Looking Back on Term 1

We did it; we completed Term 1 of the Ambleside Online Curriculum !

So how did we fare?  Well, let me tell you all about it...

I'll start with Mimi, my youngest. She is in yr0 of AO. She spent her days "eavesdropping" on the lessons of the older children and has learned so much. She casually talks  about Shakespeare, Plutarch, and other classics as if they're old friends. She is also reading in an advanced 2nd grade reading book and working with lots of Math manipulatives, and an occasional worksheet. She loved sketching in her Nature journal, too.

Next is Natty, who is in yr3 of AO. Her favorite things about Term 1 were reading American Tall Tales, Shakespeare's Cymbelline, The Princess and the Goblin, Pilgrim's Progress (as with all AO literature books, she's reading the unabridged version - *gulp*), and A Child's History of the World. She also enjoyed folk songs, poetry, and Nature study.

Asher, (who is in yr4), was constantly telling me, "I love school! All of it! I can't name one single thing that I don't like." He will never know how much those words thrilled this home school Mama's heart.  :)  He "loved" (his word) reading Minn of the Mississippi,  Shakespeare, Robinson Crusoe,  and The Story Book of Science. He also enjoyed written narrations, poetry, Nature study, and Nature journals.

Aaron's (also in yr 4) enjoyed reading Shakespeare, The Story Book of Science, Poor Richard, Robinson Crusoe, and poetry (especially Alfred Lord Tennyson's The Lady of Shallot). He also liked folks songs, picture study (particularly Renoir), and Nature journaling.

Ian's favorites from Term 1 were reading Mere Christianity ( by C.S. Lewis, and now one of Ian's all-time favorite books),  Watership Down, Lay of the Land, Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, The Once and Future King, and The Brendan Voyage. He also enjoyed poetry, Nature journaling, and Biology (Apologia).

And now, it's my turn. My favorite things about the AO curriculum so far (I'm sure I will add to this list as the year progresses) are....

...first of all, AO is a challenging curriculum. (And the levels do not correspond with the grade levels of a typical school.) My children are challenged in their readings and in what's expected of them, which has developed a better work ethic in them. They work harder, but they love what they're doing.

...doing away with the dry, boring textbooks, and watching my children devour the wonderful, living books. My children are loving them, in spite of the sometimes-challenging vocabulary words.

...the exposure to great artists and composers. It's so exciting to see my children get excited over listening to a Bach selection or studying a picture by Pieter de Hooch.

I have to admit that I did have initial reservations about whether or not the narration aspect would really work when we got to the end of Term 1 and had our exams.  But I can honestly say that I was amazed by
how much my children remembered...just by using narration. They remembered details from the first week of school! Narration works. My children have proven that.

We are now beginning week 17 (the 5th week of Term 2) and loving it more and more. The children were so excited to get back to their lessons after 2-week break for the holidays. Natty was jumping up and down last saying how excited she was to get back to reading one of her favorites of this term, The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat. In all my years of homeschooling, I've never seen my children get this excited about school.  :)

We are so thankful for the Lord's leading us to the AO curriculum; it's a perfect fit for our family.

So, my friends, how is your year going so far?  Have you found a curriculum that fits your family well?  Do tell!  :)

Happy homeschooling!

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.."  ~  Psalm 107:1

sharing with The Modest Mom 
                   Deep Roots at Home

Happy New Year! {2013}

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to wish  you all a very happy and healthy new year.

And may we all be challenged in the year ahead to walk closer with the Lord Jesus.

How thrilling to think that this may be the year of His coming to take us all Home!

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" ~Revelation 22:20

 

His Second Coming

"We cannot think of the humility of His first coming into this cursed,

hateful world without thinking of the mode of His coming again

when the heavens shall roll up as a scroll

and the islands will be moved and the mountains shaken.

And every eye shall see Him and every tongue shall confess 

that He is Lord of all.

And among His redeemed, gathered from the four corners of the earth,

there shall be some from every tribe and nation on earth.

Praise His Holy Name."

~ Nate Saint, martyred missionary pilot

Some Thoughts on the School Shooting

Briefly, my friends, because I am sure that you, as I, have been inundated with news reports about this tragedy...here are my thoughts on what happened in Connecticut on Friday..

First, I am saddened beyond words about the loss of those precious children..and of the adults, as well.

However, via the Internet, I have watched over and over again the liberal media trying to make sense of it all. I have listened to the outcry of "We need stricter guns laws!" and "We need more police officers at the schools!"

I have seen many, many people reaching out to those families who are grieving.

And I have heard President Obama's attempt to comfort the people of Connecticut. I hope it brought a measure of solace, but at the same time his words were hypocritical (a man who approves of and encourages the murder of thousands of babies every day actually values the lives of others? seriously?).

Where is the outcry over the thousands of innocent babies who are murdered in their mother's wombs because of "convenience"?
Where aren't they broadcasting photos of the post-abortion babies as they lie in 5-gallon buckets, only to be disposed of in the garbage receptacle like rubbish? (I worked as a counselor at a  crisis pregnancy center and saw these photos for myself.)
Where are the people who want to reach out in love to the broken and distraught mothers who have their babies' blood on their hands?

People want to know...when will they figure out the "why" of what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary? There are many blame games being played right now.

Some people blame the gun laws.

Some people blame the schools.

You see, you can blame anyone or anything.

But the fact of the matter is..."The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" ~ Jeremiah 17:9

There is a cure for all this, my friends.  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~ Romans 5:8
"..that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." ~ Romans 9:10

May God have mercy on our country.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." ~ Psalm 33:12

Queen of the Home {15}

 

"Again, let me say that no wife can underestimate the influence

she wields over her husband

or the measure in which his character, his career, and his very destiny

are laid in her hands for shaping.

The sway which she holds of him is the sway of love,

but it is mighty and resistless.

If she retains her power, 

if she holds her place as queen of his life,

she can do with him as she will.

Even unconsciously to herself, 

without an thought of responsibility,

she will exert over him

an influence that will go far

in making or marring all his future.

If she has no lofty conception of life herself,

if she is vain and frivolous,

she will only chill his ardor,

weaken his resolution,

and draw him aside from any earnest endeavor."

~ J.R. Miller

My ABCs

Hello, friends.

I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about myself, using the ABCs...

A - age: 46 (til April, anyway)

B -brother: I have one, who lives just over the hill from me.

C - children: I have 8:  7 on Earth and 1 waiting for me in Heaven.

D - dogs:  we don't have any. Hubby is allergic to them, but on Saturday morning, after 2 stray dogs killed our 30-lb. gobbler and 2 chickens (one of whom was our homeschool chick  and the other one was Elmer.),  I can now safely say that will never own a dog.  And after seeing my children grieve for their pets for the past 3 days, I am perfectly fine with that.

E - exercise: I desperately need it, but just don't take the time to do it.

F - fall: my favorite season.

G - grandchildren: I have 2 grandsons and 2 granddaughters.

H - home: my domain and my sanctuary from this world. I strive to make it as peaceful as possible.

I - introvert: I like to be around people, but I am most comfortable with those closest to me.

J - Jack: our newest furry family member, very gentle with the children.

K - Kim: Aaron's cat, and what a life he has - sleeps, eats, sleeps, eats...well, you get the picture.  :)

L - Lisa: my name. My daughters and granddaughters all have a form of my name in their name. I love that.  :)

M - mom: my mom is the epitome of the Proverbs 31 woman, with a true servant's heart.

N - necklace: I love to make homemade jewelry.

O - outdoors. I'd rather be outside (working in my flower beds or in the garden) than inside.

P - peanut butter: I used to love it, and after being on this sugar-free diet for so many months, I "cheated" and took a little taste of it. ICK! I never want to eat it again.

Q - quiet: I need some of it every day.

R - rain: I love cool, rainy days. They're perfect for sipping hot apple cider and curling up with a good book.

S - sisters: I have 2 and I am the youngest. And I never let them forget it. ;)

T - Todd: the name of my beloved.

U - unique: my children tell me that this word describes me.  Hmmm... I wondering if this is good or bad.  ;)

V - virtuous: I strive to live by Proverbs 31 every day. Sad to say, I often fail.

W - weepy: I tear up easily, which really bugs me sometimes.

X - xylophone: I played one at a Christmas concert in elementary school.

Y - yellow: not my favorite color.

Z - zipline - we have one in our backyard, and the children love it!

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!" ~ Psalm 72:18

I hope your week is full of blessings!

sharing with The Modest Mom

What I've Been Up To

Hi friends,

I'm back.   And I sooo enjoyed my little blogging break.  :) 

Here's what I've been up to over the past several weeks..

Our firstborn daughter, Nicole, and our 2 sweet granddaughters came for a visit, so I spent lots of time snuggling with little Evelette...(isn't she a beauty? :)

And Elia had a wonderful time playing with all the kids, but she and Mimi were really glued at the hip. Here they are looking out the window at Elmer, our rooster..

Ian's new tenor saxophone arrived, and he and I have been playing duets...

 We adopted a new furry family member.  We gave Nicole the honor of naming him, and she named him Jack. He's such a good cat, even though he and Kim aren't the best of buddies - yet.  ;)

 School lessons continued, with Nature hikes (and Mimi was particularly excited about this hike - she danced all the way down the driveway!)...

Running through the fields...

Finding treasures...

We even discovered a Persimmon tree on the farm (yum!)...

 Identifying birds in our bird feeder...

Decorating for Natty's ninth birthday...

She asked for pink sugar cookies..and I made a few with edible pearls..

And we made a new Give Thanks banner since our old one is dried up and falling apart. We had so much fun gathering items to make it.
The G is made of milkweed and a pod from a redbud tree...

 The I is made of berries (not sure what kind)...

The V is made of lichens...

The E is made of ferns, grass, and a wild rose hip...

The T is made of ferns and honeysuckle leaves...

The H is made of hay seeds...

The A is made of wild grapevine twigs...

The N is made of pods from a redbud tree...

The K is made of oak bark, hayseed, and grass...

And the S is made of wild rose hips (which I almost ran out of, thanks to Mimi's devouring them before I could glue them to the paper)...

The finished banner was hung in our front windows...

And last but not least, our weather station arrived...just in time to begin our study of weather this month.  The children are captivated with these and would watch them all the time!  :)

Have a lovely week, my friends!


"This is the day  the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." ~ Psalm 118:24