Saturday, September 29, 2007

Sierra Leone Freetown

As some of you know, my son went to Africa this summer with a missions organization called COTN. He had the trip of his life. I'm posting this little bit of information about COTN and their mission. God is truly working through COTN and changing the lives of many children.

We will post pictures soon of his trip. I want him to write a little about his experience first. Here is a video of the work that COTN does for the children of Sierra Leone.


Recovering from ten years of civil war, the children of Sierra Leone were the hardest hit by this internal conflict. Hundreds of thousands of people were slaughtered, leaving an estimated 10,000 children orphaned and unaccompanied in the late 1990s. Today, the infant mortality rate (the percentage of children that die before they reach five years of age) of Sierra Leone is the highest in the world (2006 UNICEF report). This statistic reflects the shortage of important infrastructure like hospitals, educational institutions, agricultural development, and economic development that is needed for the stability and improvement of conditions for children.


Thursday, September 27, 2007

Nature Study - post by one child policy

If you have a desire to implement Nature study into your home school/life routine... then I encourage you to go over to One Child Policy's blog!

Her post truly inspired me just now! I wont post what she wrote... Its better you read it for yourself.... but I just had to share....

She really hits the nail on the head! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

Peace~

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Wordless Wednesday

UP.....


UP!

AND AWAY!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Im late, Im late, Im late for an important update!



Our week 5 was light... wonderfully light!We had a great week in review and basics.*Ü*


I realized in my last few posts I keep forgetting to mention our daily bible study. We are using Explorers bible study again this year. It has something scheduled out daily.....it gives us our passage to read through, we find our answers in that passage.... memory verses to memorize for the week, cultural notes and maps too. It reminds me a lot of BSF ( bible study fellowship) minus the fellowship with others. We are in a season right now that allows us zero time for it... so this is a great sub.

Christian is moving through Faith at Work: Romans, Galatians, & James RyLee is moving through Promises Fulfilled: Luke & Acts. I was only going through it with RyLee, but Christian asked if I would go through hers with her too... so she agreed to wake up 30 minutes earlier and we are spending that time together. I LOVE it!

I was touched she wanted to have that time with mom..... and it has blessed me every morning to hear her say, "I'm ready when you are mom". I cant tell you how cool this time has been and some of the wonderful conversations we have had. It has brought us closer and I'm thankful. The last few years have been a bit of a struggle for her and I'm just overjoyed with her heart turn around! ( a mother has no greater joy than to see her child walk in truth ... paraphrase)

Math and history were daily... along with literature. Christian finished up Oliver Twist and we all studied the Industrial revolution! RyLee has not finished her lit... so we are working on that in the evenings now as a read aloud and she has moved on.

Science we completed lesson 2 (we were just a tad behind in an activity *Ü*) and completed lesson 3. no pictures.... but will take them for next week of her live and learn folds. May I add... on a side note, that these live and learn folds have been great review for both girls. The reading is broken up into bite size pieces that is manageable. They are a perfect fit!

Spanish is a hit! RyLee is struggling a bit, but she is hanging on for the ride. I realy love The Easy Spanish. Im thinking it is too much for Ry though and have been considering the Jr book... but it seems to young.... so we will stick to what we have and work extra hard with her.

I began Latin Last week... do not ask why... cause I do not have a real answer... but my KS Lee inspired me. Im still on lesson 1 and 2... but making progress. I wish I would have done it "with " Christian last year. Im sure she would have kept going.

Timeline was neglected this week as well as geography! Not to broken up about it. *Ü* The timeline will be easy to fit in as a unit review and add them in then.... and the map will not be missed. We did look at our atless... just no actual map work.

Analytical grammar and JAG are huge hits with me! We began our first week and I am sorry I didn't know about this sooner! It truly is a multi sensory approach. It is at this moment, my favorite purchase so far... and in light of its cost... was worth it. *Ü* Big thumbs up here.

Lest see.. what else.... oh yes... Tuesday we took the entire day off! We traveled to Seattle for the day. Rode the monorail, saw High School musical the play at the Seattle Children's theater and went to the Seattle science center.... twice! *Ü*
We love our days in Seattle. Its a great break and gets us out of the woods!

This week, the girls are finishing up their reports on Chopin and Beethoven. We will begin our lap book from Homeschool in the woods on Thursday and take as long as we need to to complete. We are reviewing the Constitution and the beginnings of the Supreme court (and gearing up early for Lewis and Clark using live and Learn press folds.)

The girls have been good about getting up... ok well not RyLee *Ü* I think she would sleep all day if I let her.... and she has done school in her jammie's so far this week (Monday and Tuesday) and Chris is relaxing in her comfy close too today.

That's about all I can remember.... so until we finish this week... this is Koinonia Academy signing off....

ok... one more thats a favorite! Pumpkin Torte

My friend Mo (whom I think of every time I make this) was the one to get our family hooked on this wonderful fall treat! It really is a favorite! You will not be dissapointed at all and its easy to make. Great for church pot lucks too!


Pumpkin Torte w/ homemade whipping cream YUMMY!

Ingrediants:

1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
5 large eggs
1 tbl vanilla
1 20 oz can pumpkin
2 cans evaporated milk
1 box yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cubes butter softened

heat over to 350

combine sugar, salt, cinn, ginger, cloves. Add eggs, vanilla, pumpkin, and milk and mix thoroughly. Pour into greased 9x12 pan and set aside.

In a separate bowl mix the box of yellow cake mix with the butter only. don't make the cake. Only mix the yellow cake mix and the butter enough to make clumps and then crumble it onto the top of the pumpkin mixture.

Bake for 1 hr and check with a knife. Add 10-15 min if needed. Cool and leave in pan. eat warm or cold.



Homemade whipping cream

heavy whipping cream
1-2 vanilla or other flavor
1-6 tsp sugar

mix the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar to taste. And whip with a hand help mixer until fluffy. It take 5-7 min. or longer. Don't plan to make it in advance as whipped cream falls apart. You can make it a couple of hours in advance and keep in the fridge. But it is worth it to make fresh. So delicious. Other flavors to try are almond or peppermint.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Friendship Bread

I love this bread! Its also known as Amish bread. It is my all time favorite bread to make in the fall and winter months. It takes a little bit of time... but its always worth the wait! I'm not sure who's recipe this is, so I cant give them credit.... but we all love it!

First things first:

Do not use metal bowls, or spoons.
Do not refrigerate.
If air gets into the bag, let it out.
It is normal for batter to thicken and ferment.

Directions:

1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Place all 3 ingredients into zip lock plastic bag. Gallon size is good. Squeeze the bad (make sure its closed) and mix the 3 ingredients good. then let it sit. No touchy.

Day 2-5 Squeeze the bag several times.

Day 6 Add to bag; 1 cup each flour, milk and sugar. Squeeze to mix.

Day 7- 9 Squeeze bag several times.

Day 10 Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic zip lock baggies. Give one cup and a copy of this recipe to three friends. To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.



1 cup oil
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp Baking soda
3 eggs
1 large box of vanilla instant pudding
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 325. Grease 2 loaf pans well or you can use 1 bunt pan and sprinkle the bottom of what ever you use with Cinnamon and sugar before pouring the batter in. Pour in batter in and bake for 1 hour or until done and enjoy!

You can also keep the extre starters and just make extra loves and give them as gifts!

Wild Cats in the House! Woooh! Take 2


Tuesday was a great day for Koinonia Academy! We woke at o stupid early to catch an early ferry boat ride over to Seattle.

Why did we travel to Seattle on Tuesday morning at o stupid early you ask? To go to our first play of the season at the Seattle Children's Theater!!!

You will never guess in a bazillion years what the first play was!? ok... maybe you will. I think my title gave it away. *Ü* It was High School musical!!! (gasp!)

We LOVE SCT!! We have yet to be disappointed with a play. Well, ok..I take that back. We were disappointed with one.... it was Susical the Musical. It had way to many innuendos in it, and since it was supposed to geared towards children.... I was a little bent, but other than that... we have been going for 3 or 4 years now and we just love them!

Favorites to date: The red badge of courage, The devil and Danile Webster and The secret Garden. Thats only a few! A few we look forward to this season: The BFG ( Big Friendly Giant), Hamlet and The never ending story.

We were not allowed to take photos at all in the play, so we have nothing to show you. We did however go to the Seattle Science center after the play. We went inside the science center and watched an IMAX movie on whales. I'm hoping we can get back next month and see the Lewis and Clark Imax film before its gone! I love these films! They are so large and exciting to watch.




The girls had a good time running around the Science Center. Mostly just goofing to kill time. We already went to the dinosaur exhibit over the summer.... so there really wasn't a lot that was new to see.




The girls made giant bubbles, looked at different cells through microscopes, pretended to be a weather forecaster for Channel 5 news and goofed around with the shadow wall.

Its time and money well spent. We spend the day in Seattle, taking a break from all routines. Enjoyable entertainment and West lake Center Mall!!! We have fun window shopping. The girls love to take the monorail from the City Center to the Mall. Then we either walk down or catch a city bus to the ferry. Oh and the Seattle bus system is an adventure all its own!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Invisible Moms by Nicole Johnson

I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response,
the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the
phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't
you see I'm on the phone?"

Obviously not. No one can see if I am on the phone, or cooking, or
sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner,
because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more:
Can you fix this?
Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm
a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer,
What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right
around 5:30,
please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the
eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum
laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to
be seen again.

She's going - she's going - she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return
of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a
fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she
stayed in. I was
sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so
well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I
looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could
find that was clean.

My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I
could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty
pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped
package, and said, "I brought you this."

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly
sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To
Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building
when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would
discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after
which I could pattern my work:

* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record
of their names.

* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never
see finished.

* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of
their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw
everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit
the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving
a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the
man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a
beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And
the workman
replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It
was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you,
Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one
around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've
sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and
smile over. You are
building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it
will become.



At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a
disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of
my own self- centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn
pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great
builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will
never see finished, to work
on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals
could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people
willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend
he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at
4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a
turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table."
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just
want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more
to say to his friend, to add, "You're going to love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if
we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the
world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty
that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Week 3 and 4 combined! Finally!





An update from weekly reporter Koinonia Academy..... this just in...

lol... Just kidding....

We are combining a few weeks.... I have few pictures do to time issues.... it was enough just to get the work done..... So I will begin by saying.....

hola, amiga mias! (Hello my friends!)

We began Spanish in week 4. (Last week) The girls had a good time! They kept the Spanish/English dictionary with them all week, making up sentences and writing them out. It was all them....non me.... they were just "playing" and having a good time with it.



They would wheel this thing all over the house to show us all ( mom, dad and brother) things they wrote. I love that my 15 year old is still willing to "play' and just have a good time with learning.... it comes so much easier for them when a passion or enjoyment comes from it.... doesn't it?



The girls have a memory verse and will practice it over 2 weeks. It is

Ecclesiastes 3:11 Todo lo hizo hermoso

So basically it is; He has made all things beautiful. They will practice this for 2 weeks along with many other things to memorize. I just like that they add scripture!

I am enjoying The Esy Spanish. I think this will be a perfect fit for us.... going over things almost every day, repeatedly will be a big bonus in the long run. Big thumbs up for The Easy Spanish!

(Oh Jessica.... in 2 years Christian wants to add French!!! I kept everything.... so here is to getting that in too! )

Tapestry of grace:

We have been enjoying the pace of year 3 so far! We have also enjoyed learning about Napoleon Bonaparte 1 these last 2 weeks.... We have read many books and watched a great film done by A&E. It was called Napoleon and it was 480 minutes! Yikes! It was great though... right up there with Pride and Prejudice.

Some of the books read were

1. The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier, by Jakob Walter. This was an excellent book and an amazing account from a soldiers perspective of the battles and wars. This is an actual diary of a foot soldier and it is rare to have such accountability and retelling from an average person.... normally we only here form the Generals or admirals right? Thumbs up!

2. Whats the deal? Jefferson, Napoleon and the Louisiana purchase, by Rhoda Blumberg
This was also an enjoyable read, not to dry and loaded with facts and great pictures.

3. The gift of music by Jane Smith and Betty Carlson. WE read a little about Beethove, Chopin, and Vivaldi.

4. Napoleon and the Battle of Waterloo, by Frances Winwar. I love Lanmark books! This was one form my personal collection and copyrighted in 1954. I love the older books..... it was a great story and also helped us make a few more connections in other readings online. It tied things in well I guess you could say!

Literature:

Christian has been reading ( Listening too) Oliver Twist. This is to be read over 3 weeks. Next week it will be done. We borrowed this from the library on cd and she has been listening to it. We also downloaded the movie from 1986 and we have been watching it "after" she listens to the book. It has been very accurate so far! Sometimes word for word! I love that netflix allows you to download a movie each month.... so I don't have to wait for ever for it to arrive if others have the movie out! Great home school plus!

RyLee read Benjamin West and his cat Grimalkin for week 3 and 5 little peppers and how they grew for week 4. 5 little peppers will be done next week. It was to be covered in 2 weeks.

Fine arts:

We enjoyed learning about Vivaldi in week 3. Christian loved it! She even downloaded the cd I had onto her Ipod. Gasp! *Ü* WE also covered Baroque music and artists from the Romantic era. Including Beethoven and Chopin.

Week 4 we learned about dress and what people did during the Napoleonic era. Entertainment etc. We used the TOG website for most of this information, and the girls are working on a little project right now about this. We will post pictures when it is finished.

Geography:

The girls labeled wars/battles for Napoleon, and also labeled maps for artists of the Romantic era. Here is Rylees map of Napoleons battles... I'm not sure what happened to the pictures of Christians maps and Rylees other one... but here is one of them *Ü*



The girls also filled in their timeline books. We will take pictures of that next week. *Ü*

is this getting long or what?

Biology! Module 1 finished! Yeah Christian! She is taking the test as I type.... but she is done! It was a bit hard on her at first.... over 28 vocabulary words.... so we took a little more time than we should have....









RyLee has finished her week 2 lesson 2 in Science. I have no pictures this week... but we learned about the Sun. She also watched a few videos. Moody Science video we have called Journeys to the Edge of Creation: Includes: Our Solar System and The Milky Way and Beyond. I know its not about the sun.... but it did talk about it some. *Ü* Thy were great! She also used her Happy Scribe for Astronomy.....

Math both girls are doing well. RyLee is moving along... she might get 1 wrong and its normally a silly mistake. We are picking up her pace a bit and doing 7 lessons a week. I think she can do it. If she begins to struggle, I will slow it down. Christian is moving along too in TT. This is still by far the best math program for her! She is thriving with it. I love that!

Writing will be done next week. They are both writing a report on an artist form the Romantic era. Christian Chopin and RyLee Beethoven.

I'm forgetting something and I cant remember.... what it is... but that's our weekly ( 2 weeks) report!

So this is Koinonia Academy signing off... till next week *Ü*

PS!

The chart stand was bought from discount school supply store online. I found it form who else... our Jessica at Trivium Academys blog! She is such a resourceful gal! We love our chart stand and has been a great tool for our writing, grammar and Spanish lessons. Big thumbs up!!

http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=3573

Seaside Oregon Weekend getaway!

Last Friday we were able to sneak away for the weekend to Seaside Oregon. What a wonderful time! I wish we could have more weekends like this! *Ü*

We left early on Friday and took our time traveling down ( South on ) hwy 101. I love 101! It is such a beautiful drive!

On our way down,we stopped at antique shops and had a nice lunch. We took our time.... I wanted to stop at Ft. Stevens State park while we were traveling South.... across the road from the park they have a wonderful KOA camp site with cabins you can rent.

My reason for stopping is because we are coming up to Lewis and Clark in history.... Fort Clatsop is very close to Seaside and Fort Stevens. I want to take the kids back to the fort and some of the Oregon trail then.












Now Seaside is only about 8 miles from Ft. Stevens.... so we were their in minutes..... Its a small little town.... if you drive straight through and blink.... you might just miss it! lol


Our hotel was right on the beach.... 3rd floor ocean side!

This is to the left....








While we were their, Seaside hosts an annual classic car show! So my husband was in heaven! We have an old... rusty, beat up... 54 Mercury woody wagon. It is my husbands hope to restore it some day. Me too. Its a fun looking old car, and even though it looks scary.... our family loves to drive around in it!

In fact.. here is picture of my girls hanging out with mom and dad about a month ago.

ok.. whats up with the lips?? I noticed since we had the basque student and over that month... not one girl took a normal picture.... you know... smile for the camera. Now its poochy lips and peace signs..... sigh... goofy kids...

ok.. back to the weekend....

One of my all time favorite cars is a 55 Chevy nomad wagon. I prefer the 4 door, but hard to find. If I could have a dream car.... this would be it! I love it.... The show did have a few. My favorite one was yellow.









*Ü* I think we only saw 3.... but the one I really enjoyed seeing was the actual nomad that was used in the sitcom Home improvement with Tim Allen. I love that show!

In earlier seasons, Jill his wife had a 55 nomad, red and pretty... until that is Tim got a hold of it, took it to the job site and a huge beam fell on it crushing it. Well come to find out this weekend, it wasn't a real nomad at all. In fact, it was just a plain car that they spent a ton of $$ on making it look like a nomad!

Here is the actual car used for many seasons in the show.... and come to find out... these folks are from Eastern Washington... who knew?






Seaside also had a kite contest. I have never in my life seen such large kites up close! My favorite was Nemo.





This is not trick photography! It was really that big! I instantly thought of my kids the first time all weekend when I saw the kites. They would have enjoyed it.

We had a wonderful time and we decided to make this a new annual event. The only difference for next year.... we bring the kids. *Ü*

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

My new look.... its an extreme blog makeover!

I just have to say thank you real fast like to Darcy....

She was a doll and helped me with my new look! It has 3 columns! Yeah! I will be adding in all my links soon... and I have other posts waiting to be posted.....

But I could not move on till I said thank you to My friend Darcy..... and my friend Jessica... who made my other header that is now gone. :( I loved it too... and what a gem to surprise me like she did!

Much love to my kindred Spirits friends....

Thursday, September 6, 2007

My new header!!!!

I love my new header!! My friend Jessica Trivium Academy created it for me.

I have no knowledge of this type of stuff.... I am a wanna be techno person.... Poser if you will! lol I'm so impressed.... Just wanted to send a BIG thank you to Jessica.... this was a wonderful surprise this morning.....

You made my day!

Monday, September 3, 2007

Homeschool in the woods Amy Pak

I have to say.... I am impressed and Blessed with Amy Pak from Homeschool in the Woods. Not only has she created useful, purposeful products... she has the integrity to back it up.

I emailed her this morning asking about the difference in the timeline figure cds she has... I have the 04 version and was sharing with a friend about the cd I have. I realized that a newer version was out and I thought I would ask the difference...so I emailed Amy and asked.

Her reply was fast and above what I expected! Truly a generous woman! Now, this is not the only reason I am so impressed.... this is just a little....Let me tell you one of the biggest reasons she blows me away.

I was blessed to participate in a wonderful event to help support Kate and her family from Hands and Hearts. You donated XYZ and then were blessed with products from ABand C. *Ü* One of the products that were part of the deal was Amys art pack When I printed it out and began reading it, I noticed through out the entire pack, she gave credit to the term Lap Book to Tobin's lab. She honored and respected the hard work and time vested in "lap books" that Tobin's lab began. It was her respect and honoring of Tobin's lab that blew me away. This meant a lot to me, as another company recently was trying to trademark the term Lap book for themselves. That was disheartening to say the least. Amy and her family however blessed me by honoring Tobin's labs work and showing respect to their fellow businessman.

Amy's products and her integrity has been a breath of fresh air in a market where greed could easily take over.... the home school market is a "hot" market and she and her family have shown me they are a family and a company with integrity. I value that.

I recently purchased her American Revolution cd and love it. I was hoping to get it in time to add a little more to our TOG study, but it did not arive in time. :( So on the shelf it sits...

However, I'm sure I will buy the other she has to date, Explorers and Colonial America. I can see from the Revolution cd we will be able to add these to our TOG study. Well, once we get back around in history!


I don't use her products exclusively. I use Tapestry of grace dominantly for our home school, but we do use her timeline figures and we will use her art pack this year at some point. My point in the post was not so much an advertisement, as it was to honor a reputable company, who just so happens to have excellent products! *Ü*

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Week 2 summary... sort a *Ü*

Well we ended week 2 yesterday, Friday the 31st. *Ü* It was a good week overall.... We did not complete what I wanted or originally intended... but RyLee happened on Sunday, and it changed the first few days of our week... poor kid..

Because of Miss RyLees finger nail extraction incident.... I allowed her to take it easy this week... Monday and Tuesday especially...

Monday was her 11th birthday! I planned on a half day for her... but in light of you know what...she had the entire day off.... Tuesday too....

Monday evening we had some family over for dinner and cake..... I made Paula Deens fried chicken... RyLees request with mash taders and peas. *Ü* although its Paula Deens recipe. RyLee calls it grampas recipe because he makes it so good..... I don't do to bad myself.... but, grampa always gets the credit....

Tuesday and the rest of the week was still pretty easy... I decided we would just cover History, Literature, bible and math this week.... No science, no projects, crafts or timelines either...

What we did cover was Robert Fulton the inventor, President Adams and his presidency, Baroque Music, and the French Revolution...... along with a compare and contrast to the American/French Revolution ( I learned this week that the American Revolution was really more a Reformation... as it truly was not a revolution like the French's bloody violent uproar. It was a good week over all... I lead history again this week in co-op and I learned a ton.... Chris too. *Ü*

Christian and I both really enjoyed watching a series on American history from The teaching company.... It was High School Level—Early American History: Native Americans through the Forty-Niners. I bought them at a used curriculum sale this year for $40.00 it was a great deal! The teacher was engaging and it kept Christians attention too. It was a wise investment.I also printed her out a great ven diagram from my writing aids cd that came last week... Christan used it for her compare and contrast of the wars.... it worked wonderful for her.... ( an example of what it looked like will be in the pictures below).


Rylee and I cuddled a lot and read... she read on her own... but she pretty much flopped like a fish all week... well a dead fish, because she wasn't moving much....

The girls may have taken a break from science but I did not.... I found 3 sets of dvds from The teaching company at Goodwill a few weeks ago. The one I have been watching is called Understanding the Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy, 2nd Edition part 1. Each part has 2 dvds and it is a 5 part series. I have been thrilled with it so far. They were to good a deal to pass up.... under $40.00 for all 5 parts. Did I mention I LOVE Goodwill shopping!

Next week is a new week... if we can all stay healthy... keep our fingers out of heavy doors....I think we will have a great 3rd week! I want to add more LA... and..... I am contemplating Spanish... its a week sooner than I intended to begin... we shall see what Monday brings!

I threw in a couple pictures of my stick bugs... cause I could! *Ü*