New Curriculum Planning

After visiting the boards over at My Father's World, I came across a couple of different posts that immediately caught my eye. Two very nice ladies (Jen from GA and Jennifer from FL) shared their schedules which align episodes from the Planet Earth DVD series with the weeks of study topics in MFW's Exploring Countries and Cultures. We happen to own the Planet Earth series, so I am thrilled to be able to incorporate them with our new curriculum. Here are the two schedules, which vary slightly:

Weeks 5-6 Mexico: "Deserts" Disc 2 Episode 2
Weeks 9-11 Brazil: "Jungles" Disc 3 Episode 2
Weeks 12-13 Norway: "Seasonal Forests" Disc 4 Episode 1
Weeks 14-15 France: "Caves" Disc 2 Episode 1
Weeks 16-17 Germany: "Fresh Water" Disc 1 Episode 3
Weeks 18-20 Kenya: "Great Plains" Disc 3 Episode 1
Weeks 23-24 India: "Mountains" Disc 1 Episode 2
Weeks 27-28 Japan: "Ocean Deep" Disc 4 Episode 2
Weeks 29-30 Russia: "Ice Worlds" Disc 2 Episode 3
Weeks 31-32 Australia: "Shallow Seas" Disc 3 Episode 3
Weeks 33-34 Antarctica: "From Pole to Pole" Disc 1 Episode 1

From Pole to Pole (Intro)
Mountains (India/China)
Fresh Water (Canada/Brazil)
Caves (Wonderful Episode...we viewed it during South America)
Deserts (U.S./Mexico/Saudi Arabia)
Ice Worlds (Russia/Antarctica)
Great Plains (Kenya)
Jungles (Brazil)
Shallow Seas (Australia?)
Seasonal Forests (Norway/Germany)
Ocean Deep (Japan)
Saving Species (France)
Into the Wilderness (Antarctica)
Living Together (France)

Many thanks to Jen and Jennifer!

I'm So Ashamed...



Who in the world doesn't post on their blog for almost an entire year?  Uhhmmm...that would be me. Yes, it's been too long. No, I don't have any good excuses. I didn't say I had NO excuses, I just don't have any good ones.  I hope to post more regurlarly, now. I am especially looking forward to documenting our weekly journey with a new curriculum beginning in September 2013. After four years of Sonlight, we have officially decided to make the switch from Sonlight to My Father's World. I have already received their curriculum package (Exploring Countries and Cultures) and am very excited and eager to start. I'll share more about why we made the switch later. For now, I hope to post more often as we finish up our last curriculum cores from Sonlight: Cores E and G. Having the new MFW waiting in the wings, it's going to be hard for me to get motivated to slog through the rest of our Sonlight...

Tornado!

My cousin sent this shot of a tornado, taken from her back yard. Yikes!

Music Appreciation

One of the many things I'm grateful for growing up was that my parents saw to it that I had music lessons, despite the fact that neither of them were musically trained. To this day, I enjoy being able to play for the pure pleasure of it. It is therapeutic, it is encouraging to others, and it is good for your brain!

I wanted my children to know the joy of music also---to be able to play an instrument or two,

to read music, to learn of the classical composers and develop an appreciation of God's wonderful gift of music.



Now that they are older, I am so pleased that they are using their gifts/knowledge to serve others. We encourage them to play when service opportunities present themselves, such as...

participating in worship service at church

devoting time at a nursing home





glorifying God within the community (at local library)



I hope they always remember that their gifts are God-given and are to be used for His glory, not their own glory.

Valentine Creations

Each year, our local homeschool organization has a Valentine Bowling Party where the kids all get together for bowling, lunch and a valentine exchange. Prizes are awarded to the most creative valentine boxes. My daughter was delighted when her box won 3rd place in the girls' division. Here's a pic.

Dalmation valentine box

My son also worked hard on his box, but was good natured about not winning. There were so many good creations, it would have been a tough choice for the judges this year. Here's his box.

Monster valentine box

What's for Lunch, Mom?

Yes, it's been too long since I posted. Sorry, but "stuff" gets in the way! I stumbled across a terrific website called Laptop Lunches. It has 365 days of menu ideas for kids' lunches; perfect for us homeschooling moms! Who doesn't run out of ideas for lunch? You can even view menus and recipes by season. Check it out.

Nature's Classroom

It's nice to take a break now and then and get outdoors for some one-on-one with nature. This fall, we drove to a nearby state park for some "outdoor" education. We had time to...

do some fishing,

climb a tree,

see wildlife in their natural habitat,

see wildlife outside their natural habitat...

appreciate nature's beauty all around us,

observe seasonal changes, and

remember Him who created it all.