First Day of Summer School

Today marked Day 01 of our summer school session. I made the mistake of referring to it simply as a summer session and my middle child said, "Huh? What's that mean?" so I went back to the long version. I'll have to remember to tell her to look up the word. Anyway, if a first day of any activity can be any kind of indicator in this household of ours, summer school should pan out fairly well. I have to say we did really well today and I'm proud of my baby goats for sticking with it and getting their work done on time. I put a little more effort into forming a plan of action for the weeks I wanted to be doing school by modifying the use of a Unit Study Planner that I found through Newbee Homeschooler's blog. I used Unit Study planner page 4b but I used it as a basic curriculum planner, not to plan unit studies. I like the idea of unit studies but I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it so we still use textbooks, literature books and workbooks. I only make a basic plan because I like to retain some flexibility and I also have to plan for 3 students, one of whom will be graduating soon. I find it extremely frustrating when I take tons of time and make a meticulous plan only to find it gets tossed aside after the first two weeks because one child got sick or we had to make an unplanned trip. Those kinds of things are detrimental to my sanity so using the KISS method is the best for me.

I really am looking forward to having lots of fun-filled learning experiences with my baby goats this summer, especially since the first day went so well. We'll probably have some bad days but with a good start, we have a better chance of succeeding. My two youngest will tackle 4 subjects and my oldest will tackle 5. We'll just be brushing up on our skills and keeping what we've already learned fresh in our minds. Now some people say, "Well, they /need/ a summer break." Really? If that's so, then why are so many other kids complaining of boredom already? Besides, by only taking a 3 week break, I'm certain my kids will be ready to go when the next school year arrives. And I'm equally certain that more of the skills they learned throughout the previous school year will remain intact. So without further ado, tally ho! Onward to a vast wealth of knowledge!

Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!

Flashback to Biloxi

My baby goats went to Georgia to spend part of their summer break with their grandparents. (Shout out to the grands for taking them on!) When we met them in Mobile to bring them back home, we decided to take a short stroll down memory lane. We took a detour and drove down Hwy 90 from Ocean Springs to Gulfport. We stopped at Sharkhead's so TheRo could see it. After all, she was born there! It's certainly different than it was when we were stationed there but it's still a nifty place to go. We took a moment to walk on the beach and smell that wonderful air that can only be found there. The girls played in the sand a little and we tried to remember which buildings were wiped away by Hurricane Katrina. I was really glad to see business was still carrying on and people were still visiting. I miss living there, for certain. What a joy to be able to enjoy it all again, even if only for a short time.

It's National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month and as a home school parent, I am always on the lookout for nifty things to add to my curriculum, things that will add flavor to our lessons. It just so happens that a friend and Brother of mine has published a book of his poems on Kindle. It's well-written, calling vivid imagery to mind, and the reader is in no doubt as to the meaning of the words. So I wanted to send a shout out to him and his lovely work on my blog and hopefully send a few of my followers in the direction of his book. Without further ado, please take a look at 'The Life of a Dreamer' by Deacon Rogers. If you love poetry and you love emotion-filled passages, then you will enjoy this. It's inexpensive and you will be helping a local artist who is just getting started. I'll send out some thanks in advance. :) Remember to breathe and laugh a lot!

Ten Things I'm Thankful For in 2012

It's been a little while since my last post. I got tired of seeing the title every time I commented on someone else's blog. So here I am, writing again.

Seems like there are more people in trouble this year. More people are hurting for money, looking for jobs. But we don't have to let those circumstances bring us down. We can be thankful for many things. So here are 10 things that I'm thankful for this year.

1. I'm thankful for my family being together. Even if we are not together physically, we can be together in spirit.

2. I'm thankful for having a place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear. It's not the most beautiful house, or the most perfect one. Our clothes are not the most 'in style' but they keep us modest and warm. We can't always eat the kinds of foods we want to eat (i.e. healthier and better for us) but we do have food and our bellies are full.

3. I'm thankful that after a 6 month wait, my husband was finally able to get a job. And it's a good one, too. I'm thankful that, even when I wasn't looking, a job fell into my lap that works with my schedule.

4. I'm thankful to finally be able to get off food stamps. It's been too long and I'm glad we'll be standing on our own feet again.

5. I'm thankful for books and music. Without those, my imagination might die and that would be a tragic thing, indeed!

6. I'm thankful for my chosen family. You know, 'friends are the family you choose'? They always brighten my day and make our lives interesting.

7. I'm thankful for coffee. Though this is low down on the list, do not mistake its vital importance! Without it, I'd be out of commission for at least two weeks, maybe four. I love my coffee. I'll drink it almost any way you can imagine. I've been drinking coffee for /many/ years now.

8. I'm thankful for prayer warriors and true servants of the Living God. They do not call attention to themselves and I will not embarrass them by calling their names here but I am thankful for them. Without them, we would have had a much harder time getting through this year.

9. I'm thankful there is still breath in me. That means I have another chance to do something right.

10. I'm thankful for our freedoms. They may be slowly withering and wasting away but I'm still thankful for them all the same. And I'll still do what I can to protect them.

So what are you thankful for this year? How have you been blessed or lucky? Rattle off some positive thoughts, if you wish, in the comments below. No negativity, please! If you don't like my post, just pass it by. Also, try being kind to folks during the holiday season. I think you'll see that it makes you feel much better about yourself. You might even want to continue the practice when the holiday season is done! :) I wish all my readers a most wonderful and happy holiday season! Laugh a lot!

Current Thoughts On The Results of This Farce

So we wake this morning with the same guy in charge for another four years. Well, I'm just going to keep on pressing on towards the goals I have for my life. While this current administration seems bent on making that terribly hard for me and my family, I'm fairly certain I'll be able to do that, though I'll have to work harder. I'd like to share a note posted by a friend of mine that accurately describes how I, and I'm sure many other citizens of our country, feel/felt about this election cycle. You can read it here.

I'd like to address something I'm now seeing on facebook: people requesting their facebook connections to unfriend them if they voted a certain way. It is their right to request this, especially considering that many of the connections we make on facebook are people we have never met in person. One would've had to communicate at least marginally with those "virtual" friends to consider them as such in real life. Personally, I have nothing against anyone when I first meet them but I won't consider them a friend until I have had more time to get to know them. It takes even more time and conversation for me to consider knowing someone well enough to earn them the distinction of "Brother" or "Sister." Having said that, posting things like this quote from Jefferson Quotes and expecting to guilt trip some folks into changing their minds about the decision they have painstakingly made isn't really very "friendly" of /you/. In my opinion, you should consider that the person making such a request has probably done so at a great cost to himself and only after much thought. You should also consider that this request was not made lightly. You might also want to consider their own perception of life events. If you can't consider any of those things because you don't know how they feel about those things, then you might want to consider if you were ever really their friend to begin with. Personally, I find it hard to believe in 'friends' who would re-elect someone into office who has proven that he is a traitor, who is not interested in improving or endorsing anything of true and lasting value in this country. Solutions to problems are made much more complex than they need to be and therefore those solutions never get implemented. If you want to be a part of the solution to the current situation in our country, quit outsourcing and start making do with what you have. That will help with the unemployment rate and the financial situation of our country, two very large and menacing problems.

I'm stopping here. I believe I've said enough. Remember to breathe.

His Homestead Originals Hosts a Giveaway!

I am a bit rushed this morning but I wanted to take some time to do this. His Homestead Originals is hosting a pretty nifty giveaway! You can check it out here. I originally went to the site to get a free resource posted by Homeschool Freebie of the Day and if you've never checked out either site, I recommend you do so. I was pleasantly surprised with His Homestead Original's simple ways of doing things and the way they promote their faith without being pushy or offensive. I think it's wonderful to find people standing firm in what they believe and letting that faith shine in all aspects of their lives. I can't wait to use the free resource I downloaded today and I hope I win the contest. Check it out and if you like what you see, then sign up for their newsletter. Thanks for stopping by! Laugh a lot!

Check out this awesome giveaway hosted by Fave Crafts! I love browsing through their site to find interesting crafts that I can do alone or with my family. But this giveaway is special to me because I love to create chainmail jewelry. I've wanted a book like this since I started working maille but have never been able to get the money together to purchase it. So I really hope I win the giveaway. :) You can check it out for yourself here. If you decide to do so and enter the contest, I wish you luck, too. Have a great day! Laugh a lot and remember to breathe!