Pre-School

It's always a little awkward when people ask us if Nicole is in Pre-school, or if they ask her if she's going to school.  The good thing is....she totally thinks she's going to school.  It just sounds a little weird to say that we are homeschooling her, as a preschooler.  It's just me probably. 

Anyway, we are homeschooling our pre-school aged daughter:-)  In August, we started meeting once a week with one of Nicole's little friends, Hannah Mae.  We meet for about 2 hours on Mondays and it gives some structure for the rest of the week.  The children start off by saying the pledge of allegiance, counting how many days they've been in school (my friend is homeschooling her 1st grader as well, so they are on more of a schedule than I am), having a little devotion and prayer time.  Then, we work on the topic that week.  We may read books, do a craft, go outside for a little science.  It all kind of depends.  My goal would be to write one blog at the end of the week highlighting what we have done, but I don't think that's going to happen.

I'll recap though the last 6 weeks or so.

Oh, First, the Curriculum we are using is called "My Father's World".  It's Biblically based, scientific curriculum. There are 26 weeks, corresponding with the letters in the alphabet. There is a memory verse and supporting verses each week.  They are crafts, science experiments, reading activities, writing activities and much more.

The first section starts with Creation.  We spent 2 weeks learning about the 7 days of creation. 

Creation timeline (each number has a picture of what was created that day)

Creation book. Again, each page has a project Nicole completed showing what was created that particular day.  I think she has it down (she even told Jeremy last night that she didn't do something because it was Seven, and God rested on the Seventh day! haha)

The first week was the letter S - Sun. 

We painted handprints of the Sun (with Hannah) at home, Nicole practiced writing the letter S, talked about day and night and how the earth rotates and orbits, we tried to make a sundial, we talked abut constellations and stars and did dot-to-dots of different constellations, and made S'mors.Oh, and we made S-S-Slime

The second week was M-Moon.  We read a lot of books about the moon.  We talked again about how the moon orbits the earth and we made craters in flour with rocks to learn how craters on the moon were made.  We read Goodnight Moon, and made our own Goodnight Moon book.  We talked about the moon phases and also learned about the space shuttle and what happened when the astronauts landed on the moon.  I would also recommend this book, Fool Moon Rising, about the prideful moon and how he learns that he does not give his own light, but that he was created to reflect the light from the Sun, and that we were not created to give ourselves glory, but to reflect and give glory to God.

Even Hannah remembered that craters were made by rocks hitting the moon.  Speaking of Hannah...she's a smart cookie!  She listens to everything and remember SOOO much.  It's crazy!

This week we have been learning L-Leaves.  We went on a leaf hunt and collected lots of different kind of leaves.  We did crayon rubbings of the leaves and learned about the different shapes of the leaves.  I have been reading Caps For Sale, with is a Before Five in a Row book (a great pre-school curriculum that just takes high quality books and gives you ideas of how to use those books to teach virtues or math or science or social studies).  Through that book we've been learning about money (the caps are sold for $.50, so today we counted out different ways of making $.50 with coins).  We'll be talking about patterns and colors (things I can with Hannah too).

The leaf rubbing.  There is a Sycamore, orange, Cypress, maple, and basil leaf on here I believe.

I have also been working with Nicole on reading and writing.  For reading, I have been using a Hooked on Phonics curriculum.  It's been a good jumping off point for me, without it....I would be trying to teach her to high above her level.  A few times a week, we sit down at the white boards to learn new letter sound combinations and sight words.  I made this tree in the kitchen.  The apples are the sight words she knows, or common words she need to know before she can read a book, and the flowers are letter sound combinations.  I just did that for fun, to inspire me to continue with her.  She loves to work on the white boards.  Most of the time, I am the teacher and she likes for me to write new words for her to sound out.  But, sometimes she likes to be the teacher and think of words to write.  Yesterday she was just sitting at the board, thinking of words and writing them down (mad, cup, etc).  She even figured out how to make "mad" into "made".

Through our little pre-school time, I discovered a very cool notebook.  It's a primary composition notebook with large lines for beginning writers and a blank space at the top for drawing.  When I bought My Father's World curriculum off e-bay, the person also sent this cool Draw Write Now book that teaches how to draw basic animal shapes, along with sentences for the student to write.

  Nicole practices drawing one animal a week and writes one sentence each time we get it out.  I really like this, because without it, I wouldn't be doing anything art related with her.  It's not easy, but I think it's good practice.

Day Number one: Hens live on Farms

Day 3: Hens lay eggs (do you see progress! I do!)

 Day 1 of pigs: Pigs live on farms.

My friend Jennifer suggested writing the words in yellow marker and letting Nicole trace them.  Nicole can write the letters, but she does not know how to stay within the lines or to leave spaces between words.  Jennifer used to teach 1st grade, so I take her suggestions seriously.  I thought this seemed like a good idea too.  It allows Nicole the chance to write while also helping her stay between the lines and hopefully learn some spacing.  My other friend Amanda also used to teach 1st grade, and she would often tell me that tracing is a good way to learn how to write...I wonder if this is what she meant? Amanda????

Day 2: Pigs stay in pens.  I don't know why this picture is sideways...sorry.  Nicole's pig was much better today.

So, in a nutshell...that's where we are right now with Nicole's school.  I am trying to incorporate time for Hannah too.   I'll post a video of her later trying to say the alphabet.  She is learning so much as well, and listening and absorbing!  It's fun to have learning time with them.  And, quite honestly, the days that we are home and stick to a good schedule, are the days that generally are the best regarding their attitudes.  I think they like the routine and they both really like to learn. 

Date Night Deal

Hey....I have a deal to share with you.  If you go here, you can order a $20 Buca Di Beppo gift card and 2 Regal or AMC move tickets for $20.  Pair your gift card with a $10/$20 Bucca coupon (that you can always find) and you can have yourself a nice little inexpensive date night.


Spend $20 today for dinner and a movie on your next date night.  I found this deal at My Litter of Six.

These two little girls love each other and have fun together.  It brings me great joy to watch them enjoy each other!

Is it wrong that this doll house is one of Nathan's favorite toys?  He likes to open and close the doors...NOT play with the dolls (except to bite on their heads)

***Special Alert*** Nathan can now pull himself up to a standing position.

We made slime the other day. 

I feel that I must admit that I have taken it out a time or two...just to play by myself. 

Click Here to find out how to make it.  It's fun, and really...not to messy.

Can you tell which tooth is fake?  Jeremy keeps catching me looking in the mirror.  I just want to make sure it's still there!

We have been back in the full swing of school time for Nicole.  I hope to post some details tomorrow or the next day on some of our schooling adventures. 

AND...we also took an impromptu trip to Atalanta this weekend with Jeremy.  So, I have some great photos and videos to share from that trip too.  MUCH more to come.  Stay tuned....

Mall of America

Our last day of vacation was spent at The Mall of America in Minneapolis.  I honestly could really care less about being in such a huge mall.  I'm not a HUGE shopper (unless I find some great clearance deals), but I am certainly NOT a shopper with three little children in tow.  But, this mall did have something that was incredible...a theme park, right in the middle.  There is a Nickelodeon Theme park with an amazing assortment of rides for little tykes and big kids a like.  We spent the entire day riding rides in the air conditioning (the best part for me...do you have any idea how hot Disney World is right now?)

 

The carousel was Nicole's favorite ride she said.

 

 Nicole and Hannah both liked riding on the train together.

 

And, they got to ride on Magenta too, from Blue's Clues.

 

 This year, I was the designated chaperon for most rides.  I missed out last year at DollyWood because I pregnant with Nathan.

 

I would suggest a stop at the Mall of America if you are ever in the Twin Cities...especially if you have children.

 

This was a small version of "up/down" just for the kids.  Both Hannah and Nicole liked it...but, Hannah LOVED it.  She must have went on this ride 8 times.  Over and over and over.  She giggled every time. 

Even I got to ride a roller coaster (there were several for adults).  The one I picked went straight up and peaked just before the glass ceiling.  Then it plummeted straight down and did a few loops along the way.  I think it was the first roller coaster I had been on in years and years.  It was fun.

 

Nicole got to ride bumper cars with her daddy.  This year she didn't get mad at the people bumping into her car.  She ever got to drive her own car at a different attraction that was just for little ones.

 

Jeremy was excited to take Nicole on the ride she loved so much at DollyWood.  But, she didn't like it this year.  It was actually much higher and dropped harder.  But, the ride didn't even start right.  The arm thing came down and hit her thumb.  So, before it even started, she was crying and wanted off.

Nicole got to "meet" Dora and Boots...who she knows, but doesn't watch.  It was still exciting for her to see them.

Jeremy got to play some fair type games.  He won a few little prizes for us:-)

 Nathan was just chillin most of the day.  I LOVE it when he sleeps like this.  Such a cute little man!

 And....that concludes our vacation. We had a fun time together as a family.  We enjoyed spending so much time together and made many memories.

Lake Superior

I better finish up telling our vacation stories!  I'm going to forget everything. 

On our drive back down south from Nestor Falls to Minneapolis, we took a little detour and drove through Duluth, Minnesota so that we could stand on the shore of Lake Superior.  As we drove into town, we were struck by an amazing view as we came down the top of the hill and looked out over the city and beyond that, over the Lake.

As we walked down the boardwalk to the lake, we found a giant monument of the Ten Commandments.

The lake was a pretty awesome site.  I wish we would have had more time to explore.  There was a lighthouse down the way that would have been neat to go into, but the girls were not exactly behaving appropriately, it was rainy, Nathan was a bit fussy...it just wasn't a good day to go exploring. 

But, we did take some picture.  OK, I think we took around 100...so, I'll just share a few ; )

Our girls LOVE rocks.  Our bags were nearly overweight at the airport because of all the rocks we brought back.  They enjoyed playing on the rocks and in the rocks at the lake.

Nicole asked for this picture to be taken, so I thought it should at least make it to the blog.

Yes, she is tasting the rock.

After several very frustrating attempts, this was all we got from the girls.  In all honesty, they are better than the stuffy just hold hands and smile kind of pictures anyway, right?

My favorite of their silly ones.

Shepherding a Child's Heart

This weekend, we had the great privileged of attending a parenting conference instructed by Dr. Tedd Tripp, pastor and author of several books, including Shepherding a Child's Heart.  His writings and specifically that book have been highly influential to me over the past 4 years of being a mother.  I was so excited and blessed that he was coming to town and we quickly purchased our tickets for the Friday night/Saturday morning event. 

Although the conference didn't offer a lot of earth shattering, mind blowing information to me, because much of it is based from his books I have already read...it was a Great time of encouragement.  We did walk away with ideas to try and a refocus on our goals and objectives as parents.  Here are a few things that I felt like he drilled into us through the event:

~ We are all created to worship.  Every person on this planet is a worshiper, the question is, What are you worshiping?  You are either worshiping the almighty God, Creator and Author of life...or something or someone else.  My children WILL worship...they will either worship God or idols.  We must not allow the things of this world to blind them to awe, wonder and majesty of God.

~Children have been commanded to obey and honor their parents, and they are promised that it may go well with them and that they may enjoy a long life on the earth.  It is a blessing to them to obey mom and dad. *Ephesians 6:1

~His key verse really is Proverbs 4:23, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."  We need to ask God to turn our children's hearts toward Him.  I can not speak to behavior without reference to the heart.  My child's behavior is reflecting what is going on in their heart.  We need train our children's hearts and pray that it is renewed and not just try to modify bad behavior to good behavior.  The hearts needs to be transformed.

~He spent a whole session on discipline.  How to discipline, When to discipline.  To get a full understanding, you should read Shepherding a Child's Heart...or talk to me in person (reading the book would be much more insightful though than listening to me:-).

~We must teach Godly attitudes. i.e. replace love of self with love of others, pride with humility,

~Communication is really the ability to understand the thoughts and ideas of your kids.  Draw out the deep waters of their hearts (Proverbs 18:13)

My biggest mistake happened this morning though.  I was prepping Nicole and Hannah with the fact that we were going to a different church with a different nursery.  When Nicole asked why, I told her that Mommy and Daddy were going to a class to learn how to be better mommys and daddys.  Later today, I figured out I should have said that differently.

Nicole got into a lot of trouble today after nap time (she smeared lip gloss all over the wall in several spots and over different pieces of furniture...and all over Hannah's face).  As we were talking about the incident and how she would be discipline for it, she started crying and said, "But, I thought you went to that church today to learn how to be a better mommy and daddy".  Haha.  OK, not funny then...at least not to Jeremy who was dealing with her (although across the room and behind her back, I did smile...that little smartie pants!).  What she doesn't understand yet though is Hebrews 12 (the whole chapter is a great encouragement to parents I think), verse 11 "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwords it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

I highly recommend Shepherding a Child's Heart and I also highly recommend a little pamphlet by a mom named Ginger Plowman called Wise Words for Moms.  This has come in so handy over the years as it gives you scriptures to help your children through different acts of disobedience, sin or just issued like fear. 

Moments Like These

Last night as I was working on dinner in the kitchen, I sort of lost track of Hannah and Nathan.  After a few moments, I heard them both laughing hard and screaming.  I took a peak around the corner into the other room and I caught them playing peek a boo together with a large pillow we have.  I only caught the tail end of it....it was going on for several minutes, and then Hannah caught me with the camera.  These two adore each other.  It's simply perfect.

It's moments like these when I am greatly encouraged.  Moments like these when I see hope for my children.  Moments like these that I can not create.  Moments like these when I can tell that my children love each other.  Moments like these that I want to store away and remember forever. 

Today is the day

It all started about 13 years ago, I was a sophomore or junior in high school and I woke up one morning sick.  Within a few hours, the right side of my face had swollen up nearly even with my nose.  I went to the doctor, they took an x-ray and determined I had a severe sinus infection.  After some medicine and a few days rest, my face returned to normal and I sort of forgot about the day.

Fast forward 6 years....I was at the dentist office get my (not so annual) teeth cleaning.  The dentist came in and did her little quality check and started examining my right front top "eye tooth" I think (It's next to my middle teeth).  She asked to do an x-ray because the whole tooth looked odd.  The x-ray showed a dead tooth with a large abscess that had been growing.  After answering her questions, we realized that I did not have a sinus infection when I was in high school, rather...my tooth had become infected and was "sick".  She told me that I needed to have it removed as soon as possible or one day, probably soon, it would shatter when I bit into something.  She was amazed this hadn't happened yet.

Just a week or so later, I was put under general anesthesia for several hours as they removed my tooth and cleaned the yucky infection that had been growing for all those years.  The next several days were lost to me.  Let me say that I DO NOT do general anesthesia or pain medicine well.  I know I was delirious, I know I threw up a lot, and I'm pretty sure I hallucinated a lot too.  I even remember driving myself to work one day the next week, but immediately calling someone (my mom I think) to come get me, because I crawled down the hallway into a bathroom (to get sick again).  I have no idea how I drove a car that far...it was unsafe!  Anyway...the surgery was no good and I pray I don't need a surgery more important ever in my life.

So, now, I was missing a tooth.  A very important tooth if you are a girl that smiles and giggles a lot.  I had a partial tooth piece that fit in my mouth like a retainer.  This was suppose to be temporary...like maybe for 6 months. 

6 1/2 years and three babies later, I still have that temporary partial tooth in my mouth.  It comes out when I eat (especially something sticky or soft like bread), it doesn't blend with my teeth well, it's annoying, but it has saved me embarrassment over the years (when it' s not sticking to food or falling out when I talk).

Well, today is the day.  The day I get to throw away my trusty partial tooth, because in less than 2 hours, I will receive the final installment of my tooth implant.  I have been going to the dentist every week for a month now, and before that, once a month for 3 months prepping my mouth for this *new* addition.  But, this is it.  Today I get the final piece....my *crown*.  It will be my permanent tooth that has been custom made for me. 

I have high hopes for this tooth.  Although I will still cut the corn off the cob and slice my apple into pieces, I will not have to gag in mid sentence as I chew because my tooth has become one with my food.  I will not have something to "play" with in my mouth when I get nervous (this is a good thing).  I won't ever again have to answer my children's probing questions in the morning as they watch me brush my teeth, with my partial out.  I hope I will not have to hide my smile and be concerned about which angle a picture is taken of me.

I have been waiting for this for a long time.  I'm scared, I'm excited...I probably will cry!