Adventures in MFW ~ week 16

Rhode Island, Vermont, Daniel Boone

I was very pleased with how this week turned out. Everything that I had planned for the week was finished! That doesn't happen very often. I have come to realize that we really only do the History in MFW, and I'm ok with that.

Bible: We read Mt 14:1-12, Jn 4:1-54 (over 2 days), and Lk 4:16-44. We take turns reading it out loud.

MFW: They did the state pages for RI and VT. Then (finally!) we did some more history. We read about Daniel Boone from Exploring American History only to find out that we live very NEAR to a tree that he supposedly carved his name in. I know it's in Washington Co., but I'm having a little trouble finding the exact location. I did find an awesome website for TN history. That led me to The Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Association. I found that the kids and I had been to some of the places along the trail.

The Natural Tunnel in VA: It's rumored that Daniel Boone was the first white man to see the tunnel.



This Stockade is a replica of the posts they had all along the Wilderness Trail. The families would gather here until there was a big enough party to safely travel on.



On the way home, we ate at the Hob Knob. (I did NOT take this picture.)



I really do need to start reading ahead in History. I'm upset that I couldn't point all of these things out while we were there!

Zoology: We finally finished Lesson 9. Yay! I need to be more faithful. I think from now on we'll just read it and discuss. IF we decide to notebook about it then we will.



Latin: Song School Latin, chapter 11; Latin's Not So Tough 1, letters I K L M.

Math: *B* did lessons 35-39 and all of the corresponding review sheets. She's learning how to subtract using renaming (or borrowing as I learned).

*C* did lessons 15-19. The next one is a test! He loves tests! LOL

*T* is back working on Essential Math by Singapore, Horizons moves too fast for him. I have NO CLUE what to buy for him next year. I'm thinking of using Saxon.

Language Arts: *B* & *C* did lessons 26-28 in Primary Language Lessons. Lesson 26 was about the days of the week, so we read about the origins of the names in our Child Craft Encyclopedia. Lesson 28 is to memorize The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson. They are enjoying it and memorizing it fairly quickly.

*T* is slowly but surely moving in reading. He gets frustrated very easily because his older siblings can read very well. He just doesn't understand why he can't read.

Art: I've given up on Art Adventures at Home . It's a very good program, but we like worksheets. :) So, we've been doing Lamb's Book of ART I, by Barry Stebbing. This week was lesson 2: The Color Wheel.

Composer, Artist, and Hymn Studies: Not much to write about this week. We listened to Bach a few days and haven't done anything with Monet yet. Mostly we've been practicing I Sing The Mighty Power Of God.

Ambleside Online Literature: We're done with week 2!!

New Coats, euge!

Every single one of my children needed a new coat this year. My aunt's friend was very generous! She bought all of the coats and my aunt shipped them to us. THANK YOU!! 

They're a little bummed that it's not cold enough yet, but it will be soon.

*L* was standing there saying, "Eeeesh." Or as we like to say, "Cheese." :)

Field Trips

My absolute favorite would be when we went to Texas, but I posted about that here. But of that trip my favorite part was staying in New Orleans. I've always loved New Orleans. The first time I went was in November of 1997 when my Grandpa died. The funeral was in Gulfport, MS and my loving mother (Happy Birthday, Mommy!) drove me to New Orleans for the day.

Here is on the way to Texas last May.
We stayed at the Hilton and could see the Super Dome from our room.

The next morning, we walked along the boardwalk until the Aquarium opened.

This was my first visit to an aquarium.


Here are a few pictures as I was trying to get back on 10.

Snowy Tops

"I sing the mighty power of God,
That made the mountains rise..."

Kindergarten Reading List

I was feeling a bit inadequate after perusing a lot of the recommended Kindergarten reading lists. That prompted me to look and see what I actually have on hand.

The Little Engine That Could ~ Watty Piper
Coyote Raid in Cactus Canyon ~ Jim Arnosky
Little Loon and Papa ~ Toni Buzzeo
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush ~ Tomie dePaola
The Wild Little Horse ~ Rita Gray
Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten ~ Joseph Slate
Momma, Will You? ~ Dori Chaconas
The Invisible Moose ~ Dennis Haseley
The Tale of Pip and Squeak ~ Kate Duke
(all of the previous came from the Imagination Library)

Harold and the Purple Crayon ~ Crocket Johnson
Goodnight Moon ~ Margaret Wise Brown
Caps for Sale ~ Esphyr Slobodkina
Moonbear's Shadow ~ Frank Asch
Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs? ~ Bernard Most
A Tree is Nice ~ Janice May Udry
A House is a House for Me ~ Mary Ann Hoberman
The Little Red Hen ~ Paul Galdone
Are You My Mother? ~ P.D. Eastman
Go, Dog. Go! ~ P.D. Eastman
Bears on Wheels ~ Stan & Jan Berenstain

... and by Dr. Seuss:
Hop on Pop
Green Eggs and Ham
And to Think That I Saw it on Mulberry Street
ABC
The Cat in the Hat
The Tooth Book
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

I don't feel so inadequate anymore. :)

More and more like Charlotte

When *B* was ready to start 1st grade I realized that I had no clue what I was doing! So, I read The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. It was exactly what I needed, something to tell me what to teach and when to teach it. I don't think I would be where I am, without having read that book.

Since then, I've almost completely come away from Classical Education. My style is definitely eclectic (as many homeschoolers are) but more specifically I like to say that I am a good mixture of Ruth Beechick and Charlotte Mason with a splash of Classical Education.

I've recently added Ambleside Online's literature. (We are ready to begin week 2.) Next week, I am also adding Composers, Artists, and Hymns. We had been doing a Picture Study, but I chose pictures I had lying around the house. I'm all out now. :) We will be using Module 1 from each category found here: Simply Charlotte Mason.

I started late, so we will be doing our "chunks" in 6 weeks instead of 8. Here is what we will be studying from November - January. Composers: Bach & Mozart; Artists: Claude Monet & Christian Riese Lassen; Hymns: I Sing the Mighty Power of God & O Come, All Ye Faithful.

Edited: I decided to wait on the artist John James Audubon until we start our study of birds in Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.

Blog Award

Aww... Rhonda is so sweet! This is what she wrote about me...

Okay, I am going to get into trouble for this one. Seriously, I think Audrey is going to somehow reach through the computer and bop me in the head but I can't help it! I love her blog, we're both Tennessee girls and we're buddies!! Love ya, Audrey. She has recently re-did her blog and it is so pretty.

Thank You Rhonda!!

Here is the details of the award:“This blog invests and believes, in ‘proximity’ [meaning, that blogging makes us 'close' - being close through proxy] "They are all charming blogs, and the majority of them aim to show the marvels of friendship; there are persons who are not interested when we give them a prize, and then they help to cut these bows; do we want that they are cut, or that they propagate?" Then let’s try to give more attention to them! So with this prize we must deliver it to eight bloggers that in turn must make the same thing and put this text.”

1. Bronwyn
   
2. Beth
3. Dacia
4. Angela
5. Tonia

Hmm... I've got 5. I would have given it to Kysha and Brittney, but they've gotten it already. I'm still short one... consider this my gift to YOU! :)

Learning Latin in the South

My Poor Mom

This is starting to get bad... I can't remember if I've ever posted this! (And I'm too lazy to look.)



This was last year at my Memaw's 75th Birthday. Oh, and that's my brother, btw.

10 Timely Facts (about me)

Write 10 interesting, crazy, weird, fun facts about you!

I know I did something like this before... And I promise I didn't look it up, so if it's all mostly the same, that just means that I'm boring! LOL

~ 1 ~ My name is Audrey. I am named after my Memaw (mom's mom).

~ 2 ~ I sucked my thumb until I was 8. I swore that none of my kids ever would. So we let them use a paci. YAY, it worked!!

~ 3 ~ I've had 4 kids and still haven't *seen* a birth.

~ 4 ~ I'm addicted to Dr. Pepper.

~ 5 ~ I let my kids have Blueberry Muffins and Popcorn for lunch today.

~ 6 ~ I am 28.75 years old and have never flown in an airplane. And now with all of the hassle, I probably never will. I did get to sit in one in 1st grade. We had a field trip to the Airport and our whole class got to buckle in. No flying though.

~ 7 ~ My favorite TV show is Charmed. I recorded the finale, and every time I watch it I cry.

~ 8 ~ I am 1/4 English. (Memaw was born and raised in England.) I am very proud of my heritage and I LOVE hearing Memaw's stories.

~ 9 ~ I'm a "jack of all trades and a master of none." I'm torn as to whether that's good or bad.

~ 10 ~ One of my favorite songs is If We Were A Movie, by Miley Cyrus. Another one is her version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

ETA: I linked to the other post above.

Royal Ranger Day

The Ranger Kids (grades K-2) were presented with the Antelope Award today.

There are certain tasks to be completed and they are grouped into four categories.
Physical: 1. Clean around the church for 1 month; 2. Make a Patrol Flag
Spiritual: Memorize 2 scriptures, John 15:12 & Romans 12:10
Mental: 1. Learn the Pledge to the Christian Flag; 2. Learn the Blue Point Alert (part of the Royal Ranger Emblem)
Social: 1. Learn the name and address of their church; 2. Go to one outpost activity

In addition to this, every Royal Ranger is required to know the Pledges to the American Flag and Royal Ranger Flag. They also have to memorize the Royal Ranger Motto and the Royal Ranger Code.

** All of the previous links are found on this page at the Royal Rangers' website. **

Baptism at the River

I'm so proud of my babies!! *B* & *C* were baptized today!

The sermon was about baptism, since we were to have one following the service.

I can't remember exactly what his words were, but baptism was around long before Christianity. I never really thought about it before. Our Pastor said that baptism was used in all kinds of "groups" as a way to identify it's followers. Using present day as an example: If you wanted to be affiliated with a particular political party then you had to be baptized by them... to publicly show your allegiance.

Now I understand the conversation between John and Jesus much better!! John was at the Jordan River preaching and baptizing people. They then became John's followers. Well, when Jesus came down...

(Mt 3:14) ... John tried to stop Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?"

John couldn't understand. He should have been baptized by Jesus. He wanted to be a part of Jesus' group, not the other way around! I get it now!

I got my hair cut!

This is what I looked like last night...

This is what I look like today...

Dh lost me at Walmart, because he couldn't remember what I looked like! Seriously!

Dinner from New Jersey

Chicken Casserole and Savory Green Beans
(I didn't buy enough fresh beans, so we ate some from a can.)

Adventures in MFW ~ week 15, finished

New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina

We actually did NH last week. Right now we've just been doing one state per lesson. I can't wait to start digging into history again!!

On Tuesday, I made a dinner from Maryland. (I know, I'm behind.) We had Crab Cakes and Macaroni Salad. I've never made or eaten either of those before... it was okay.

I got the recipe from Eat Your Way Through the USA. It's a really neat book, it also gives food facts for the states.

I'm hoping that next week will start to become normal again. It's hard to get used to Daddy working 3 days a week. Needless to say, we're STILL working on Zoology chapter 9. They are really learning the stuff though! It amazes me what they soak up as youngsters.

Ambleside literature update: We're still working though week 1. Like I said, I hope things calm down next week. *B* and I started reading The Pilgrim's Progress together. We take turns reading paragraphs.

Our Homeschool Family

I didn't think I would like this at first... but I really enjoyed it.

(Sung to the tune of The Addams Family)

We have a terrible two-er
Two boys who are peculiar
Big sister is a drooler
Our Homeschool Family

We learned to grow a daisy
The librarian thinks we're crazy
It really doesn't faze me
Our Homeschool Family

We go to church on Sunday
And sometimes school on Monday
But we learn ev'ry day
Our Homeschool Family

~ Moan ~
~ Groan ~
~ At Home ~

We're learning to speak Latin
The states we are a mappin'
Education is not lackin'
Our Homeschool Family

Lazy we're not bein'
Skippin' school for a museum
Imitate the art we're seein'
Our Homeschool Family

The internet is our friend
With lots of mail to send
A blog to keep the trend
Our Homeschool Family

Here's the video that sparked the whole thing!

Kevin & Me

I was19 (almost 20), "morning sick" pregnant, and at Holiday Inn Cleveland, OH. He was there doing something at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My dh took this picture. It's my only one with someone famous! :)

Study Spot

I was waiting to post until I had pictures, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. Maybe I'll add some later.

We are usually at the kitchen/dining room table. Sometimes we venture into the living room. Our main read aloud is reserved for bed time. We all sit around the toddler bed since he usually falls asleep before we're done reading.

The Mountains Still Amaze Me

I was so afraid that after living in TN for a while I would "get used to" seeing the mountains. Boy, was I wrong!

Adventures in MFW ~ week 15, part 1

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we only need to "school" 5 more days this month to stay on track. The bad news is that I took a 3 day break this week. Well, I guess that's not really bad news. Especially with our loop schedule. All I have to do is pick up where we left off. I love it! No "extra" planning, needed! (Except to add more Bible readings.) I highlighted what we actually completed this week.

For Adventures in My Father's World, we only completed one state. New Hampshire.

Our Picture Study was Prima Ballerina by Edgar Degas. They enjoyed coloring the picture. We listened to our music selection (from the Nutcracker) while they colored. I got the coloring pages from here.

Reading Reflex and *T*... I keep forgetting to post pictures of his word building exercises. I'm so proud of him!!

Zoology I: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day

We learned the most disgusting things this week. Yuck #1: When a mosquito "bites" you, it SPITS into the wound and we have an allergic reaction to it. That is why it itches. Yuck #2: A fly uses it's feet to decide whether or not it wants to eat something. Then it VOMITS acid onto your food so that it can use it's sponge mouth to absorb your liquified food.

We started doing Ambleside Online's Literature. *B* is doing Year 3, and *C* is doing Year 1.

It looks like a lot, but really it isn't. The purple boxes are what they do by themselves. I pre-read the selection and when they are done I hear their narration. I don't write it down or anything, I just make sure it's accurate. *C* loves to draw. So, instead of narrating his poem he draws a picture of something that comes to mind while reading it. ~ Notice the sun in the window.

Mommy & Me