White Board Mania!

I love my husband!  Yesterday morning I attended a I.E.W. training with a group of great ladies.  One of the suggestions Andrew Pudewa made was to have bigger white boards so that information can stay up where they can see it.  He acknowledged that white boards can be pretty expensive and offered a solution.

If you go to a home improvement store and ask for white panel board it is CHEAP!  Today we turned one of our dining room walls into a white board using this very method.  I logged it in pictures for anyone who is interested.  

The entire expensive was just under $30 and included the adhesive.

Now we're going to have the PERFECT school year! (wink)

The Power Of My Words!

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life" -- Isaiah 30:19a

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow,  producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.  It is the same with my word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it"-- Isaiah 55:10-11

Getting Excited About Creative Writing!

The Lord is so good!  If you had told me that I would be just as excited and passionate about my homeschool 14 years after I started I wouldn't have believed it!  But guess what?  It's TRUE!  

This year we are joining a new community called, "Classical Conversations" and I am thrilled to see what God is going to teach me through this experience. 

 Just a few of our precious moms

Today a group from our CC gathered together to learn more about the creative writing program we will be using this year, as part of our Essentials class.  

It's a popular one that people either tend to love or hate.  To be honest, I wasn't sure what I would think.  I remember looking at it a few years ago and even watching the dvd's.  What I realized this morning was that I didn't like it the first time because my heart was not fully invested and I didn't really understand how to use it. 

One of our amazing moms had a great idea to have a group of us gather and to go through the DVD's together!  

What a difference!

Sitting with this incredible group of women, discussing what we learned, asking questions and processing really helped me to grasp the "how and why" in a way that thrilled my soul.

 

Institute For Excellence In Writing believes in giving children (and their moms) the tools they need to become proficient writers.  It breaks down the steps so they become doable and easy to understand.  

My Colton is going to LOVE that the entire program is built around a check list.  He is my child who asked for a to-do list at 4 years of age.  


The creator of the program told us that checking boxes for some people gives off the same endorphines as morphine. (smile)  That would be true for this son of mine.  Though, truth be told I love my lists too.  I just like the freedom to move things around as needed.

I really believe that one of things that has prepared us for this new adventure was our previous program, Time4Writing which we plan to use during our summer breaks.  

It was so very beneficial to have my children work online with a certified teacher.  They allowed me to still be mom but I was able to let someone else judge and grade what my boys have worked on.

What creative writing programs are you going to be using this year?

Happy Birthday Christa!

I believe with all my heart that we do not get to pick our friends.  The Lord picks them for us.  Sometimes we have friends for a reason, other times it's just a season, but every once in awhile it's for a lifetime.  How blessed I am to call Christa a forever friend.  I pray she is celebrated with gladness, laughter, joy and fellowship!

Last night a group of us had the privilege of celebrating our dear friend!

Mary's gift to Christa was her "Big Girl Panties".  This next year she has a very challenging schedule to keep up with and has officially adopted the motto, "It's time to put on my big girl panties!  I thought I would help her stay focused. (grin)

 Happy Birthday Dear Friend!
 

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her.  Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.-- Proverbs 31:25-31

Braggin' On My Boys!

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary! They will walk and not faint.-- Isaiah 40:31

This was a work weekend for our boys.  My husband has decided to landscape our front yard.  I love watching Scotty father our young men.  He leads by example.  He models what he wants done and then he affirms while instructing.  It was so hot out and yet they completed the entire first phase!  Go Boys!

Strategic Seth

If you've followed my blog for any length of time then you know that we are strong believers in strengths based homeschooling.  Seth and Jake are not officially old enough to take their tests yet but I find myself constantly watching, observing and guessing.

I am almost positive that our Seth has Strategic in his top "5".  It could be his #1.  He is the child who loves to figure things out and put them together.  Give him a jigsaw puzzle and you won't see him again until it's completed. 

Seth's handle bars were stripped on his bike.  His younger brothers tire rim is bent.  So after thinking it over he used his brothers bike to fix his handle bars and now they are sharing one working bike, instead of looking at two broken ones. 

Our good friend Angie Wicker gave his older brother a circuit board and it was Seth who put it together.  He worked diligently for hours until he had it lighting up, making noises and moving gears.

Sign-Up Time- "Goal Setting For A Strong School Year"!

Goal Setting For A Strong School Year!

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.  As the Scriptures say,  “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.  Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.-- 1 Corinthians 1:18-21

 

As we prepare for a brand new school year many of us our taking time off to cool down and catch up, renew and reflect, plan and pray.  

Did you have a great school experience last year?  Was something missing?  Do you like the direction you're going in but are thinking about tweaking some things to make it even better?  

If you answered yes to any of these questions then we would love to have you join us for our online discussion group over on Strong Women Surrendered Hearts!  

We are a community of christian veteran homeschool moms desiring to seek Jesus as we encourage one another in our homeschooling journey.  

Our goal is to encourage growth without having to leave your home. (though we occasionally do have local events)  We do book clubs, online classes and online discussion groups.  Our next class is called, "Goal Setting For A Strong School Year"!

 

6-Week Agenda:

7/4- Discovering how you fit Christ into your children's lives.
 
7/11- Learning about different philosophies of education.
 
7/18- Sharing past curriculum hits and misses and talking about this years line up.
 
7/25- Praying together and Setting Goals for the 2011/2012 school year.
 
8/1- Celebration Time! Sharing what the Lord has shown us!

To join us and help kick your school year off strong visit our homepage: http://www.swshonline.com