Pajama Day

 In this busy life we don't often have days where we don't have anywhere to go, but on this day we cancelled everything and had...

Pajama Day!!

We read, watched movies, and played board & computer games ALL DAY!

It was good for us.

I wish you all a pajama day sometime soon

Spiritual Sunday- Finding God

Peter Rabbit Organics

Has anyone tried these?? They look awesome. Completely organic, nut free from a nut free facility, AND they get good reviews about their taste.

  

I not so sure about the veggie/fruit blends... but I'm willing to give them a try.

  

Mommy's Favorite Things is doing a giveaway of these Peter Rabbit Organics Pouches. Cross your fingers for me :)

TV

I know as well as anyone that there are some parenting subjects the average person should not touch with a ten foot pole. I fear that I am having a lapse in judgement here, but I feel the need to voice an opinion. I turn on the TV and all I get is disappointment.

Nick is for teenagers. It's dating and kissing and running amok without parent supervision. The last time I turned on iCarly, which is rated TV G, it was an episode where one of her friends moved out of his house to 'teach his mom a lesson' because she was too overbearing. How old are these kids supposed to be?? 16? And we wonder why kids are disrespectful to their parents starting when they're so young. If we allow them to watch a show where that behavior is acceptable, they are going to believe it is.

ABC Family is for adults. Period. We had to stop watching reruns of Gilmore Girls on that channel because of all the commercials for the Haunting of Emily Rose or one of those other demon possession movies that was coming out. The younger member of my FAMILY does not need nightmares. Thanks anyway. They show Van Helsing and Practical Magic which I like, but DO NOT consider  'family' movies. I won't even get into what I think about the show Pretty Little Liars.

I will go ahead and say that if you allow your 4 or 5 year old to watch shows where there are children or teenagers kissing each other and dating then you have only yourself to blame when they get in trouble in kindergarten for kissing someone at school or have a boy/girlfriend that they kiss. I am certain that starting these behaviors so young is causing some of the teen sex/pregnancy issues our culture is experiencing. I'm sure that was two sentences too much on that subject. Moving right along...

Now, last Christmas we were watching one of the seasonal movies on TV. I think it was called Santa Paws and before my eyes several children got down on their knees, put their hands together, and prayed... to SANTA!! For real?? As a christian I was completely mortified that my child was being shown that was OK. She WAS old enough to talk about it with me afterword and understand that it isn't OK to pray to anyone but God, thank goodness.

 We watch a lot of PBS, Animal Planet and some TLC, but that's about it as far as cable TV. We watch everything else on Netflix. I do not want my child getting mixed signals about what is appropriate behavior and what is not. I can't be one of those parents that talks bad about a show but allows my child to watch it anyway because "all the other kids are watching it" or "He/She really wants to".  I am the parent and she is the child. I am responsible for what I allow her to watch and how I allow her to act. I will not give my parental rights over to society.

Heaven is for Real for Kids by Todd and Sonja Burpo

A little boys astounding story of his trip to heaven and back as told by Colton Burpo to his parents Todd and Sonja Burpo. Illustrated by Wilson Ong.

 

Colton Burpo came back from heaven with an important message to share. Jesus really loves children and heaven is an amazing place that we will really like. Using simple words to describe his experiences Colton takes us on a journey with him to an amazing and wonderful place. He touches on a lot of the things that are important to children from boo-boos to animals to family and many more things.

I liked this free ebook from booksneeze.com at about 3 stars, until I read it to children. I enjoyed the letter to the parents in the beginning and liked that they had questions (and answers to the questions) that children might ask at the end of the book. When I sat on the couch, though, with a 5 year old on one side and an 7 year old on the other and all of their attention was unwaveringly on this book I knew it was a great resource.

Even in black and white on my little NOOK screen they enjoyed the pictures. They both said that they liked ALL of it until I asked if there was anything they didn't like and then the 5 year old only said that he didn't like when Colton had to go back to the hospital.

Death is a scary unknown for adults, but even more so for children who can't always understand the explanations to the questions that they have. This book does not talk down to children as some books tend to do. It uses simple language in definite terms and backs it up with short passages from the bible.

I think this book is wonderful. I will be purchasing it in hardcover to add to my children's book collection.

Just Another Day In Paradise- Ready To Dance

Spiritual Sunday- Fear

"You have listened to fears, Child," said Aslan. "Come, let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?"

Aslan to Susan, in Ch. 11 : The Lion Roars, Prince Caspian

I Don't Want to Read About This Anymore

If you read my post on distractions you know we've been learning about Vikings lately... Well, I think that ship has sailed (get it? LOL!). The other day she read one of the little captions that I sometimes skip that said favorite animals and sometimes slaves were killed to be buried with their masters and she got very upset. She wasn't happy about the page where the little cartoon people raided a village and killed or enslaved everyone either, but I guess this was the last straw for her. She pushed the book away and said "I don't like this. I don't want to read about this anymore." then she put her head down and wouldn't talk about it anymore.

The accused

Wow. OK. Hmmm.... Now I'm in a bit of a perdicament.
The curriculum has us discussing vikings for a little while longer,
but if it's really upsetting her maybe we shouldn't keep going,
but just because she doesn't like something doesn't mean she can ignore it,
but vikings aren't the most important thing in the curriculum,
but world history is a little violent so we're probably going to run into this problem again.

So, what do I do here?? #1 Go to the library and see what other books might be 'softer' in terms of gruesome details.
#2 Remember that one of the great things about homeschooling is the flexibility of not having to learn anything before she's ready. No, 'shoving info down her throat' so to speak.
#3 Talk to someone who has done this with her kids already and see what ideas she might have for me. (If you're reading this, Thank you again!)

The suggestion is this . It is out of print, but available in 'standard used condition'. Whatever that means. I may also try Story of the world again and see what they say about Vikings... maybe.

So. What is the best way to deal with this... I still have no idea. I guess it all goes back to the eternal question:

Why don't children come with instruction manuals???

Just Another Day In Paradise- With an Elephant :)

J.R.R. Tolkien by Mark Horne

Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. But all, through their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires, uniquely illuminate our shared experience.

In this short biography Mark Horne gives us an inside peek at the joys and struggles that made up the life of the man who brought the world The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings. Which, while definitely his most popular works, were just a portion of the literature penned by this man in his lifetime.

I am admittedly a fan of fantasy writing and thoroughly enjoyed The Hobbit, so when I saw this biography on booksneeze.com (for free in exchange for a review) I was excited to learn more about Tolkien. I was fascinated by the fact that his religion and love of languages began with his mother's instruction and continued at the encouragement of his guardian Father Francis Morgan for whom Tolkien had the utmost respect. It was a very informative book which gave me a large amount of facts about Tolkien's life, but the author failed to make me feel as though I could understand any of the thoughts or urges which led J.R.R. Tolkien to lead the life he did or write the books which made him famous.

How Much I Love The Off Season

Many of you know I am not a beach person. I don't like the way I worry about Gwen getting sucked out in a rip tide. I don't like the way the waves knock her over. I don't like sand all over me making me feel nasty.

Gwen, on the other hand, IS a beach person. She could spend all day in the waves and sand. She doesn't even mind an hour drive home still covered in salt and sand. Last summer at the beach after she spent 4 hours straight in the water I finally made her get out and she sat on her boogie board reading a book until it was time to go. It was the first time I had ever seen a 7yr old reading on the beach!


Well, the other day I got a flashback to when I was a little girl and we went to visit a friend of the family. He would take me down to the beach, 3 blocks from their house, early in the morning, no matter what season it was and I would LOVE it. I would play tag with the waves and run around and have a blast (looking back I realize he did it to give my mom a break :) they're good people). So I decided that I should take Gwen to the beach...

Yes, I know it's October and I don't like the cold or the wind. I wanted to go anyway. So we grabbed some snacks and hit the road. I have to tell you, it was the most enjoyable drive to the beach I have ever had. No traffic!! I put on the cruise control and turned up the radio and had a pleasant drive.

When we got there I easily found a parking spot close to the boardwalk and did not have to put money in the meter! We were able to walk around without people running into us and look in stores without people getting in our way. I had more fun then I have had at the beach in a very long time! I think our friends had a good time too!

It's not just the beach that I enjoy more in the off season! The zoo is wonderful without the crowds and the noise too. We took our nature journals to draw pictures and make observations of the animals and actually saw a lot of the animals doing things we don't get to see very often.

The tiger who usually hides was out pacing around, the bear was in his hammock, and the cockatoo, singing dog and donkey were trying to answer us when we spoke to them! I don't know if it was the cooler weather or the lack of screaming children, but the kids were enchanted. The surprised look on Gwen's face is when the swan made a strange hiss/bark/growl at her. I guess she made it nervous! It made her a little nervous too!

What can I say, I just love being able to enjoy what we are doing without being crowded. It's not as much fun when you're worried about losing a kid in the shuffle, bumping into someone, or getting run over by a stroller!

Spiritual Sunday- Simple Words

Fun On Friday With A Lot Of Silliness

Since we are using a 4 day school week schedule, usually we have either field trips on Fridays or just make it art and music day, but this week we didn't do anything on Tuesday (the teacher was having a bad day, but that's another post for another day) which got us behind schedule. Also, we went to the library yesterday because we were not sure how many little friends were coming today. So, today is a work day... even if it is a pretty silly one :)

This was 6:30am

7:30am

9:30 am Journal Entry

(Note to self: Spelling words for next week- around, when, catch, & the bonus word- eventually)

We also played some games for review (because I haven't made any 2nd grade games yet)

Monkey Money

 Pot 'O' Gold

The Mantis that has taken up residence in our front 'flower bed' made an appearance as well

Then she almost got blown away while playing outside with the boys after we read 51 pages of Ginger Pye (we finally finished Red Sails of Capri!)

Hope you all had a Fun Friday too!!

Distractions

One thing I have learned during our time homeschooling is that it is extremely easy to get off topic. Sometimes our off topic-ness is frustrating for me because I want us to stay on schedule,

BUT

we also seem to discover A LOT of cool things when we let our ADD get the best of us. For example, We have recently started a little unit on Vikings. In addition to the lessons in the curriculum we also deemed it necessary to watch the Veggie Tales Vikings movie and in the course of our lessons decided that we need to know how they bend the wood to make boats.

Thank goodness for utube because I didn't know how!

 I have to tell you, the guy that made the video she was watching was not the most exciting guy in the world. He held my attention for about 30 seconds. She was so interested in what he was saying and doing, though, that she didn't care that he was about as exciting as a rock (or maybe she did... she does like rocks).

All in all, even if she's not learning exactly what she's supposed to exactly when she's supposed be learning it I value the fact that she is learning all the time and that she's excited about discovering new things. I pray she never loses that.



Viking Books

The Usborne Time Traveler

Viking (Eye Wonder Series) by DK Publishing

Viking Ships at Sunrise (Magic Tree House #15) by Mary Pope Osborne

100 Things You Should Know About Vikings by Fiona MacDonald

Spiritual Sunday- Love

"There is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast it is all a sham." - Anna Sewell, Black Beauty

Seasonal Crafts Part 1

Halloween Collage: Old magazines, Contruction paper, glue, scissors

 Apple Prints: Paper, glue, apples cut in half

Leaf Mobile: Paper, crayons, glue, construction paper, string, sticks. I printed the leaves out from the crayola website, but you could make your own :)

Jack-o-lanterns: Pumpkins, foam stickers, I used a little glue to help the stickers stay on

Ghosts: White & black paint, Bare feet, black paper

 Books to read with these crafts are:

Wild Child by Lynn Plourde

The Falling Leaves &

The Falling Leaves and the Scarecrow by Steve Metzger

Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins
The Biggest Pumpkin EVER by Steven Kroll

The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons

The Best Halloween Hunt Ever by John Speirs

And Gwen's Favorite
Black Cat Creeping by Teddy Slater

And for apple books look here.