In order to have a better blogging experience for all involved this blog has moved to a new server. Please come check us out at:
http://inhisimageacademy.blogspot.com/
All the posts archived on this site have also been moved to the new one. I apologize for the inconvenience.
Cassie
I just love his giggle!! Though you have to catch him at the right moment in the right mood to really get a good one out of him. Just the other night I was getting his bath ready while daddy was playing with him in the bedroom. The boys were in there too. For some reason, Drew was hopping around being silly and it cracked Joey up! It was the most I have ever heard him laugh. It was a shame I wasn’t able to get the camera, but I am sure I will get another chance soon. Here are some more new pics…
And he said he wouldn't be caught dead wearing it...
Not quite enough hair yet for a good mohawk..but we tried anyway!
I have some more videos to upload to youtube, prob later this week when I get the time. I bought Joey a pair of 6-9 month jammies today and they fit good.. a little too good. He is only 4 months old!! It’s not fair : (
I don’t have much to update as far as school goes. We had a pretty relaxed week. We did some nature journaling spurred by the boys obsession with a crabapple tree by our building…
Here is Drew working on his drawing
and here is what thier finished pages looked like (I filled out the info)
Here is Drew's finished drawing
and here is Isaiah working on his drawing
We had a lot of fun figuring out what kind of crabapple tree it was and looking info up on the Internet. I think they enjoyed choosing their branches and drawing them the most. This was our first attempt at nature journaling and I think we may do it more often.
Other than that, we played some file folder games, did some math and reading and I worked some more on my homeschool recordbook. I am working on finding a more efficient way of keeping grades and things. I love my Homeschool tracker program, but honestly, I spend way too much time working in it. I am in the process of making my own forms and things so that all I have to do is jot something down. Lately I feel as though I have spent more time doing records and prep than actually teaching.
Overall we had a good week, though we got very little done school wise. But we managed to get the house cleaned in one day with everyone having jobs assigned to them and I managed to get a handle on Mt. Laundry. (though I have yet to get it all put away.) And with Joey being cantankerous, I didn’t have much time where I wasn’t tending to him. I am learning all about the challenges of homeschooling with a baby first hand. It’s tough but I am learning to adjust the way we do things in order to accommodate everyone’s needs. We still have a long way to go, but we will get there!
I hope you all had a blessed week! Til next time….
Friday, September 5, 2008
1. If I was to walk into your life, you might just feel like running the other way!
2. Catch a bright star and place it at the top of your Christmas tree.
3. And you can send me anything you wish, as long as it’s free!
4. I am trying to remember your name but I’m dealing with a memory that never forgets.
5. I’m the innocent bystander / Somehow I got stuck with all the blame.
6. What’s keeping us apart isn’t selfishness, it’s my morning breath.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to going to bed early cause I didn’t sleep much last night tomorrow my plans include going to a church sponsored outreach in my apartment complex and Sunday, I want to go to church and spend time with my family .
Blogger Friend School Assignment for 9/1/08
Assignment: Take time this week to write about YOU and your feelings of trials and triumphs with homeschooling. Touch on when you first heard about the concept of home schooling and whether you tip-toed into the idea or just jumped in and never looked back. Share your schooling as a child and how you compare it to what your goals are for your children.
I am very excited to join this meme group!
I have touched before upon our journey into homeschooling in a previous post. I wrote:
We have been homeschooling since our oldest son, now 8, was 4. It was not planned to be a permanent plan at the time, nor did we refer to it as homeschooling, but after learning more about it, I was hooked on it! We have been doing it and loving it since! Originally we started because we could not afford traditional preschool, then it was because we didn’t want our children to attend the school we lived by at the time and couldn’t afford private school. Now it is because we believe this is the way God meant for our children to learn and grow closer in relationship to Him. I can’t imagine sending my children off to school for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week to have a complete stranger teach them about life. I am selfish and I want my husband and I to be the strongest influence in their lives.
My trials with homeschooling have been many, but with prayer and perseverance, we have overcome many of them. The rest we are still working on! I would say my biggest trial is getting it all done. I have high expectations for our homeschool and there are many times we don’t live up to those expectations. Another trial I face on a regular basis is finding creative ways to make our learning fun. I have incorporated a lot of hands on activities into our lessons such as lapbooks, notebooking, manipulatives and file folder games. We try to do at least one fun project a week to keep things interesting and give the boys something to look forward to. I also struggle with knowing what to do when one of the boys has trouble with something we are learning. I tend to research and read as much as I can to help them as much as possible with the things that are challenging for them.
As far as my biggest triumphs, I would have to say that recently, it has been my realization that I need to spend less time planning and keeping records and more time teaching. As I shared above, i struggle with getting it all done and I have for years. So the simple answer for me is to lessen my workload. I am also recruiting the children to help me more with everyday jobs so that I have more time to do those things I need to. Another of my biggest triumphs was when I realized I didn’t have to use a “box curriculum”. Just because I use a particular publisher for math, doesn’t mean I have to buy all that publisher’s subject material! I have since learned to use a very eclectic mix of materials and methods, taking what works for us and dumping the rest. I have definitely become a “tweaker”. And I have taken it a step further this year and making my own interest led science units. We are really excited about it.
When I think about my school experience compared to that of my children’s, it makes me glad that I am able to spend so much time with them. I am able to see their eyes light up when they “get it”. I know, in detail, what their strengths and weaknesses are. I can tailor their learning experiences to their own unique learning styles and interests. I really loved school until about the 4th grade. For some reason it was then that my enthusiasm fizzled out. I refuse to let that happen for them. I will always make it a priority to make sure that they enjoy school and learning as much as possible! My goals for my children are very different from the goals the public school system sets. First and foremost, I want them to have a lifelong relationship with Jesus and I want that relationship to determine how they choose to live their lives. More than cramming them full of facts and figures, I desire to ingrain love for God, a love of learning, a love for books and the ability to stand up for their beliefs. I don’t think any of these goals were set for me when I was in school many years ago, and I am sure things haven’t changed now.
THEME
I hope last week’s theme helped you chool, daily, routineget a bigger view and maybe some ideas about different ways to homeschool or curriculum. There is so much to share and so I hope this helped, especially the new homeschoolers, narrow things down a bit. I am sure some of you are still getting into your homeschool routines. I know some people are very routine oriented while others may be more “day-by-day”, and it all depends on your family and what works best for your life-style. This week please post what your planned homeschool routine is. The theme banner should give you some ideas on how to do that. I had fun making that and adding in real info (except for the times! lol).
When you’re done posting your routines please share your prayers for this school year, and then sign the linky so others can visit.
Ok, this is hard for me because I am still trying to figure out our “routine”. It definitely varies from day to day depending on whether I am babysitting or we have errands to run. My hubby’s scedule also affects what we do from day to day.
With all the different circumstances we encounter from day to day around here, I have recently decided to take a more relaxed approach to our school days. On the days when I watch my friends toddler, we do lessons in between his and Joey’s naps until he leaves for the day. Then we try to get some more things done in the evening before dinner.
But I can share with you what our IDEAL routine would be…. who knows, maybe we will get into a routine similar to this after we find our niche. Just a note, we do not schedule blocks of time per subject. Rather we schedule blocks of time for lessons and try to get done as much as possible in that period of time.
The above is a very loose routine (not a strict schedule) that I would like to stick to, though the ability has eluded me to this point! But we will keep trying!
Dear Father,
This year Lord, please help me to focus on what’s really important. Please bless me with the energy and discipline to do what needs to be done. Help me to let go and follow Your leading for my life and the lives of my children. Help me to enjoy every day to it’s fullest and to embrace every opportunity to teach my children. Thank You Lord, that You are with me. Amen.
And…here we go!
1. When I’m sick I’m A big ole baby!
2. When I take a walk, I think about how beautiful God’s creation is.
3. Money can’t buy happiness but it can sure make life easier.
4. Cotton makes me warm and comfy cozy and leather makes me stiff and uncomfortable.
5. The strangest person/character I’ve had lewd thoughts about was __________. ( I choose not to answer this one, lol)
6. My favorite color these days is baby blue because some things never change.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to having my hubby home with me, tomorrow my plans include housework and school planning and Sunday, I want to attend a new church!
Yes! I caught him with his tongue hanging out! Hehe
So here I begin my list of 1,000 gifts I am thankful to God I have received. I am thankful….
1. For My husband – he is wonderful and he loves me very much. I didn’t truly know what it was like to be loved by someone (who is not related to me) until God sent him to me.
2. That I am a mother – I have been excited about being a mother since I was a girl. God has given me 4 wonderful children to raise and teach and though they are not perfect I love them with all my heart. After all, I’m not perfect either!
3. That he allowed me to experience pregnancy and motherhood again – I waited 8 Long years for my precious little Joeybean. I had many miscarriages, but I never lost hope. I knew that God wanted me to be a mother again and that it would happen in His time. I am thankful He carried me through the hard years of waiting and loss and beyond thankful for my sweet little boy!
4. For God’s provision – there have been so many times in the past couple of years where we thought we would go without, yet the Lord came through for us each and every time. I don’t worry about money or possessions much anymore. I know He will provide what we NEED because I have seen Him do it again and again.
5. to be a Christian – How cool is it that even though I am a sinner, I get to be in heaven with my Father when I leave this world. He has forgiven all my debts!
More to come soon!
THEME
This week’s theme is about sharing your 2008-09 homeschool agendas and plans. You’ve been preparing your plans for sometime and you’re ready to go. Or you’re still in the planning-stage and need some inspiration or tips on what to use. Because many use different curriculum and methods there is always something new to be gleaned from other homeschoolers. It’s always fun and interesting to see what other’s are using and the WWWWH as Robin Sampson suggests. So this week I hope you will share what you’re doing this year for your homeschool agenda. Share the different curriculum you’re using. You can also include what age/grade you’re using it for, how long you’ve been using it, and why you like it.
Please share a Bible verse that has encouraged you or inspired you during this planning-process, and how.
Ok, I briefly posted on this topic a few weeks ago here , but now that our year has actually gotten started I will update everyone on our plans.
History/Geography: We are going through Volume 1 of The Mystery of History together, doing 2 lessons a week. We are keeping a history notebook which includes a timeline for each boy. We are having a lot of fun doing these together. We will also be including some map work in our lessons.
Bible: We are using BJU Bible Truths 2 together for our daily Bible lessons. We are also going to be memorizing the catechism at the beginning of the teacher’s manual. Though we have a curriculum for Bible, Bible is sprinkled throughout all of our subjects as we desire to have a God-centered homeschool.
Science: For science this year we are making our own units incorporating living books, experiments, internet, dvd’s, notebooking and lapbooking. The boys have chosen to study the following subject areas:
This is the first time I have ever attempted to put together my own studies, so it has been a bit intimidating, but I am trying to let our learning in this area follow a natural progression, taking my lead from the interests of the boys, and not take the feel of a structured curriculum.
Art, music, and PE : We are incorporating these areas into our lessons as opportunities arise. We will be doing a variety of arts and crafts throughout the year that I am still researching and planning. I am looking for materials to use for music instruction and we will be learning some keyboarding.
Language Arts: Our main goal this year for Isaiah is for him to learn to read and gain confidence in this area. We have taken things very slow up to this point, as he is showing signs that this is a troubling area for him. He is going through Abeka Phonics and Reading K and after trying about 5 different curriculums in this area, he is showing progress with this one.
For grammar we are using Grammar and Punctuation 1 and Language Fundamentals 1.
He will also be using a journal to practice using what he learns and as an evaluation tool to check his progress.
Math : Isaiah is halfway through his BJU Math 1 curriculum and will start and hopefully complete BJU Math 2 by fall next year.
Penmanship : For handwriting practice I am making my own worksheets using StartWrite 5.0. We use italic printing style. I have decided not to teach my boys cursive unless they desire to learn it later on their own. I want our focus to be on neat, legible handwriting, not the style in which they write.
Language Arts: For Phonics and reading we are combining several resources. We are using certain materials from Abeka to review blends and special sounds throughout the year. We are also using Read and Understand: Stories and Activities Grade 2 and it’s companion MORE Stories to Read and Understand from Evan-Moor publishers.
For spelling we are adapting Abeka materials for now, but I have my eye on purchasing an Evan-Moor title called Building Spelling Skills: Daily Practice Grade 2.
For grammar and writing we are using Grammar and Punctuation 2 and Language Fundamentals 2from Evan-Moor publishers. Drew is going to be doing more writing this year as we have yet to do any formally. He will be learning about the writing process from start to finish. We are going to be using a mish mash of materials to learn these skills. He also will be keeping a journal.
Math : Drew is halfway through BJU Math 2 and will hopefully complete BJU Math 3 by fall next year.
Penmanship : Just like for Isaiah, for handwriting practice I am making my own worksheets using StartWrite 5.0. Again, I want our focus to be on neat, legible handwriting, not the style in which they write. For Drew he is not doing as many formal handwriting exercises as I am trying to instill the importance of always writing neatly. And all of his formal writing assignments will receive a penmanship grade as well.
If I had to choose one Bible verse that really speaks to me and the needs of my family when planning for our new year it would have to be
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
I know my plans are nothing without HIS divine blessing and provision. I hope you have a blessed year!
Isaiah - almost 7
Drew - 8
Jasmine - 11
