Books I Picked Up Today

These are some books I picked up at Half Price Bookstore today. They were having their 20% off sale. I couldn't pass this up. I also picked up a couple of boxes of science experiments and some fraction disks for 50¢. I hope these books interest both kids. I will use them when we cuddle on the sofa to read aloud.

We didn't school today. Daddy started the graveyard shift today, so I spent the day with him. We had a nice lunch at Landry's where we ate fish and shrimp. Before that we had coffee at the bookstore.

School Today

Today started a little late. I've been kinda out of it lately. I can't get up very early. The kids had school this morning. They both worked on math. Brandon had a friend come over today. He finished his work so fast and eager, I couldn't believe it. It sure was a nice incentive. He was happy to work.

Jamie worked on spelling, reading, critical thinking, her journal, and mythology. Her incentive today was going to see Winston, Dad's horse. It's nice having something they like that they work towards.

Not much else to report. I am enjoying my blog. It really is fun.

School Today

Today they both had math. We did some drills while I was ironing. I used multiplication. Then I had them do a couple of sheets in their workbooks. Jamie has to journal each day, so she did that. Then she had some composition, and reading. Brandon worked on words that have the long a sound using ai or ay. He did a couple of worksheets on that.

Then they ran off to play with the keyboard together. I don't know what song's they played. As long as they get along, it doesn't matter. ha, ha I will never understand why they complain to get their work done. They began at 12:30 and finished by 2:00.

My daughter...

I don't say much about her. Mostly because these days she is holed up in her room. She likes to write. She is always writing and rewriting a book that she has been working on for at least a year now. One day she will finish it. I believe it helps her. She is shy. So I think this helps her deal with it. When she was 4 years old, she wrote a book for a friend who was having a baby. We printed pictures for it and I put it in a folder.

Her other love is horses. She studies about them, reads all she can about them. This spring I hope to get her riding lessons. My dad has a horse, but he is not ridable. This really disappoints her so. If it were up to her, she would go see him everyday.

She is beautiful in every way. Even on her bad days. She is opinionated and stubborn, intelligent and creative. My first born. Her daddy's spitting image.

Fireworks!!!

My son LOVES them. He didn't care for them too much last year. They were too loud. Their grandpa on Joe's side has a firework stand. Brandon told him he wanted to attach a toy to a rocket and watch it fly up in the air. Boys! He ended up getting some free rockets to use. He discovered that the added weight made the rocket fly backward. Not a good thing. When it came back down the little man we attached was still in tact. I used little red firemen from the Dollar Tree so we could see it better. Brandon thought it was SO COOL!

Mmmmm....

As you can see, we had cooking class. Don't those tamales look good? See the look on Brandon's face? It had been a year since we made tamales. He was ready for them. Today they learned that it's a lot of hard work and takes all day, but the reward is oh so good.

The rocket there beside him is his new project. Hopefully we can fly it soon. It's been too windy.

Manic Monday

Well, this is homeschool. The kids were having a hard time getting it together. I couldn't get them to do anything. They love to play the "we're best friends" game. They don't hardly get along until it's time for school. I decided we would sit and read on the sofa. Jamie rolled her eyes while her brother rolled on the floor. They complained the whole time. We went outside, but then they started arguing. Huh! What to do! I finally decided they would work until 8pm. They didn't even have much to do. Some math, some language arts and some reading. It only took a couple of hours. You would've thought they were doing hours and hours of bookwork. Ha!

My Beautiful Flower

My daughter is like one. I remember when she was born and they put that tiny little baby in my arms. She weighed 5lbs 12ozs. She was like a tiny little bud on a stem. You watch that bud and daily feed and water it, then one day it opens. The color is so fresh and new, you can't help but admire it's beauty. You take care of it to make sure it lasts as long as possible. Carefully checking it for bugs or any kind of problem that may hinder it's life. It was so scary when I held her. All the things that went thru my mind. How was I going to help her grow into a beautiful flower? Seeing her grow into a beautiful girl has been exciting and difficult. Sometimes I don't know if I'm holding her back too much or not. She will be 12 in May. Somedays I look at her and see a beautiful young lady. As though her body is screaming it out to me. Then other days I look at her and something she does, maybe it's the way she laughs, reminds me of the little girl she still is. This weekend we attended a wedding. It was very sweet. I couldn't help but think that one day that may be my little girl. Taking the first dance with her husband, then the second dance with her daddy. Oh believe me I'm in no hurry. It's just that time seems to fly. There are so many things I wish I had more time for. Maybe even some do overs would be nice. Of course that's not going to happen. So I sit, take a deep breath and watch as my little bud begins to blossom...

What Am I Thinking?

No, really. What have I been thinking? I haven't posted because I didn't think I had anything important to say. Well, It's all important. As a homeschool mom, I have the most important job of my life. Surely the children aren't teaching themselves. I am the most important person in their life at this time. Like little owls perched on the rafters, they quietly watch my every move, hear my every word. Sounds scary, doesn't it? It's not enough to tell them what is expected of them in life. They want to know how I do it. How do I handle certain matters. For the rest of their lives, they will do things influenced by me. From how I answer the phone to how I wash the dishes. How I wake up to how and when I go to bed. I see these things when I see them walk around here each day. If I wake up in a bad mood, they begin their day in a bad mood. If I wake up with a smile in my face and a song in my heart, they do too. I see my beautiful children growing right before my eyes. Lately Brandon wakes early each day and walks into the living room and sits on the sofa. He gives a big hug and an I love you with one of those sleepy smiles and bed hair. He just turned 7, but he's still comfortable enough to come in his undies. He's still my baby. Yes, some days are good and some not so good. Today was one of those. The weather changed on us, so that may have been part of it. They just couldn't get it together enough to do much school. Oh they did some school anyway, but it took a few breaks and a nice walk around the block. The point is, even if this helps no one but myself, remember that they are always learning. Even if it is not straight from books. We are making memories. They are learning to love, be calm, and how not to stress out when things get hectic. Aren't all these social skills?

What Homeschool Is All About...

Today was a really nice day. I couldn't stand to be inside. After a little laundry, I decided to take the kids out of the house for some experiments. I took some video of the kids doing the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment. We will try this again tomorrow. It would be awesome to get some kind of measurement on how tall the geyser can get. Unfortunately I couldn't upload it to the blog.

Then I took video of them doing an experiment with a bottle of vinegar blowing up a balloon filled with baking soda.

Of course, afterward, Brandon walked around looking for things he could explode! Ha, ha!

Art Today

We did some art today. This is a part of Jamie's history lesson also. We studied about the patriot Patrick Henry. This year she is in A Child's Study of Famous Americans. As you can see Brandon participates in this class as well. I like that, it makes the class more fun and much easier to teach.

This is called silhouette art. You shine a light on your subject and trace their silhouette onto black paper then glue onto white. This form of art was mostly popular in the 18th Century.

The 1st picture is Jamie's artwork of me.














This is Brandon's artwork of me.














This next picture is one I did of Jamie.













I hope you can see the small picture. It is of Brandon. Notice his mouth is open. He says it is of him eating.













Hope you enjoyed my new post. I'm trying to have a lot more fun with the kids this year. They are both doing really well.

Late at night

This is the first attempt and I don't think I know what I'm doing. I have been inspired by a really good friend. I don't know if I can keep up with this, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I would love to keep an album of our life, so that I can go back and reflect on what has been most important. I love my family. I think keeping this journal will help me especially in those days when things are not so wonderful. I will post more tomorrow, but for tonight this is a start.