Books, books, books

Next week is our last week of the school year. We are just about done with everything except History, Math, and Language Arts. It's definitely been an interesting year!

For history this year we studied the Renaissance, Reformation, and early Colonial America. It was great learning about the many explorers that sailed uncharted waters and explored new lands, like Cristobal Colon, Vasco de Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan. We also learned about the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.

What fascinated the kids the most, though, was the art of the Renaissance - Raphael, Michelangelo, and of course, Leonardo Da Vinci. They loved seeing the pictures of these and other artists and learning about the different styles that made them famous.

What I loved was playing a game a couple weeks ago where they had to match names of people we learned about with what they are known for (Reformer, King or Queen, Artist, Writer, etc.) Names like Ulrich Zwingli, Mary Tudor, and Nicolaus Copernicus were matched up correctly, and I was so happy to know that what we learned stuck! The cool thing about the style of learning we are doing is that we will come back around to the Renaissance in a few years, so what we learned will be further explored and it will cement it for them even more.

For literature, Gabby read Anne of Green Gables and Avonlea, The Pilgrim's Progress, The Bronze Bow, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Julius Caesar. Caleb read Peter Pan (unabridged), Charlotte's Web, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (before the movie came out), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Hoot. Paul read some great picture books like Caps for Sale, Make Way For Ducklings, the Little Bear Series, and Akimbo and the Lions. He's now a great reader and is reading chapter books!

Overall, we had a great year! I'm really looking forward to next year for so many reasons, but I'll write about those next time.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

See Ya-owl Later

We have been watching a nest of owls that we discovered in early spring. For a while it was just the mother owl, and on occasion, the dad was there. Then we were told the owlets hatched, so we checked it everyday waiting until we could see baby owls. The proximity of the nest was out of range for my camera, so I couldn't take a good picture of it.

Soon we saw the owlets sitting up in the nest. It was funny to watch their little heads bob around and look at us as we drove by, gawking at us as much as we were gawking at them.

Yesterday, we discovered one of them had left the nest and was perched on top of this trailer that was in the parking lot. It was there in the morning, and then again in the afternoon, in the exact same spot.

Then today, it was gone. The nest was empty. I'm kind of sad that the whole excitement of it is over. Maybe we'll get lucky and they will return next year. But they will be missed.

Coupon Deals!

Okay, I know I'm one in millions who is now motivated (or remotivated) to start couponing because of the show "Extreme Couponing". Today was my first day doing it since last year. In fact, I still have all my old expired coupons sitting in my bin because I just haven't gotten rid of them. But that's beside the point.

I got some excellent deals today, and I just wanted to share.

In the above picture you will see four boxes of pasta that I got free. Yeah, that's right! FREE!! The two bags of Boulder Canyon Potato Chips, and the Mom's Best Natural Cereal were also FREE! I also got a free bottle of water that I'd never tried (and am pleasantly surprised with). I got two packages of Uncle Ben's Whole Grain Rice for $.29 each. Those four large bottles of water were $.50 each. The cheese was $.89. And, to top it off, I got a register receipt for $3.00 off my next shopping trip!

Now, I know I'm not going to be like those ladies on t.v., with 4 shopping carts full of soda, or a garage full or hoarded groceries. But it is nice to get some free stuff. My goal is just to get some things free or super cheap so that I don't have to spend money on it. I wouldn't mind getting some free toothpaste or deodarant, or laundry soap for really cheap (right now I make my own, but I miss the pretty smell of the fancy stuff).

Anyway, just wanted to share my small success!

I'm Bustin!

When we first began home schooling three years ago, my daughter, Gabby, was behind in math. I discovered that instead of being at 4th grade level where she should have been, she was barely at a 2nd grade level. She struggled with simple addition and subtraction problems. I was trying to teach her multiplication, but she didn't understand it. She was frustrated and embarrassed, and she cried over math often.

We ended up starting from scratch and I showed her what addition and subtraction are for, how they work, and we just practiced, practiced, practiced. Gradually she began moving forward and further ahead.

We are now finishing up our third year of home schooling. She'll be in 7th grade next year (7th grade!). After researching what we will be using next year, I found a math program that I thought looked like an excellent program. But I wasn't quite sure if she was ready for the 7th grade level or not. So I gave her the placement test.

I'm proud to report that next year, my 7th grade daughter will be doing 7th grade math! I am just busting with pride! I'm so happy and happy for her. Gone are the days of crying over math (well, until we get to Geometry).

I'm also very thankful that God has provided me the opportunity to home school so that I can guarantee that my children are comprehending what they are being taught. There are so many other reasons that I'm glad I home school, but today, this one stands out to me!

Thank you also to everyone who has supported us and encouraged us. It is very easy to criticize and laugh at the "weirdos" who don't want their kids in school. I'm so blessed to have the support of my family and friends!