Caroline scored a goal today! (Saturday)

I got to spend some time with Josh today (SATURDAY).  All by ourselves.  We talked.  It was so nice!  I took him to Cabela's. 

Caroline scored a goal today!  I actually had my camera out and turned on, but I was watching the play and didn't get a picture!  I took a few pics at her game and then the battery ran out.

"Am I just a widdle big Mom?"

 Levi is so excited about the Oktoberfest on post this weekend.  The other night when he was going to bed he said, "What time does the Oktoberfest start?"  He wants to go on the swing ride that he saw them putting up, but I said it might be for bigger people. He really wants to go on it and today he said, "Am I just a widdle big Mom?"  Too cute.

We had speech class today.  Sophia, Jesse and Caroline all had to memorize a poem or Bible verse and recite it today.  I didn't see any of them doing it, but it went well for all of them.   After the kids recite, the other kids critique them-  what they did well and what they can improve on.  We meet in a church about 40 minutes away.

Here's a few pics.....

See Jesse in the back by the orange bag?

See Sophia in the back?

The teen class...Luke and Josh laughing.

Teens teach the teens...

The San Antonio Group

Luke, Josh, Caroline, Olivia and Aislyn

Today's Bible Study:

Gen 45-46
Israel (Jacob) sets out to go to Egypt. This is the beginning of the

time that Israel dwells in the land of Egypt. The sons and families

of Jacob prospered in Egypt for many years; however, we read in

Exodus, that they eventually became slaves to the Egyptians. God

will hear the cries of his people and, again, deliver them gloriously.

God takes care of His people. God works all things together for

good to those who love Him.

Gen 46:1-6

Jacob, who is also called Israel, headed to Egypt with his family. He

made a sacrifice to God, and God spoke to Jacob in a vision. God

gave Jacob the promise that he would make a great nation of Jacob

in Egypt. God also promised he would bring the nation back again.

(This promise, the exodus, would be fulfilled 400 years later.)

Sometimes, God asks us to do new and difficult things, but He

promises to be with us, to guide us, and to provide for us. God

works all things together for good to those who love Him.

GENES 46:31-34

Joseph and his father’s family were all shepherds. The Egyptians

did not respect shepherds, but Joseph made sure that the

Egyptians knew his family tended sheep. This allowed Joseph’s

family to live apart from the Egyptians and establish themselves as

a separate nation, just as God had promised to make of them. They

maintained a separate identity and did not become like the

Egyptians.

Gen 50:15-21

It is amazing how that God can turn the things that were meant for

evil into things that are good. If we go through a difficult time, we

can be confident, God will turn things meant for evil to things that

are good for us too! Romans 8:31 declares, “If God is for us, who

can be against us? We can give Him all our cares and trust Him. If

we have Joseph’s attitude and realize that God is working for good

in our lives, we will not be bitter about our circumstances. God

works all things together for good to those who love Him.

Coping through not cooking...

 Below is an article by Lee Binz about not cooking.  I don't like to cook.   Baking, I like, but not cooking the mundane meals 2-3 times a day. 

But before I get to the article, I want to mention that the kids, Darby and I (minus Luke and Josh) went for a walk this morning.  It was so nice.  Sophia and Levi, mostly Sophia, picked some wild flowers.

Aren't they beautiful?!  They smell great too!

Coping through not cooking, by Lee Binz
One of the difficult parts of homeschooling is not the schooling itself.  It’s the “home” part.  The part where we cook, clean, maintain, organize, and sort our lives.  Balancing home and schooling is the hard part.  Relatively speaking, the school part isn’t that tough!

(Not our dinner table)

When I was homeschooling, one way that I coped was by cooking as little as possible.  Don’t get me wrong, I like cooking, and my family has always loved the meals I provide.  We ate every meal together as a family, at the dining table every night.  Still, my goal was to cook as little as possible.

Freezer cooking, cooking in large quantities less frequently, became a standard.  Although I didn’t cook as little as once a month, as many books suggest, I did do large-batch cooking every few weeks.  It really helped me feed my wonderful family while cooking less often.
If you are interested in freezer cooking, my favorite books are these:

• The Freezer Cooking Manual from 30 Day Gourmet
• Holiday Freezer Cooking from 30 Day Gourmet

There were simple and straight-forward, nothing fancy, and they provided great instruction on how to take my regular home-cooking and adapt it for freezer cooking.  If you get the books, you could almost plan your entire holiday meal ahead of time, and have a much more relaxed family celebration!
My other method for cooking less has become a standard household joke around here.  Costco.  I relied on Costco.  Costco lasagna, salad mixes…  See, I’m not too embarrassed to confess it!  I’m really being brutally honest here! My best meals have come from Costco!  Especially as the kids got older, and their activities took us away from home more often, I began to rely heavily on Costco meals.  Sadly, I can’t do that as much anymore.  You’re not going to believe this, but when you don’t have children at home, it’s possible for the Costco-sized chicken to get a freezer burn before you can use it up.  I’m not kidding.
My children are cooking for themselves in college now.  They regularly shop at Costco.  They put meals in the freezer at the beginning of the week.  They can cook for themselves AND make stellar grades, because they have learned to cook as little as possible too!
My apologies to all my friends who grind their own wheat and cook organic all the time.  I hope you’ll still love me!

Luke went to public school today....to take his PSAT.

Luke was able to take his PSAT at the local public school.  I found out recently that it cost half as much to take it at the public school than it would have at a local homeschool organization.  One of the neighbors called last night and offered to give him ride- that was thoughtful and very helpful. 

Here are some extras that we are doing today:
1000 go to Legal Office to get something notorized
1200 Pick up Luke from PSAT
1230 Josh piano lesson at our house
2:00-3:00 Caroline- horse lesson.  It's now a private lesson because there is nobody else in her class.  She jumped (over a wooden jump) today!  She was very excited.
3:00-5:00 or so, Luke works at the Commissary.  He rides his bike there and back.
4:00-5:00- Sophia is taking her gymnastic class today instead of tomorrow because tomorrow we are going to serve dinner with our church at the Fort Sam Warrior Family Support Center
Soccer practices...
Caroline 6pm-7:30pm, Josh 610-7:40 PM and Luke 7:30-9:00 PM

Well, Levi hit send while I was still typing, so I guess I'll just edit a smidgen and then post this.

Our classes 2011-2012

Here is a list of what the kids are doing for school this year. 

2011-2012 School Plan

Luke10th grade

Logic (Memoria Press) (fall)

History (Tapestry of Grace/TOG) 

Literature (TOG) 

Robotics (Landry Academy) (spring) 

Exercise Physiology/Sports Med (Landry Academy) (Fall)               

German 2  (Oklahoma State University)   

Algebra 2 (Teaching Textbooks)                                                           

English- grammar (Analytical Grammar, literature and IEW writing) Bible                                                                                                   

Speech                                                                

Fine Arts (choir)                                                                                               

Latin 1 (spring?)
Hopefully he will CLEP biology

Josh 8th or 9th grade

Logic (Memoria Press) (fall)   (high school)

          (spring)  (high school)

Literature online TOG  (high school)

History online TOG (high school)

Spanish (The Potter's School)  (high school)

Alg 1 (Teaching Textbooks) (high school class)

Physical Science (Apologia) (High school class)

English (Grammar, writing, literature)(high school)

Typing

Bible- (high school)

Piano- (high school)

Speech- (high school) 

Latin online (high school- independent study) May start in the spring?

(All of Josh's classes that have "high school" after them, are classes that can count toward his high school courses.)

* Summer 2012 Josh and Luke will attend a one week camp in Colorado with the Homeschool Legal Defense Association for one high school Government credit. 

Caroline 6th grade

German (Landry Academy) (Fall) 

Science- finish Sonlight science and then do Apologia Land Animals

Math- (Math-U-See Decimals)

Writing (Institute for Excellence in Writing)

Grammar-Analytical Grammar JR.

Literature- Tapestry of Grace Year 2

History – Tapestry of Grace Year 2  (Using Story of the World as the spine)
Spelling- Excellence in Spelling

Bible

Typing

Speech- 8 week beginning speech class with ACTION 

First Form Latin  (Spring)?

Jesse 4th or 5th grade

Science- Rod and Staff 4

Math- Teaching Textbooks

Writing (Institute for Excellence in Writing)

Grammar- Analytical Grammar

Literature- Tapestry of Grace Year 2

History – Tapestry of Grace Year 2 (Using Story of the World as the spine)

Spelling- Excellence in Spelling

Bible

Cursive 

Typing

Robotics coop class.  We go on Tuesday mornings and I take Levi and Sophia and do some school with Sophia while Levi runs around.

Speech- 8 week beginning speech class

First Form Latin (Maybe in the spring....)?

Sophia 2nd grade

Math (Math-U-See)

Reading lesson- Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading. Finishing the book.

Spelling- Spelling Workout B

Printing- Handwriting Without Tears

Bible

Language (First Language Lessons)

Science (Rod and Staff 2)

Literature- TOG Year 2

History-  Tapestry of Grace Year 2 (Using Story of the World as the spine)

Read alone

Speech- 8 week beginning speech class

First Form Latin (Maybe in the spring....)?

Levi....unschooled and learning Bible, times tables with Jesse,  history, art, colors, counting, abcs...