Mommy Jammies Night

When I started homeschooling back in August of 1999, the internet was, what I consider, still in the infancy stages of what it has grown into being today. No Facebook, no Instagram, no Twitter, no Skype! Today, there are so many resources available to help each one of us grow in our faith, find resources to be better wives and moms, and to encourages us on days when things just don’t seem to be going the way we planned.

In fact, I am excited to let you know about a wonderful opportunity you can take part in right from your own home next week…and you can attend wearing your jammies!

My friend Kendra is going to be the guest speaker for the upcoming Mommy Jammies Night on Tuesday, September 10th. She is going to be talking about the topic of Homeschooling in Times of Crisis. Here is her description of the workshop:

“Homeschooling in Times of Crisis- Illness, job loss, moving, death... Life is messy and unpredictable but God is never surprised at the trials we find ourselves facing. If your path to homeschooling seems particularly burdensome this year, come hear a fresh word of hope and grace, and leave encouraged that even during the hardest times, our children can learn some of the best lessons ever while growing up in our homes.”

Are you feeling burdened about the tasks you feel God has called you to this year? Join in next week, Tuesday, September 10th, for the Mommy Jammies Night and hear about the Hope that only He can give.

Capture Your 365

Clouds, rust, and workout clothes – that sums up my week of photos for you, so here they are:

extraordinary in the ordinary

ISO 200, 50mm, f/6.3, 1/2500 sec

Day 237 – Extraordinary In The Ordinary: I don’t know about you, but there is something special about a beautiful cloud filled sky in the summer time. Have you ever just sat and watched the clouds go by and tried to imagine what the different shapes could be? We can so easily miss this simple things in our day when we are too busy moving from one thing to the next. I know many of us have a lot we need to accomplish each day, but I hope you take time to stop and be thankful for all that God has created for us to enjoy.

rust

ISO 400, 50mm, f/4.5, 1/250 sec

Day 240 – Rust: When I first saw the prompt for this day, I have to admit, I wasn’t too excited about it. I mean, really, rust? How exciting can that be? But I decided to poke around my backyard to see if I could even find anything that had rust on it. Then I remembered! The windows in my beach backyard retreat probably had some rust on them. Bingo! And bokeh! I guess this just goes to show me that even something as simple as rust can make a great photo.

fashion statement

ISO 800, 26mm, f/4.2, 1/30 sec

Day 241 – Fashion Statement: So you won’t see me walking around at a fashion show wearing this get up, but this is what I wear three times a week when I go out for my morning walk. An old Disney California Adventure T-shirt, cut off sweats, sneakers, and my iPhone. I take along my iPhone to keep track of my time and distance using MapMyWalk, and I listen to my walking station on Pandora. Fashionable? No. Comfortable? Yes!

The Capture Your 365 Challenge is a great way to capture everyday moments in your life. Won’t you join me?

Photo Treasure Hunt!

Did you notice the new blog button on the side bar of my blog?

I am really excited to tell you that my blogging friend Jill has asked me to co-host a fun photo adventure that we hope you will enjoy and join in with us!

Each week on Tuesday, we will announce on our blogs a new photo theme for the week. Then for the next week, as you go about your day, be on the look out for items that fit the theme and take pictures of them. Use your smart phone, iPod, DSLR, whatever camera you have available. Be creative as you want to be! Then next week, post your photos on your own blog, then come back and link-up with us so we can all enjoy the photos from the last week. Once we have the link-up, be sure to visit some of the other bloggers, leave comments on their blogs, and encourage them as we all go on this Photo Treasure Hunt together!

Are you ready for the theme? Green!!

So go, take those photos, then join me and Jill next week on Tuesday, September 10th to share your blog post of photos with us!

P.S. And a big thank you to my husband who created the blog button for us!

Compassion Blog Month is Back!

Just a reminder to sign up for the Compassion Bloggers Network to join in the goal of seeing 3,160 children sponsored this month! You can read more about what is going to be happening this month on the Compassion blog. Weekly writing assignments will be sent out starting Tuesday, September 3rd, so don’t wait to sign up!

Our Homeschool Plan 2013-2014

This past week has been our last week of summer vacation since we plan to start our homeschool year on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day. Many of our friends have already started school for this year, but neither one of us were ready to start quite yet.

Here is what we will be using this year:

• Exploring Creation with General Science – I was able to find an older edition for $10! Kelsey is looking forward to the many experiments in this book.
• What on Earth Can I Do? – I went through the previous three books in this series with both kids and have been waiting for this fourth book!
• Mystery of History II – This will be our second time through this one. I will be assigning different activities for Kelsey this time through.
• Artistic Pursuits – Matthew went through a couple of these and I still had them on hand, wondering if Kelsey might like to try them.
• Language Lessons for the Secondary Child – These books fit well with our homeschool style
• Write with World – This is a new addition this year thanks to my friend Kendra for recommending it! I know we have been a little weak with creative writing, but I wanted something that wasn’t so structured and something that would challenge Kelsey in her writing. I am hoping this will be a good fit for us.
• Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra – Another saved from years ago when Matthew was at this point. Unfortunately we have the older version, but we have really enjoyed these books!
• PE – Kelsey really enjoys using our Wii Fit for her exercising, so she will be working in at least 3 mornings a week to her schedule.
• Drama – This is the big new addition to our schedule this year! From mid-September until almost the end of March, we will be driving out of town once a week for a 2-3 hour drama class. Kelsey is really exciting about this! The class will be learning the ins and outs of what it takes to put on a performance, as well as a Bible devotion at the beginning of each class and learning to stick to your Christian principles if they continue down this path. They will be performing ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ in the spring.

At this point, the plan is for me to go through ‘What on Earth Can I Do?’ and ‘Mystery of History’ with Kelsey, the other subjects and books, she will be working through on her own. We will probably sit down together on Tuesday and ‘plan out’ how much work she should do each week. This is one of the benefits of having an older student, they start taking on more of the responsibilities of setting their schedule and making time to get their work done.

Are you ready for your homeschool year?