UGHH

Yes it has been a LLLLLOOOOONNNGGGG time!  I have been struggling. I added 3 kids that I am now keeping 3 to 5 days a week.  I just added them to our lessons.  

I have tried the workbox system but we do so much of our work together.

I have tried planning daily or weekly... neither seem to work.

We are getting school done but I am worried my kids aren't retaining.

We added Xtra Math online math drill program which I love.  I love all of our curriculum!

I am 'coming clean' knowing others are probably struggling in silence and hoping some of you can make suggestions.

We just started Kenya with MFW ECC.  Today we did Xtra Math, read about the savannah in Living World Encyclopedia, colored out MFW Kenya sheet, made big drawing pictures of the savannah, read George Mueller (yes I am behind on this), and watched a Netflix video entitled Safari: Saba and Rhino's Secret about African rhinos. This took 3 and half hours! I am exhausted!  Seems all I do is say is 'hush', 'be quiet' and 'stop talking'. No math-u-see, no primary language lessons, no writing strands, no spelling.

Any suggestions?

Mexico

We have crossed the boarder and entered Mexico!  

Well, not really.  

As part of our curriculum (My Father's World) we are studying different countries around the world.  We finished the US and now we are studying Mexico.

Several weeks ago, we filled out passport applications and 'mailed' them in.  We received our passports and today got them stamped and our Mexico currency (printed off the Internet) and began learning about is amazing country.

We have colored and discussed our Mexico John 3:16 page.  My President just had to wear his hat :-)

Election Day

Several months ago, I found an awesome, FREE lapbook on the presidents.  Did I mention FREE?!  So i printed it and slowly got all the colored paper and card stock etc that it called for and printed it all out for 4 kids the weekend before election day.  I also printed out a map for each kid to color in as the states were "called" for a certain candidate.

The day of the election, we cut and pasted and colored and folded and put the lapbooks together.  (Mommy put together my Superhero's lapbook.)

Election night we all got cozy around the TV and watch the Election unfold.

Each kid filled in a map.

But soon, well....

As we all know it turned out to be a long night.  Even Daddy went to bed before it was all said and done.

VOTE!

As you probably guessed, I call my oldest son my President because he has said he wants to be the President of the United States of America since he was very young.  This being a presidential election year, we had been watching a lot of FoxNews and listening to a lot of TalkRadio.  Ok, ok! We have been obsessed.  But knowing I am raising a future president I feel obligated to educate myself and my son all about politics.  I have never been political at all so this year has been almost like a crash course.  Anyway, the week before the election we took the whole family to the Republican Headquarters here in our county in Tennessee.

It was the end of the day and since we do not live in a swing state (yes I am getting the jargon) there was not much to see.  Nonetheless, the kids asked questions and looked around.  We even brought home some bumper sticker to put on our school folders (not the car).

Harvest Fest

My President is a Boy Scout and his troop worked a Harvest Fest Party this year.  The kids had a great time  and we brought home way too much candy and 2 cakes won by my girls at the cake walk.  There were many games, good food, and great music.  In today's hustle bustle world we often forget to slow down had spend time with our families.  I love holidays!  They give me a reason to do fun things with my kids and give me a chance to be a kid again myself.

My Hunters

I sent my husband and my President to go hunting 2 weekends ago.  It was my President's first time.  Last month he took a hunters safety course and tied for the second best score.  We were all so excited for them to bring home a deer.

Unfortunately, no deer showed up. :-(  But i believe this may be a good thing.  At least he didn't have "beginner's luck" with no hope of getting another any time soon.  And they both had a great time!

Homeschooling: More than paper and pencil

Most children people learn best when education incorporates more than one technique.  So why is it that our children are expected to learn anything from sitting day in and day out at a desk doing paper work?

Enter homeschooling! (and the crowd roars with delight!)

Ok I am not (yet) the perfect homeschooling mom.  We have missed a few days and some days I must drag the kids and myself to do school.

But then other days are, well, not school and yet educational.

Several days ago I saw an ad for free black walnuts. FREE? really? Come get all you want!  Well I called my mom and began researching harvesting and preserving black walnuts on the Internet.

Monday we, Mom, the kids and me, all piled in her car and headed to the kind old man house who had placed the ad in our local paper.

After picking up and 5 market baskets of nuts we headed to my moms house to process them.

WHAT A MESS!

The kids counted the nuts and helped peel the hulls off and sort them.  We talked about the trees and how some produce fruit and some produce nuts.  We talked about the leaves changing colors and harvest time.  Let me tell you we did more learning than any paper and pencil could have provided.  The kids are still talking about it.  How often do you hear your child talking about something they learned on a worksheet?

Come back to see the end result.