Sketch Tuesdays

Happy Wednesday, friends.

We began our journey of homeschooling implementing the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education in 2011.

And in those early days, I came across Barbara's site mentioning Sketch Tuesday. Here's how it worked: Barbara would give a sketch prompt for that particular Tuesday, for example: sketch something that begins with the letter B. Ready, set, sketch! Then you could photograph your sketches and send them to her to post on her site.

And in those early days, we participated. Not actually sending in our sketches to be posted on her site, but just sketching at home. My line of thinking was that the sketching would encourage my then-reluctant nature sketchers to take more interest in their Nature journals. It worked. :) 

But as time worn on, and life got busier, it got dropped by the wayside. And last year, especially from May - December,  I was dealing with so much stuff, and doing what I called "treading water". In other words, getting the basics taken care and that's it. No extras at all. None.

In December, I decided that some re-evaluating of our school days was in order. It seemed to me that Sketch Tuesdays weren't the only things that got dropped. I knew that I needed to tweak our schedule, and revive the things I had so enjoyed (and the children enjoyed, too!) when we first began our CM journey. And just to clarify: I am not so foolish as to believe that I can do all that's listed in the AO curriculum;  it is a very rich curriculum to say the least. And at this point in my life, I am learning that doing all of it is simply not possible right now. But I wanted to re-establish some of what gave us so much joy way back when.

So I did what always do when I want to remember something: I made a list. (Sticky notes are my best friend, btw.  lol) 

At the top of my list was Sketch Tuesday. It was definitely something I wanted to bring back.

When I first mentioned it to the children, they said, "We remember that from when we first started the Charlotte Mason method!" And they love it - just like they did in the early days.  :)

(I make up my own prompts, but you can follow Barbara's prompts, if you want to.)

I wanted to share some of Sketch Tuesday fun with you..if any of you would like to join in the fun.  :)

Our first Sketch Tuesday prompt was to sketch an ornament on the Christmas tree.

They sketched glass ornaments and tongue-depressor snowmen.  :)

The 2nd prompt was sketch something in a pharmacy.

They sketched medicine bottles, jewelry, and light sabers. (Why yes, our pharmacy does sell light sabers!  :) )

The third prompt was given yesterday: sketch something that begins with the letter X. I thought I was giving them something challenging to sketch, but they came up with X words immediately and began to sketch.

Ian (on the left) sketched and x-ray machine and a xylophone. Asher (on the right) sketched Xanadu.  

Mimi (on the left) sketched a xylophone. Aaron (on the left) sketched a xylophone and a pirate map with "X marks the spot".  :)

Natty sketched a very colorful xylophone, too.  :)

Happy homeschooling!  :)

And the Winner is.....

Good Monday morning, friends,

Today is the day!

The Flexi winner has been chosen!

I wrote each of the names of the participants on a piece of paper, folded them up, and put them in a hat.

Mimi "stirred up" the names before hubby picked one. :)

He reached in, grabbed one, 

And the winner is (insert drumroll)..

Congratulations, Kelly!

Your Flexi is on its way!

Thanks for participating, everyone, and stay tuned... I will be having another Flexi giveaway in the spring.  :)

One Day at a Time

I found the thoughts expressed in this poem to be appropriate for the beginning of a new year.

One Day at a Time

One day at a time, with its failures and fears,

With its hurts and mistakes, with its weakness and tears,

With its portion of pain and its burden of care;

One day at a time we must meet and must bear.

One day at a time to be patient and strong,

To be calm under trial and sweet under wrong;

Then its toiling shall pass and its sorrow shall cease;

It shall darken and die, and the night shall bring peace.

One day at a time, and the day is His day;

He hath numbered its hours, though they haste or delay.

His grace is sufficient; we walk not alone;

As the day, so the strength that He giveth His own.

~ Annie Johnson Flint

If you have never heard of the amazing faith-filled life of Annie Johnson Flint, please go here.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a link to her other poems.

The Flexi Giveaway

Happy (early) New Year, friends!

Here are the details about the Flexi giveaway that I have been mentioning...

First of all, it was really hard to choose a Flexi for the giveaway because all of them are so elegant and beautiful.

I finally chose the Lovely Circle Borealis, size small.

Here's a photo..

 Beautiful, isn't it?

 

You can see by the photo that depending on the light, the crystals appear to change color. I must confess that when this Flexi arrived in the mail,  I took one look at it, and almost decided to keep for myself.  ;)

Another photo..

 

So here's what to do to enter the giveaway..

1. Leave a comment on this post.

Yeah, that's it!  Easy enough, right?

Comments will be open until Sunday.

Then, on Sunday evening, all commenters' names will be put into a hat.

A neutral person (my hubby) will draw the name of the winner, and I will announce the winner right here on Monday, January 5th.

Stay tuned!  :)

Looking Back on 2014

Well, friends..it's that time of year...the time when one year is coming to an end and a new year is just around the corner.

For me, it's also a time of reflection. I look back on 2014 with great sadness. I consider this year The Year of Loss.  

It's the year that I lost my Dad.  It's been the hardest thing I have ever gone through, not only because of how much I grieve for him, but mostly because of how hard his passing has been on my Mom.  I feel as if I lost part of her, too, when Dad passed away...that part of her went with him. And after 60+ years of marriage, I guess part of her left when he did.

It's the year that I lost friends, dear friends...or so I thought. Not in the physical sense. I mean lost them as in... they simply weren't there when I needed them most and haven't bothered to keep in touch since then. 

 

However, the Lord was so good in the midst of it all. The bright spot of the year was that our firstborn daughter and her family moved only 20 minutes away from us, while they had previously lived a 8-hour drive away. We get to see them so much more now!  :)

Adding up all the difficult things (and believe me, there are so many more things I could list) that happened this year, I can say without a doubt that it was the hardest year of my life. And I couldn't be happier  - or more relieved - to say good-bye (or good riddance!) to 2014.

I know the Lord has a reason for it all, but on this side of eternity, it's hard to understand. I am hoping that it will all be made plain when I get Home.

Philippians 3:13 tells us that we should be "forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead."

That's one Scripture verse I will gladly obey. ;)

May the Lord bless you beyond measure in the coming year.

P.S. To kick off the new year, I am announcing a Flexi giveaway on New Year's Eve. Stay tuned!  :)

Lilla Rose Purple Friday Sale!

And stay tuned for a Flexi giveaway to kick off the new year!

Something to Ponder...

Something to ponder as we prepare for the Lord's Day tomorrow....

Hmmm....but shouldn't every day be the Lord's Day? 

Happy Saturday, friends!  :)