What our day looks like

I promised pictures of our school day a while ago. I have a few. Still don't have one of my actual school room. It's really just storage. I sometimes teach one child at a time in there but usually, we're "kitchen table" type homeschoolers..... with a bit of couch reading tossed in for good measure. We also pack up school and head to the science center on Fridays during Lego Team.

So, this is how we do history/geography/science!

Group projects, led by the big kids are just so fun! I always oversee it,  but I love when they can take the helm. They learn so much more and ask questions (and explore the answers too) that wouldn't come up if I did all the talking.



This is how we handle our "seatwork". Everyone at their place with their own work. Though I have now added a color coded (you're so surprised right?) binder with 5 pockets and a pencil case to the mix. We all do pocket 1 together. It just wasn't working for them to work alone for speed drills/spelling lists/cursive copywork. Time was not a focus and it became an issue. I then release them to work at their own pace and I jump in and teach when/where I need to. Explaining as we go seems to work better this year. Each year has it's own personality and I end up tweaking the schedule in September each year.

Electron does most of his math and grammar work on the computer this year. We invested in the Saxon teaching dvd and let me tell ya..... it's worth 10 times it's weight in gold! He is also doing a research report on Medieval history in some form or fashion to turn in to his writing class each week. Lego homework (and YEAH BOY! THERE'S A BUNCH!) gets done on the computer too. They are doing a medical challenge this year. This week's homework is to research how nano -technology is helping in Alzheimer's research/therapy/treatment.... or something way over my head. He's becoming quite the computer bug and TOTALLY monopolizing it most of the day. :)  He loves it and we love that.

School is a lot of fun when everyone is reading! We started the Pizza Hut Book IT! program this week, that'll get us free pizza once a month and a trophy at years' end. Everyone is doing it this year. Next year, Electron ages out. Because we didn't do it for the last 2 years due to "circumstances" this is Warrior's first year with the program. It should be a great deal of fun.

Wow! 2 posts in 1 day....... :D I'm on a roll!

Better late than never, right?

*****Well! Due to the whole picture download/computer illiterate issues that exist in my brain, I'm just NOW getting this post from APRIL done?!?!? You still love me , right? :D




 I'm going to post some pictures of the kids' end of year celebration (from April!) with our homeschool group.  You can click on the various classes if you are interested in what each kiddo's tutor had to say through the year.  There's a national website too. Anyway.....

I had the privilege of tutoring the Journeyman 1 class! Let me just take a moment to marvel at these amazing kids! Ondepenya was in my class this year (that's the age group I had). They dubbed themselves the "Wolfpack" because I had been calling them my "chickens" or "bunnies" and it became a big joke and well..... these kids just have such a unique identity and love for each other and learning! I was a blessed tutor.

Each class did a short skit to demonstrate some aspect of our studies. We all learn the same information it's just that different age levels take it to different extents.

 Glitter's class had beautiful posters that demonstrated some of the things we studied in science.

Warrior's class did some hand motions along with some of the history songs we learned! (They were soooooooooo cute!) That's his best friend in the suit coat. Popcorn has a thing for dressing up!

Our class, with Ondependya, sang the grammar songs from the year. Wish I had a picture of the whole class but I was not behind the lens at the time. I was on stage with them!

The big kids, the Masters along with Electron, chanted some math prompts and formulas and that sort of thing.... military style! It was quite impressive. Amazing how much a "trained to memorize" mind can accomplish when it is made out to be fun. He has benefited immensely from the amount of information he has committed to memory! It has made things like math and grammar a breeze and has given him a leg up when studying science/history... ok, I'm, stopping rambling.:)


At the end of the ceremony, kids are given awards for memorization. There are different levels but only one gets "official recognition". It's called Memory Master.  That's a kid that has memorized all 24 weeks of work in every subject and can repeat it back verbatim without any help/clues/hints. They go through a rigorous "proofing" (testing) with 1-mom, 2- a different mom, 3- their own tutor, 4- the director. If they pass they get a trophy (and they have all the info packed into their heads for later reference! I've also noticed that it shows up on the Cat5 test.)

Anyhow, this is my goal each year. The older kids are old hat at this. Been there, done that and it has proven useful on more than one occasion. "Hey, Electron, how many feet are in a mile?" or "What year did World War 2 start? Did x,y,z start before or after?" Yes these and many more are all questions I've needed answered on more than one occasion and they happily chant the needed song to find the answer.

8 subjects, 24 weeks each, 3 year cycles of information (We repeat every 3 years so that the info. gets really pounded in.) I love it! I never knew all that I didn't know! Math, grammar, history, geography, Veritas Press timeline cards (sequential world history), science, latin, ... we also do science experiments, art and music but it's not for testing.

This year, all 4 kids were gunning for it. Due to the chaos and interruptions of house hunting, only 2 actually made it. If i'd had about 2 or 3  weeks left to continue drilling all 4 would ave gotten it. The younger 2 were a bit crushed but they got "Memory Excellence" medals instead because they had 5 or more subjects perfectly memorized.  Latin and geography were just a bit tricky. Geography involved locating countries and drawing in cities/mountain ranges/rivers/canals on a blank map - tough work for an 8 and 5 yr old! But they almost had it. Next year, next year. As you can imagine, it is A LOT OF WORK! One year I actually counted up each bit of info and it was crazy. (if you're curious, YES! I can do it too except for the timeline cards. I wouldn't make them do anything I didn't try to do myself. Though they are much better at it than me. My class LOVED to test me to stump me. :D)

Ok: pictures of the 2 that did it!

Electron, Memory Master in all 3 cycles! You go baby, I'm so proud of you!

Glitter, 2 time Memory Master "whoot-whooting" at Electron's best friend who was a first timer after a lot of blood, sweat and tears!!!!!!! You go Batman! We are ALL!!!!! so proud of you!!!!!

And all 4 of them at home with me after the hooplah had settled! Warrior and Ondepenya were given their medals by me at the after party. There is no "official" recognition for "almost" getting it, but the moms all did something for those who passed a (or in our case, several) subject perfectly.

Anyhow, for a homeschool kid, this is the only event, school wise, that gets attention so I just had to share the pictures and kuddos to my kids who really did achieve gold medal status in my eyes this year. During a year of chaos, heartbreak, and lack of stability.... they climbed Mt. Everest (and can draw/locate it on a map- hahahaha) and I'm VERY proud of how hard THEY worked!


**** Since I'm posting this AFTER the new year has started, I can tell you that they are all busting their tails to get that trophy! It's too cute, and what a blessing..... I don't have to ask twice when I say, "Come to the table to review!"  They just come with smiles and are so far, nailing it! Warrior is even drawing his maps he though he still can just point at testing time! We are so blessed to be a part of this group.

errrr-

I had this whole post written and the durn pictures would not load! Somebody messed with something! Not pointing any fingers but SOME people around here are computer geeks and some us of are just plain geeks! I had just gotten the hang of this and now it goes and changes!!! When the important football games of the day are done I'll ask said person what I'm doing wrong! Because other said person has been sent to bed :)

So, here are the pictures that i CAN get to load.... better and more will follow. We had a blast can you tell???? The Outer Banks are our favorite chill spot aside from Dauphin Island... where I plan to retire when I've done my 25 + years of teaching! :) ahhhhh, a hammock, a cinder block house on the beach, a fire pit.... a little slice of heaven:)

We're still here!

I know, I haven't posted anything in waaaaaaaay too long. It's coming. I have so much I want to say but, well, the words aren't coming yet. I've got a TON of pictures to post as well. Hang in there folks, I've got some stuff to tell you about and lots of good times to show you.

New blog!

I've added a link to our pastor's blog. It's called The Revival Life. I could ramble on about how blessed we are to be a part of this church but i think you'd get the picture better if you went on over to his blog and read for yourself.

So, go say "Hi!" to Pastor Dan. :) and get filled up with what God is saying......

My brother : the celebrity?

He made the Prattville paper! His crazy obsession with all things buttony/gadgetty/fidgetty has landed him in the company of others that share his loves and passions! He is part of a flying club that gets together for some great fun. I've had the privilege of going flying with him a time or two and it really is a sight to behold! Fun stuff!

 

This is the caption that goes with the picture:

Excited to show off his new purchase, Jim Kwater explains to George Armstrong how this electric plane is perfect to keep in the car for flight when ever the mood strikes him.

And, truly, he really does have a fishing rod or RC plane in his truck/jeep/boat at almost every moment! Not to mention the enormous storage unit/workshop he has in his back yard that is a wonderland for my boys (and hubby too ;?).

The mood frequently hits him at 6am when he gets off work. Cracks me up, I can call him at 8:30 and hear the buzzing of planes in the background!  He is living every little boy's dream come true........

I am however, in the market for a sister-in-law! Anybody know of a woman who likes to clean fish and can go several days without having to talk? I'll pony up for an unlimited cell phone so she can talk to me when the house gets too quiet. :D (love you Jim but you know it true! you are without a doubt the quietest person I know!) He comes with a house, gorgeous hunting land that includes a beautiful creek, quite a few big boy toys, and one giant, very loving, amazingly sweet black lab named Jack that has stolen my heart. (James Franklin! I need a picture of my nephew to put with this post!!!!) He really is too cute and sweet and he's a giant teddy bear, very loving.

Applications can be made in the comment section of this post.

UPDATE: Jim has sent me some pictures of Jack. Because there is no other object in the photo, you can not imagine his colossal size, however, I just love the grin on his face!!!!

Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen?????? 

Remembering my friend......

My very dear friend from college (and bridesmaid!) said a temporary goodbye to her firstborn son in May of 2009. He fought 3 valiant battles with 3 different types of cancer. He finally won his battle and went home to his reward at the footstool of His Father.

His testimony is jawdropping and life changing.

The faith and strength that Jason and Courtney have and shared has humbled me and given me such perspective.

Each year, they and their sweet little girl, organize a golf tournament in Birmingham, Alabama to raise funds to benefit other families that are still in their battle.

Please take a moment to go to Tucker's CaringBridge page and read his testimony and sign up to be a part of this tournament if you play golf.

Roll Tide Beam family.... you are always in my hearts and on my mind! xoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxo

it's been 1 year and 1 week....

click on this go to this amazing site.... find out what my world looks like......

there is a grabbable photo that says, "my friend's baby died and i'm not afraid to talk about it".... will you? are you?

do you have questions that you're afraid to ask? does your mind wonder but your mouth is afraid to speak? are you afraid of causing tears and therefore say nothing?

silence is the loneliest place to grieve.... i have another post that's been on my heart for 1 year and 1 week....  this is not it. but it's a good place to start.

Happy 1st Birthday Kelsey Peace

Meet the real Electron

Hi! My name is SORA! not electron. You know who my mom said electron was, right ,well she got everything right, most of it anyways. She got everything right except  my name! Which is Sora if you were not paying attention earlier! Oh! By the way, this is Sora writing NOT my mom ok. so anyways  as I was saying ............................................ HEY why are you not listening. Ok so now you know the real me. That is what I wanted to say. I wish I had more time to talk but I have to go sorry bye. :D

OOPS!

Sorry grandfolks! I just realized that the anonymous comment button had been disabled!!!!  I fixed it. You can now leave a comment without having your own blogger account. I also took out that pesky word verification thing. It serves a purpose on certain types of blogs... but really, do more than 4 people read this blog? I don't think so! So, I'm not worried about crazy people coming here. hahahahaah I'm crazy enough that I scare them away!

Ok, got some GREAT! pictures of the kids working on their geography mystery game today.... they were so cute! But, they are still in the camera and Rex is still at work so... another day, another day.

Day 1 of the 10-11 school year went swimmingly. Here's hoping for the whole week to go the same!

IT'S OVERRRRRR! now, let's start over :D

Yep, I just closed the book on CAT5's for last year, raced to get them in the mail and now, I'm gettin' in gear for next year to start on Monday! I know, I know, I said I was going to start last week.... :D homeschooling can be flexible when you need an extra week to do CAT5's! But, sadly, that used my flex time for first semester so.... don't get sick kiddos! You can do school in between throwing up! hahaha (just KIDDING! no, really, don't get sick)

So, thank you Tara, I'm going to post what goes on around here and up the accountability level in my life! (She does this a lot... I like it! Keeps me on my toes!) THIS, dear friends, is why I never answer the phone and frequently forget what day it is!

First Semester Schedule:

6:30 am... everybody up and getting that day's responsibilities done (at the bottom:D)
7:00          eat breakfast and clean it up!
7:30          take the dog for a walk
8:00          Bible History (We are reading through the Bible together... I read, they draw. It works.)
8:30          I work with Electron on Math/Grammar/Writing/whatever. The other kids do cursive      copywork/math speed drills/copy spelling words/read/write a letter once a week
9:30          Math with the other 3 (Electron works on his own)
11:00        Grammar/Phonics/Writing with the other 3
12:30        quick lunch
1:00          review Classical Conversations work
1:30          Mon: Science experiments Wed/Thur/Fri Story of the World History
2:30          Reading (out loud to me)
3:00          Presentation work if needed... playtime when all school and responsibilities are completed
4:00          start cooking dinner
5:30          race to piano/football
8:00          get home/shower/eat a snack/go to bed


***rinse and repeat! yes, I know Tuesdays are left off of the above schedule. That's the day we meet with our homeschool group. We also have lego team for Electron every Friday morning... so school's on the road that day! Whew! I'm tired already!  Good thing I love what I do!

Hopefully I'll get some pictures of my school room posted and the kids actually doing said school work! We'll see.

If you're curious, here's our responsibilities list:
They each take a day doing one of the following chores: laundry/kitchen helper/pet care/trash-vacuum-bathroom. Then on Friday, we all work together to get it all done and we focus on cleaning out the car, sweep the carport, cleaning our rooms... that kind of stuff. And yes, I DO make my kids do their own laundry! If you can read, you can do laundry! If you're curious. yes, I have my own set of responsibilities to do! I SCRUB bathrooms on Monday, work on lesson plans and do my blog post for Classical on Tuesday, detail clean kitchen and clean out fridge on Wednesday, dust and declutter on Thursday, and do the vacuuming and my own laundry on Friday. :D I may be a slave driver but I drive myself too. And NO- my house is NOT anywhere NEAR perfect. It's not about perfection, it's about progress! We'll get there one day, I want to enjoy the ride. This just helps keep us sane, semi-clean, and helps me teach responsibility along the way....

Check this out!

I just randomly ran across the neatest blog! The post i read was about stewardship of time/money/effort.... you know, MORE THAN TITHES! So cool, very few people think that way. I am always amazed when I run across what I call "Christian hippies". Rex balks at that and I know it doesn't really fit but I know so many Christians (who challenge me so very much) that are beginning to think in terms of protecting God's creation and modeling for our children lifestyle stewardship. Okay, enough soapbox... check it out!

Carlisle Clan Conversations

I really should be doing the cloth napkins thing.... that one made me wince! We use WAAAAAYYYYY too many paper towels!

Writing contest link!

For you homeschool friends looking for a fun way to encourage writing this year:

http://homeschoolwriters.com/chart.aspx

enjoy!

Man, if you'd told me when I was a kid that one day I would find joy and pleasure in spending 1.5 hrs. cleaning the guts of my fridge I'd have written you off as nuts...........

Warning:D

I'm about to go "homeschool" on you:D not yet... you're safe for now.... but my friend who shall remain nameless for now, does some pretty amazing posts about her schedules and plans and daily routines! So, I'm thinking it'll motivate me if I post my intentions as well. I need the prodding seeing as how school, for us, will start August 2.

Sigh, next week we're doing our Cat5's! This week we're squeezing in some school in between basketball camp and football practice. Well, I'm making them read while I paint Glitter's room.... They need at least one week of "downtime"? Right?

I'm so ready to put this year behind me and start OVER! :D

If all goes the way it's supposed to, we do 17 weeks (of actual curriculum work) in the fall, 17 weeks in the spring and then spend the rest of our "school time" exploring and field tripping to museums/zoos/aquariums/science centers/caves and things like that. We also do a fun "study" of Jewish holidays around Christmas since our fall semester finishes the week of Thanksgiving. Don't be fooled though, I use that time to reinforce and review and pound into heads what we learned in first semester. We read a lot too but not all school takes place in a book! So the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year are put to good use in alternative ways.

Ahhhhhh, I'm ready for a new "normal" whatever that is.

Here's some pictures for you: oops, it's up there?!?!? ummm, from DC a few weeks ago.

IMAX movie...see? Learning takes place all the time!

DC National Gallery of Art... We even got some actual curriculum done that morning too! A full day of learning and fun crammed into one!

She was so hot and sweaty!! But, it was too hard to pass up, our lovely lady in front of  a lovely painting......

Summer School... and bribes.

What do you do when you have a tough year with school 2 years in a row? Summer school.

What do you do when you feel ridiculously guilty for having to do summer school? Bribes.

sooooooo, this is what we've been bribing our kids with :D.

Each day if they accomplish the basics (math and grammar) in the allotted time (2 hours) they receive a sticker and 3 pieces of candy- from the bucket. (yes, go ahead and faint! I'm actually letting my kids have sugar!! I can't believe it either.) After 5 days in a row, they get to choose one of the large candy choices (on the shelf next to the bucket). When they have successfully completed the needed number of lessons, they receive an item from the top shelf... each prize was chosen for a specific kiddo. The extra prizes are for reading books. The $5 and the Walmart gift cards are for reading books too.The playdoh giant pack is a group prize when everyone is finished! I'm sure what gets created will be blog worthy... their creativity makes me stand mouth agape while scratching my head.

I know, I feel horrible resorting to this but they get a little fun out of the deal after having to work hard. I don't feel the need to buy the kids lots of stuff and I feel staunchly that kids need to be diligent and have a servants attitude towards responsibility but....... Rex came up with this idea to make summer school more fun and it's been fantastic! I love it. I'm going to modify it for the next school year (which, sigh, starts in 2 weeks!)

Anyhow, this has given the kids a tangible reward for their efforts and they have risen to the challenge with a great attitude! We've even managed to fit swim team, Lego camp, VBS, piano lessons, pool parties, play dates, movies, and coming up, football summer training and basketball camp into our days and still get school done too! We also went to DC with Rex for a work trip (pics later). That's a lot to cram in!

PS- please ignore the junk accumulation on the bottom shelf. I haven't unpacked the kitchen yet! Thus the empty shelves that were available for filling. One of these days I'll post pictures of a decorated organized house...... one day. :)

Childhood at its finest!

Well, I'm a few weeks late but this just had to get posted (so i can remember it)!

The kids were having a ball playing in the hose. They claimed to be creating "habitats". They do this frequently.

Presently, I have a turtle living in my garden (I know, nasty. But this year there's nothing planted except 2 pathetic little tomato plants in the far corner and the garden plot is huge.... so i'm giving them a few days.) I think they were trying to lure another mommy frog into laying another 300 eggs in our yard.

Wish I had pictures of THAT! but my ever faithful MAC that I love ate the pictures....and about 300 others! It never acts up! Never! Never gets a virus.... nothing. One Christmas it just decided to eat my pictures. I'm not a happy camper about it.

Anyway, they were thrilled to find many animal tracks the next morning and had fun identifying them. I had to get them to move it to the grass so it wouldn't damage the vans but it was fun to see their ingenuity, creativity and just plain wild imaginations at work. Needless to say, bathtime was immediately after this picture was taken!

ahhhhhh, summer!

-Melissa

Oreo..our New Addition to the Harrell Tribe!

Wow won't do that again. We drove almost up to DC to get this little
monkey for Glitter. She is beyond excited to have a new puppy. This
little guy is a miniature australian shepherd. We had a choice between
this one and one with two blue eyes, but we couldn't help but fall in
love with this little guy....OREO. He is a total mess.

The ones with Glitter turned out really nice.

How can you turn that face down. Oh and his "full" name

per Glitter is Oreo "Cuddles" Harrell. No comment.

How can you not want to love me?

EWWWWW- YUCK! and other things

Well, I'm dashing off to get the kids from VBS so this is going to be short. It would be anyhow because I am just too sad anyhow. I've put off posting this since June 15.

Our precious beloved Bama Puffle got sick and left us before I could even get him to the vet. We are still expecting to hear his "click, click" on the hardwood floors. I still look to see where he is before I step out of bed, Cooking is breaking my heart because he's not in my way trying to catch crumbs. :D heheeh, he ALWAYS stood between me and the stove top!

The kids call for him, they miss him, they cry for him. He was a fixture in every aspect of our lives and his absence in tangible. This is the last picture I took of him. I was cleaning and unpacking my bedroom and he was "helping". Sorry the camera was out of focus a bit but it was just too funny to pass up.

and the ewwww gross part?  That would be "silver". The snake that the kids found in the garden and kept in an aquarium.... until it slithered away..... and then we later found shriveled and crispy by the basement door "trying" to get out.... yeah.... ewwwwww! Dead snakes are better than live ones, mama always said. lol

ew, yuck. I miss my Puffle.

Spaghetti Fallout

As promised a month ago (or more?), this is the story of the spaghetti fallout. hehehe If you are clueless as to what I'm talking about, read it here.

Ok, the next day we had some friends over and Gem and Glitter decided they wanted to cook dinner for us. hehehehehehe, The dark humor in me just simply could not resist. I "suggested" spaghetti! Gem had to go home sooner than expected so Glitter ended up cooking it ALL BY HERSELF while I sat in a chair giving directions. She was thrilled. Pay particular attention to the lovely bathing suit that she chose to cook in??? Who needs June Cleaver and an apron, right?

Jaja would be proud, she instinctively put the hand towel over her shoulder! By the way, dinner WAS yummy. :)

Lovin' it that my kids are cooking!!!! I'm going to retire soon.

Hey 2 posts in 2 days- I'm on a roll. I might actually get semi caught up before something else happens around here.