX"!!! You can do this!!! The statistics are greatly in your favor. I read somewhere that homeschooled kids are on average at least two grades ahead of there peers. So if you take it slow (which I strongly recommend) the first year don't sweat it. They will catch up, and probably pass kids their age, quickly!

Second (which was some of the best advice I received) if you are taking your children out of public school; they will need some time to de-stress. This may take a month, three months, or even a year. Just recongnize that this will be an adjustment for them and if you force them to "do school" before they are ready it will be very unproductive and cause alot of contention in your home.

So in the mean time I would suggest taking this time for getting to know your child again. What is he interested in? Go and do some of those things. Go for walks together, play board games together, do chores (yes I said chores) together. You'd be surprised how much closer a family can become when working together. Plus if you do them together they become more like a game then work. Ha Ha!

But most of all just have fun together. This is how children learn best anyways. There's something to learn in every situation. Don't fool yourself into believing that just because your kids aren't doing worksheets that they aren't learning. Children are ALWAYS learning. Shhh! You'll know when they are ready to start school. That's when they start asking questions again. This natural curiosity has probably just been in hibernation. The reawaking of their love of learning will be something beautiful to behold.

Trust yourself and your ability to teach your children! This is very important!!! Heavenly Father would not have blessed you with his precious little ones without also bestowing on you all the intuition and talents, though sometimes hidden, needed to nurture and teach them. So don't listen to those who don't understand the the sacred call you've been given to serve your children.

Also don't be tricked into thinking that HSing has to be just like public school. You know... sitting in a desk all day reading boring text books and completing mindless assignments. This is one of the quickest ways to see your child's love of learning go quickly back into hibernation. I know a lot of you live in states that have strict rules and regulations on what you can and cannot do. But that doesn't me that you can't think outside the box. Do what your state asks; but make sure you add lots of color to the bland palette they have provided. Your child deserves for you to learn how to stretch your imagination.

And oh yeah turn off the TV as much as possible!!! Or what ever electronic device that may be robbing precious time away from you and your family. This has been one of my biggest temptations. I thought I was cured of my tv addiction but then I started spending way too much time on the computer. My friend told me that's not being cured. Nope that is called cross addition. Oh well, and I thought I was doing so well. Any ways... I've seen first hand through my own children how these electronic devices have hurt their ability to soak up the simpler pleasures in life. Without the distraction of constantly moving images, it's very hard for them to concentrate. I pray that in time I am able to heal this unintentional harm that I've inflicted upon my children. But in order to over come a bad habit you have to replace it with a good one. I'm striving to replace the evil, lol, devices with good books and the healing power of nature. This is my biggest goal this year. I'm sure this will be a bumpy road and that I'll fall off the wagon many, many times but I hope I'm able to keep my eyes on the prize. Ok, how did this become about me? Focus, Haben! Well I hope it helps to know that I'm working on mastering these things too.

I also hope you will take courage when mistakes are made. None of us are perfect. And we aren't asked to be. Baby steps, one foot in front of the other. Don't worry we'll all get there. And really it's not the pace that matters, but the journey along the way. WOW that was an overload of cliques!!! Sorry bout that, I'll try to be more original next time. Still stuck inside the box, Haben

2008-08-24T13:43:00.000-04:00

Well, like I said in my last post I'm kinda keeping this blog as a record of what we do for home school. A way to show my accountability, I guess. But it's sort of a journal too. I get kinda obsessed with things though. Like I was only going to be on the computer for a few minutes, but I think it's taken more like a few hours. It's probably the "SHE" in me. Like that plug there Flyladies :) I really need to set the timer huh! LOL Ok! Ok! I haven't learned to organize my time yet. I've been struggling with this one my whole life. I think if I could only get up at a reasonable hour, I think I would be able to get more done. But then that would probably mean going to bed at a decent hour too. I need to recommit myself to the babysteps routine. I know, I know, I'm not behind, I'm... something else, huh I can't remember that part. Oh well it must be because my brain starts shutting down after 10 pm. I guess that's it for intelligent conversation tonight! Love ya, Haben

P.S. To understand most of this ramble you'll have to go to flylady.com

On your mark get set go!

2008-08-17T20:58:00.000-04:00

Well I figured I needed to document our homeschooling career, sooo here we go!... OK maybe I should tell you a little about myself first. I'm a mom of five amazing kids, unless you include the hubby then that makes me a mom of 6! : ) The kiddos' ages range from 2 to 9. I've been blessed with an amazing husband who has always understood and supported me in my desire to stay at home with our children. I thank Heavenly Father for that decision we made very early in our marriage. We are LDS and our beliefs mean alot to us. As LDS we believe that families are very important. So I felt that it was my responsibility to take care of my children instead of trusting my little ones to some one else. There is no judgement here! I was raised by a single mother, so I know that we all have to do what we have to do. And that know matter what choices we make in life we all make sacrifices. Trust me we have made plenty of sacrifies in our family, mostly material things. My kids are often found sporting handmedowns and out grown hair styles lol, and we don't have brand new furniture or cars, and I couldn't tell you the last time dh and I had a weekend alone. But... I was there when each of my babies smiled for the first time, for the first words they spoke, for the first steps they took, and countless other beautiful moments I've been blessed to witness. And when they got "old enough" I, like most loving parents, sent my oldest two children to PreK and then on to public school. That's what your suppose to do...Right?

"So why (you may ask) would I or any sane person want to Home School their kids?!" Well every family is different and all of them have different answers to this question. But for us there were many reasons.
-I guess my first reason would be because the Spirit had been warning (or preparing me depending on your point of view)this was coming for a couple of years before it became an absolute necessity.
-Then there is the fact that the schools have become obsessed with teaching to the test instead of the individual and that everything is timed whether you know the material or not. My kids did not respond to this kind of pressure, very well.
-Also the homework lasted past 10pm most nights. He was only in 3rd grade!
- And then there was my son's well being. He stopped smiling and laughing. This was unacceptable! My children's happiness is very important to me!

So I prayed and the Spirit confirmed that Homeschooling was the right thing to do for my family.

Let me tell you, a lot of self doubt followed. But I was excited at the same time. Then when I began to research HSing on the internet I begin to get very very overwhelmed!!! There is so much info out there. What kind of homeschooler was I going to be? Classical, Unschooler, or do I just use a curric from a box? Who do I get the curriculum from? There are so many different companies. And man are they expensive! I liked Charlotte Mason's way of doing things. I love her nature studies and copy work ideas. I liked the classical approach as well. Living books are definitely a wonderful way to learn. But I also wanted to do some child lead learning. And the everything in a box was appealing, just because I'm lazy. Too many choices!!! Especially for someone who has a hard time making any kind of decision. I'm very wishy washy. Where do I start, there is so much I want to do.

It wasn't until I prayed again(Hum... is there a pattern here? Maybe if I pray in the beginning...maybe I'd "get it" without all the frustration...nah that would be too easy) for direction that the idea came to me like a thunder bolt START FROM THE BEGINNING! The Creation... of course!!! So that gave me the direction I needed and I was able to begin gathering books and materials together. It was a wonderful feeling to be doing something productive. By the way I've decided that I'm a eclectic kind of gal : ) So I pulled resources from all over, and I feel good about the choices I've made. I took the whole summer to gather everything.

And in a nut shell, that is why we started to HS. Really it hasn't been that big of a leap for me. Homeschooling has fit pretty naturally into our lives so far.
Now that you're up to speed it is time to see if this plan is actually going to work in action.

HERE is a rough outline of what we will be studying this year:
Of course we will be doing daily scripture study. OK let's be honest, we will try to do it daily. (Is that better for those who know me)
For math I choose MIQUON math.
We are starting with the preexistence and then working our way through creation and history.
And we will be using Story of the World for history.
For creation science we are using the Apologia series. Astronomy is what we will study this year.
To kind of round things off we'll be using HomeSchoolShare for unit studies and lapbooks.
We've already been reading quite a few books. I'll give a list and a review later.
And of course we will be taking advantage of any field trips and clubs we can find that interest my kiddos.
The library has become an inexhaustible resource! Thank you Ben Franklin!!!

Just an update: Since we've taken our son out of public school he's been happier than we've seen him in along time!!! He smiles and laughs all the time now! It's like he's come alive again. This alone has made it worth it to me. I know that this is not the answer for every family, but I know without a doubt that it was for our's! I feel so blessed to see the difference it has made in my son and in my home. I will keep y'all posted on what adventures we embark on next! Love, Haben