Four is a wonderful number

... so I'm still trying to fathom that, come spring, we'll have five children!

Here are some shots of our sweet ones!
At this point in time, Merika is 8, Nolyn is a bit over 6 1/2, Keagan is 4, and Evangeline is a week away from 13 months.

I love them critters!

My oldest managed to capture a few photos of Evangeline and me:

Itsy-bitsy spider went up the water spout....

 

This is my favorite of the three. :)

Place setting place mats

One of our children's chores is setting the table.  This task is quite helpful as it means I don't have to juggle another task while trying to get dinner to the table.

Today we talked about proper place setting.  I showed them an example:

Then we all drew it on paper, which I will "laminate" (with that clear book cover stuff you can buy at Hobby Lobby).  I drew an example since they asked for tips on how to draw the utensils.  Keagan had conked out, and I knew he'd be disappointed if he woke up and didn't have his own place mat, so the one I made will be his until he can make one of his own.

This is the creation Merika made:

Sorry about the poor photo quality. Bad lighting + mobile phone!

See my sleeping beauty handsome?

My big little girl

My Evangeline is getting big.  She's been walking for a bit now, but now she seems to have more confidence. She doesn't crawl (er, scoot) as much, and she doesn't hover close to furniture like she used to "just in case".  She's an explorer.  Thankfully, she doesn't tend to put things in her mouth, because she loves to play with legos, crayons, beads, and various other things.

At just a little over 12 months old, she's already a good listener.  If I tell her no, she'll listen. If she has something in her hand, and I ask her to give it to me, she usually does.

She's still nursing, but she's also learning how to drink from a cup and does pretty well sipping from a straw.

She's a laid back kid for the most part.  She likes to observe what is going on around her.  And, she likes to chill.

She loves peas, lunch meat, bananas, raisins, grapes, and veggie straws (they are a type of chip).  Oh, who am I kidding. She pretty much likes whatever you put in front of her! She's a big eater.  Honestly, she eats more than my four-year-old does, but... if you have a four-year-old going through the picky "I hate all foods (except anything loaded with sugar)" stage, then you know that's not surprising.


She likes to pull all the cloth diapers out of the basket. She enjoys playing dolls with her big sister.  She likes to color, or at least hold crayons and wave them in the air.

She loves to "read" and is surprisingly gentle on our books.  She likes to be included in her big siblings homeschooling, whether it's reading, writing, or art projects.

And she's a good napper during the day, which is great. :)

It's hard to believe that when she's 18 months, she'll be a big sister!

Pray for Everyone Printable

I made this coloring sheet for my kiddos to go with the book Window on the World: When we pray God works. I find giving my children coloring sheets while we read (especially our four year old) helps them focus a bit better. This doesn't surprise me because I was the same way as a kiddo!

I absolutely love Window on the World.  In this book, we are reading about many of the countries and people groups of the world and learning how we can specifically pray for them.  This definitely helps broaden our children's worldview in a biblical way.

Click here to view and print the PDF coloring sheet.

Crayola doesn't make a color for your eyes

I was blog hopping and came across this adorable music video. Thanks for passing it along APfK!

Aesop: The Wolf & The Kid

Part of our Sonlight curriculum includes reading the wonderful fables from The Aesop for Children.  I absolutely love the full-color, beautiful vintage-y illustrations.  Aesop's Fables always have a moral to the story which are great for family discussion, but we also enjoy diving deeper into the stories to discuss the characters, environment, culture, etc.  My children love acting out stories as well, and sometimes want to draw a comic book of what they've just read.  Here are some ideas for you to use to expand upon these stories. I'll be adding to these. You'll find them under the label "Aesop's Fables".

The Wolf and The Kid

Before reading, you may want to discuss some of the following with your children:

1. Female goats are referred to as does or nannies, intact males as bucks or billies; their offspring are kids. Note that many goat breeders prefer the terms "buck" and "doe" to "billy" and "nanny". Castrated males are wethers. Goat meat from younger animals is called kid or cabrito, and from older animals is sometimes called chevon, or in some areas “mutton”.  (I think it goes without saying that I would leave out the bit of intact/castrated.) [Information from Wikipedia]

After you read, you may want to talk about:

1. Goats are reputed to be willing to eat almost anything, including tin cans and cardboard boxes. While goats will not actually eat inedible material, they are browsing animals, not grazers like cattle and sheep, and (coupled with their natural curiosity) will chew on and taste just about anything resembling plant matter in order to decide whether it is good to eat, including cardboard and paper labels from tin cans. [Information from Wikipedia]

2. Goats have an intensely inquisitive and intelligent nature: they will explore anything new or unfamiliar in their surroundings. [Information from Wikipedia]

Printables
- Coloring Pages (one) (two) (three)


More Aesop's Fables coloring pages located at this site.

Red Sails of Capri

Red Sails of Capri is one of the first books we dive into in our Sonlight B+C Core curriculum for our 1st and 2nd grade homeschoolers.  Here are a few wonderful extras I found to go along with the book. If you're doing this curriculum, check back for more projects and activities to go with this book.


Videos of the beautiful Blue Grotto and the breath-taking Capri







Isn't the city gorgeous? Ah, that water! I just want to dive in. (It's nothing like our Galveston beaches!)

It arrived!

Whadya know.....
I head out to the grocery store after my hubby got home and the box arrived! Weeeeee! 
So, it's officially box day!

It's a good thing I wasn't here when it arrived. I probably would have hugged and kissed the delivery person.

We have friends over, so eight children (four of our own) excitedly sifted through the brand-spankin'-new books.

Evie was thrilled to have more reading material. :) I told you she loves books!

I have no idea where I'm going to put all these books, but I kept out the books we'll be using these first few weeks and put the rest back in the box.

They didn't stay in the box long, though. They're back in the hands of little boys and girls. :)

We're so glad to finally have our Sonlight Core B+C curriculum (and the other extras we ordered). Praise God it arrived!

While we wait...

Our day started with excitement. "Today is the day! Today is the day!" We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest set of Sonlight homeschool goodies! The FedEx tracking info says it is on the truck to be delivered today, so I hope they aren't just getting our hopes up! (Have I used enough exclamation marks yet?!!!!)

Keagan eagerly checked the calendar.
"Today is a special day," I told him.
"My birthday?" he grinned as he pointed to the date on the calendar.
"Nope," I said as I moved his finger to the correct spot. "Today is the day Merika and Nolyn's homeschool stuff is supposed to come in!"
"Yay! Yay!" he sang, and all the other kiddos chimed in.

Today, Keagan and I worked through lesson 4 (or was it 5?) in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  Then he formed letters using the Handwriting Without Tears Wood Pieces. These are one of my favorite "tools". The kids love them!

In case you didn't know, you have to do a dance and make silly faces after you make each letter.  Sometimes it's necessary to sing, "I win! I win!"


We also did some of our Sonlight Core A curriculum: learned about the letter F, talked about days of the week, read a few silly poems from The Llama Who Had No Pajamas... and then made up silly poems of our own!

We tried to keep ourselves occupied while waiting for The Box to arrive! (No, not that box. Creepy!) We even had the privilege of going out for lunch with one of our favorite families! (Btw, I saw the FedEx truck there and wanted to tell the driver she wasn't allowed to have a lunch break because some people are going crazy whilst awaiting awesome curriculum. She needs to get on it! Instead I just drove by the truck and tried to send telepathic messages that she should go to my house immediately after devouring her burger and fries. I don't think she got the message.)

I've mentioned this before, and I'm sure I'll mention it again, but my Evangeline loves books. She'll sit on the couch for half an hour "reading".  She really likes her sturdy Word World and bible story books we picked up from Dollar Tree a while back.  She's pretty good with regular books too, but you do have to keep an eye on her because every now and then she'll take a little nibble of one of the pages. We keep these books out for her to flip through any time she wants.

Reading is hard work, so after all that page-turning, she was ready for a nap.  I love baby snuggles!

I'll be posting pictures of Box Day.... if this package ever arrives. I feel like I'm waiting for a boyfriend to arrive! My heart beats fast every time I hear someone drive by!

Homeschooling links: Easy tye-dye, design your homeschool, preschool spelling, & more!

My friend Kim posted this link on her Facebook after sharing photos of their awesome Sharpie Pen Tye-Dye experiment.  This is definitely something I'm going to try out soon! (Great way to rejuvenate stained children's clothing!)  While you're visiting that site, check out their other experiments!

Have you ever heard of Heart of the Matter Online? When they first started out, I had the privilege of writing monthly articles for their digital magazine.  This is a great group of supportive ladies with a variety of homeschooling styles.  Check out their articles, and don't forget to crack open their digital magazine as well! They have regular online conferences to enjoy throughout the year.  If you're like me, it's hard to make it out to the "physical" conferences.  These online conferences are great for the busy mother! You'll find this site to be a wonderful source of encouragement and inspiration in your homeschooling adventures!

Are you new to homeschooling? Have you been homeschooling for years but feel completely unorganized? Are you looking for a curriculum to fit your family's needs but are having a hard time finding one (or can't afford one)?  Check out this awesome site which walks you through the steps to Design Your Homeschool.   This sight is filled with great resources for homeschoolers, like a Crossword Puzzle Generator (great for spelling lessons!)  Read curriculum reviews, learn about different methods (like Charlotte Mason), and check out great ideas for integrating art into your homeschool.

(Photo borrowed from this Totally Tots post)
Looking for a great way to make learning letters more hands-on for your preschooler?  I absolutely love this inexpensive idea! Check out this "Spaghetti" Spelling technique over at Totally Tots using yarn and a piece of felt! Smart! Check out Happy Brown House, the brains behind this great idea!

Check out this post at The Homeschool Village about free core curriculums! Free! Yes! Free! (Woooo!)

Have you come across any great homeschooling articles or blogs? Do you write about your homeschooling adventures? Please share in the comments!

Pray, pray, pray!

Today I had a wonderful chat with a super amazing woman, and when I got off the phone with her, I immediately mailed her a copy of Praying Effectively for the Lost (with the help of my sweet Keagan).

It is so wonderful to hear testimonies of people who God plucked out of darkness.  It never fails to amaze me how the Lord takes hold of us in our darkest hour and completely transforms our lives. Tracy definitely is a picture of God's work, and I know He is doing awesome things in her life.

Our talk reminded me once again how important and powerful prayer is, especially for our lost loved ones- whether it be a spouse, a sibling, a parent, a child, or a close friend. Never give up in praying. Prayer is one of the ways we battle Satan and, by God's grace, see the chains of bondage fall from those we love.

Yesterday, I had an amazing experience as some of my friends prayed over me.  I had been feeling such an over-powering, dark spirit that day, and I instantly felt freed from it after my friends gently laid their hands on my shoulders and back and lovingly, boldly prayed for me.

Pray, my friends. Pray for the lost. Pray for the found.There is a spiritual battle, a bloody warfare, taking place. Believers, pray and be witness to God's amazing power!

Homeschooling: Coming soon to this blog....

We are eagerly awaiting a shipment of B+C Core curriculum (plus a few extras) from Sonlight due to arrive tomorrow (according to the tracking info), so, in the meantime, we've been making little comic books, rocketing into space, and devouring books.

The kids couldn't wait for Daddy to get home. I had cut out the shapes to build their own space shuttle, and Daddy was to help them fold and glue them together properly.  One of the children's friends had brought over a bag of cool things, some of which was focused on Nasa and left behind these plans for a space ship along with other information. I made several copies so each kiddo could have their very own. They've really enjoyed blasting off into space!

Keep your eye on my blog as I'll be posting more frequently about homeschooling while pregnant, homeschooling with an active baby, fun activities to do with one-year-olds, the preschool journey (using Sonlight Core A along with other books and activities), and second grade fun, combining teaching for a variety of ages, plus great crafts and art ideas!

If you are doing Sonlight Core A or B+C, check in for hands-on activities, printables, and crafts to go along with the curriculum!

It's not finished, but...

I'll let you have a look anyway!

Here's what we've accomplished so far in our homeschool room. Sorry for the picture quality. This room has poor lighting, and it probably doesn't help that I took all of these with my mobile phone.

 This desk is older than I am. It's been in my family for a while!

I'd like to have the room painted by the end of the month, but that's unlikely. At least I have the accent wall done!  The bean bag chairs need some love (more fluff and some minor repairs), and I plan on painting the cabinet the copier is perched on.  The wall decor definitely leaves something to be desired, but... it's getting there. Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

Our four kiddos love the room.  Guess where they headed when they crawled out of bed!

Evangeline found the Memory game. She's very observant.  She stares down everyone and everything.

After breakfast, I sat down to read a book to Evangeline, but was eventually crowded out by three other children who took over the book and cut me out of the circle! Ha!

The Crafty, Homeschool Room (in the works)

While we're waiting, erm, patiently for our B+C Core and other Sonlight items to arrive, I decided it would be a good time to overhaul the homeschool/craft room. Yesterday, my husband tidied it up (boy, was it loaded with junk), and today I painted one of the walls (an "accent color") and hope to tackle the other walls another day (with my husband's help, hopefully). I did a lot of organizing, and since it's not finished, I have yet to take a photo of it.  It is clean and organized enough for the kids to enjoy all their favorite things.

I did snap a shot of some of the great finds I picked up at Goodwill. Three of these four items have been incorporated into our new room. [A blue PBteen lamp for $9.99? Yes, please!]

I had a four year old who insisted on being in the photo. *Smile*

Evangeline is really enjoying the new space, especially since there are loads of new things to observe.  She hung out with me for a bit while I arranged things.  She even helped me organize the glue.

Then she found a bin of odds and ends I had put together for her to explore. Dominos, blocks, books, shapes and all sorts of things!

It was really hard to get things accomplished with the older kids roaming the room, so I admit, I banished them from the area until I was almost finished (for the day, at least).  They were so excited to see I had pulled down a bin of math manipulatives and other random items they had not been able to play with in over a year.

I have a feeling they'll be up late tonight playing and learning in that room. I created several little sitting areas I know they'll love to curl up in to read or do puzzles.

Evangeline found the chunky beads and took them out of the box, put them in the box, banged them against the wicker chest, banged them against the floor, tapped them against her head, and then put them back in the box.  Silly girl!

 She loved all the little interesting things I had set up on the window seal.

My sweet baby has been sick the last few days, so smiles and giggles have been few and far between lately.  It seemed the new room with all it's new-to-her attractions cheered her up!

I'm pretty excited about the room.  I moved an old desk into the area since the kids often want to take over my desk area (an old sewing table with a granite top).  Our homeschooling is rarely ever confined to the "homeschool room" (in fact, last year, I don't think we did one bit of "schooling" in it so I decided to change it into a craft room instead, but I thought the kids would enjoy a spot to learn, craft, and read.  Maybe it'll keep them occupied while I sew!  I always love checking out other people's homeschool rooms, so I hope to have photos of mine posted sometime next week (maybe a sneak preview by this weekend?).  I don't have a huge room, but I'm thankful to have an extra room, period.  I don't see many photos on the web of small (eh, petite?) homeschool rooms, but I am sure there are others out there, like me, who don't have the luxury of a full basement or enormous playroom!