its been too long...

well its been along time since i have posted anything.. I apologize, but just got busy with life...  my oldest son, who is now 17yrs old has decided he wants to just get his GED.. so we are working towards that..  He is also thinking of going to Job Corps, which i thing will be good for him and he will enjoy it as well.. He hasn't made up his mind yet so we will see..

My youngest has turned 5 now and we are working at preparing him for some kindergarten learning.. I am not really rushing anything because i feel there is plenty of time for that.. He will NOT be going to public school.. I will homeschool him. I am very excited about this adventure me and him will go on together. :o)  I am not totally sure if i will use a formal curriculum or just take it slower and do something myself.. if i do choose to use a curriculum i have decided to use My Father's World ... it is a great Christian based program!!  I am hoping to be able to purchase a copy from someone who is done with theirs.

A couple of weeks ago, I have decided to learn to eat more healthy and get mor active.. I really am looking to lose some weight and generally become more healthy.. its been hard.. I am still learning about healthy food choices and recipes that i can cook for the family that are quick simple and cheap and HEALTHY.. I have been walking alomst 2 miles 5 days a week and it feels great to get out and about..  I am really hoping to get a car soon and then i will be able to broaden my walking choices.. right now i am pretty limited to walking just here in town.. I would love to go to some pretty walking trails and take the family and go for a nice walk.. I think the variety would help.  I have been using the website SparkPeople its a great site with lots of information and tools and its all free...

Wish me luck!!

Merry Christmas

Its seems like just yesterday i was preparing Thanksgiving dinner! This year is going by so fast... I have been busy this last couple of weeks baking and cooking for myself and others, including my doggies.. :o) and still have to bake a birthday cake for Christmas Day..

I have made, fudge, two different kinds of cookies, some peanut brittle and a chewy peanut chocolate bar thingy that was a huge hit with my teenager... oh, and i baked some pumpkin bread, which is my favorite, i love it with a cup of coffee.. mmm mmm...

My kids have so excited for christmas it is fun to watch them.. my youngest (4yrs) just loved decorating the Christmas tree.. we haven't done many crafts this year, I am not sure why, just didn't get around to it i guess.

I pulled my oldest son back out of public school as he was just not getting work done, am wishing i kept him in the web academy.. we are now waiting to get back in, and I am worried he will fall behind.. when i first registered him, they told me there was a waiting list, but it should not be more then 5 business days, so i went ahead and withdrew him from ps, then the 5 days turned to 2 weeks and then longer.. Now it is Christmas vacation and he was 3 down on the list so he should be in after the vacation, but he has been out of school for about a month now! That is just too long, he will have to work extra hard to make up for some time, but his grades should be better...

We have also aquired two new family members!! We are so excited.. the Pomeraniam is Tikaani and is my oldest's son's early birthday present.. and the Chihuahua (she is a mix) is mine, her name is Bella and i love her very much. we are so excited to have them and they fit perfectly into our family
So, what are your plans for Christmas??? Please share, I look forward to hearing about all your plans and the things you have done.. Also, do you have a special recipe you would like to share that you make for Christmas???

Back to School.....

I know its been along time since i posted so i thought i would catch everyone up to whats going on... This last month has been so busy. My oldest son, Mario, has decided he wants to try the public highschool here in Vernonia again this year.. He fell really behind at the web academy, but i really don't know if he would have done better staying in the ps last year either.. This year i have met with the counselor and he is on the track of making up some credits to catch up.. he is 2.5 credits behind.. He is playing on the football team again this year, lets pray for a no injury season!! He is doing well and getting lots of play time both on JV and Varsity.. He is a Wide Receiver this year and he is happy about that. I will post some pics as soon as i get some. Today he is off to Willamina to play in the Jamboree there, its like the first game of the season.. he is very excited..





My youngest son, Isaiah, who is only 4yrs will be doing preschool at home this year.. boy is he excited!! He will still attend his special ed class twice a week, but no on really feels he is ready for headstart quite yet and I don't want to push him.. they all seem to be eager to prepare him for the Kindergarten classroom, and i have to keep reminding them that he will be homeschooled so i am not that worried if he will do well in a huge kinder class... This year we will be using the letter of the week curriculum ( http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ ) to help him with his letter sounds and numbers and such... I will also use some of the activities at http://www.starfall.com/ plus some workbooks i bought.. I have put some abc's up on the wall and also created him a "learning poster" which is where we will put up all the things we are learning about during the week.. if you check out letter of the week it gives all the info about the learning poster...

I will add another picture as we add things to it... it will include things such as:

weekly theme

letter of the week

vocabulary word of the week

shape of the week

number of the week

nursery rhyme of the week

I am excited to get started and see how he does.. he asks me every day if its time to do homeschool... lol We will officially start on Monday... this program only lasts about 26 weeks and I am not sure what we will do after that.. maybe just continue with starfall and some workbooks... not sure..

What are you guys planning for school this year?? What ages do you have this year?? What curriculum are you using??

I look forward to reading everyone's comments....

Summer school, job, VBS ... oh my...

well, Summer came upon us quickly.. I am not complaining I love summer.. besides Christmas, this is my favorite time of year.. though this year seems to be pretty busy..

Since my oldest son wanted to try public school for his freshman year, he fell incredibly behind.. i guess he was too busy making all those friends and not completing school work.. I finally pulled him out in April I believed and he had only earned... maybe 1 credit.... or at least somewhere close to that... I enrolled him in a web academy.. Now this is still considered public school, but it way more flexible and is all done at home online.. I am able to suppliment with a Bible Study which I like.. and the teacher is great.. he comes over about every other week to check Mario's work and answer any questions.. He was able to move mario ahead on things he already new and give him more time on things he need more time for.. I am really happy with the school... I am totally regretting allowing him to try public school.. it made him lazy.. well, when it comes to school anyways.. I think even after summer school, he will still be behind and will have to start off next year completing his work for the 9th grade instead of starting off in 10th... I guess it doesn't make a difference as long as he is learning, which he is so that is good..

He has also picked up a summer job this year, his first, doing yard work for a couple here in town.. he enjoys it and likes making his own money, but it makes for busy days..especially this week as he is volunteering at our church for VBS all this week, then working for at least 3 hours and then doing school.... but it keeps him busy and I like that.. no time for getting in trouble..lol

My youngest is finally old enough for VBS this year so I took a chance and signed him up.. He doesn't always do well in large groups and easily gets stressed out.. but we tried and he is doing well so far.. I think he really likes the music.. that is something he really loves.
Well, that is the start of my summer.. How is your going?? did it start with a bang??

I thought this video was a great one!! and fun

Is Summer really coming?? :o)

This weekend was so nice.. the sun came out and it actually felt like summer. So I thought -- hey lets load up and head to the beach!! it was great, the boys had a blast. It was nice to see them play together without getting on eachother's nerves.. We played in the water, and of course the sand.. it was everywhere by the time we left :o) then headed for ice cream ... My littlest one was so excited to find all the gumballs in his bubblegum flavored icecream.. it was hard to tell the difference between how much was on his face and how much he actually ate..

I must say, it was a good start to summer.. I am looking forward to many more afternoons like this one.. I miss the sunny days and picnics and hanging out.. Well, very typical for Oregon, it is raining outside today... but should only last for today then the sun should find its way out again.. hopefully it doesn't get lost..

I know most homeschool families are preparing for summer.. Ending the school year and finishing up the last of the school assignments.. well except for those families that school year round.. My oldest has been doing his school through a web academy and it has been great for him.. He has been catching up for the most part .. except we still struggle in the reading and writing part as he hates both... I checked with his teacher yesterday about summer school and it looks like they have a program but is a whole three weeks.. I am hoping he can catch up because he fell so far behind in the public high school.. But I am just most happy about his grades!! He is doing great getting 80s and 90s in everything... I really like the program he is on...

So everyone.. what are you doing to prepare for summer?? Do you break for summer or homeschool year round?? Any big summer plans this year??

Share your ideas and plans!!

How Are You Feeling?
This storytime lesson plan reassures preschool children that feeling different emotions is normal and healthy, and that they are loved, no matter what.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/535563/how_are_you_feeling.html