Homeschool Memoirs #22

Over at The Homeschool Post they are hosting a weekly meme, I've not been very good about participating but I am hoping to improve that here in 2009. Please come visit this week's Homeschool Memoirs and join the fun by describing yourself with the ABCs



A - Argentina (I lived there for 3 years as a child)
B - Bonita (the horse we owned when I was a little girl)
C - Coffee Coffee Coffee!
D - Daughter (I'm a daughter and I have 2 daughters)
E - Eggs (one of my favorite foods)
F - Flying (as in an airplane, I love to travel)
G - GOD (I server an awesome God)
H - Heather, thats me!
I - Internet (I certainly use the internet a lot)
J - Jelly Beans (yummm)
K - Kisses (just love those kisses from my kids)
L - Licorice (yummmy)
M - Mom ... I love being a mom!
N - Nice (its very important to be nice)
O - Outdoors (I so enjoy all the wonders God has created in the great outdoors)
P - People, I really am an people person
Q - Quilt, I love the quilts my grandma has made for me
R - Respectful
S - Snow! I love snow
T - Tea
U - United States Navy ... Go Navy!
V - Visit (please visit my daught's ABC list)
W - Warm Water (my favorite way to relax is n Warm Water)
X - Xray, my poor little baby needed a chest xray this
week (absolutly no fun at all!)
Y - Yellow (my favorite blanket is yellow)
Z - Zoo (sometimes I feel like I live in the Zoo! LOL)

Homeschool Memoirs #10

Please come join us for Homeschool Memoirs over at www.homeschoolblogawards.com

This is our 10th Homeschool Memoirs so this week it’s going to be about 10 timely facts about you! Write 10 interesting, crazy, weird, fun facts about you! Include facts about you as a woman, a wife, a mommy, a homeschooler, a homekeeper, a taxi-driver, a cook, etc


1.I love having 5 kids

2.We love snow

3.We love to travel

4.I love coffee, consequently most of our kids love coffee too

5.We enjoy using My Father's World curriculum

6.I love the other homeschoolng moms over at The Homeschool Lounge

7.I am NOT a morning person ... maybe why I like coffee so much?

8.We are currently planning two vacations for next year, one to Disney and the other to a friend's wedding in Argentina

9.I think I have an addiction to chocolate (maybe coffee too)

10.We are trying to document the first 365 days of our 5th child's life on a blog


And if you really want to know any more ... for my one hundredth post I wrote a 100 things about me post, here

Homeschool Memoirs #8

This weeks Homeschool Memoirs theme over at www.homeschoolblogawards.com is about Study spots, where does your homeschooling and learning take place? Do you have a favorite spot?

We do have a "school room", we actually added on to our house while I was pregnant with dear child #4 - by the way I strongly recommend NOT having major remodeling done while pregnant ... was not a fun few months, I ended up on bedrest living in a hotel room with three kids and very little sanity. Anyway, back to the topic - we love our school room and used it all the time at first. The kids' computer is kept in there and all our file cabnets and bookshelves. But during my pregnancy with dear child #5 I was again on a lot of bed rest and we got into the habit of gathering the needed books and schooling on mom's bed ... and its become a favorite. I guess there is something comfy and comforting about mama's bed, everyone likes to snuggle up there.

Homeschool Memoirs #7

This weeks Homeschool Memoirs theme over at www.homeschoolblogawards.com is about snack food. Mmmm ... I love my snack food :-) We were invited to share what snack foods our family usually snacks on throughout the week:

pretzels
tostito chips (sometimes with cheese and salsa)
apples (sometimes with dip)
hardboiled eggs
cheese cubes
ham cubes
popcorn, popcorn and more popcorn
and one of our greatest weaknesses over here is making several batches of chocolate chip cookies a week

Unless of course you want to count my greatest weekness:

Homeschool Memoirs #6

Ohhh... I just LOVE photo assignments! And this weeks theme over at www.homeschoolblogawards.com is just that a photo essay of our summer memories, now that summer is a memory.

It took me a bit to narrow it down, but here are our favorite summer memories:

Homeschool Memoir

THIS WEEK'S THEME:

I am sure some of you are still getting into your homeschool routines. I know some people are very routine oriented while others may be more “day-by-day”, and it all depends on your family and what works best for your life-style. This week please post what your planned homeschool routine is. The theme banner should give you some ideas on how to do that. I had fun making that and adding in real info (except for the times! lol). When you’re done posting your routines please share your prayers for this school year.





Our homeschooling day has a very loose "routine" as opposed to a schedule that we follow ... on most days it looks a bit like this:

7am Dd's alarm goes off and reminds mom that her alarm is also going off (i tend to sleep through my alarm)

I get up and wake up our 6 year old Ds who is attending a local kindergarten this year. He and I get dressed and eat a little breakfast, then drive the 3 1/2 miles to his school.

7:30 am Just before we leave I make sure that dd(13) and ds(10) are getting ready for the day. They get dressed, wash up, and eat breakfast while I am taking ds(6) to kindergarten. At this time ds(3) and Baby Girl are still sleeping soundly, but if they happen to wake while I'm gone dd(13) is a wonderful babysitter. Ds(6) and I usually share prayers on the way to his kindergarten.

By 8am I have drooped off ds (6) and gotten my daily dose of coffee at the coffee shop between our house and the school. Dd(13) has her own check list of subjects and assignments and needs very little help from me, so she just starts right in. She comes and finds me when questions arise. I am in our school room, living room or the kitchen usually. Ds(10) brings his work wherever I am. He is our "I just can't hold still" child. He has a gift for climbing anything and for gymnastics, but sitting still to read or write are truly a challenge for him. There are indeed days where I think I'm going to pull my hair out with this child. He is sweet and wonderful, but also full of energy and wiggles.

Around 9:30 or 10am we break for a quick snack and stretch. And if the litte two are not up by this time I wake them up. Both still nurse upon waking so nursing and diaper changing and getting them dressed occupies my next 20-60 minutes (depending on the day) If I need some help dd(13) takes a longer break and rocks or walks with Baby Girl or plays and reads to ds(3). During this time ds(10) is near by, reading aloud to us or filling in a math facts sheet, or writting this weeks memory verse ... something like that. And I'll admitt that some days this is when I send ds(10) outside for a few minutes to run off some of that energy.

11:05am the kindergarten bus drops of ds(6) at the end of our driveway. I try to keep ds(10) on track and finishing up the morning's work. dd(13) starts working on a simple lunch once she is done with her morning school work.

Between 11:30am and 12:30pm we try to eat and clean up from lunch.

Early afternoon we either get outside for some fresh air or get some reading in or play a game related to something we are currently learning about. Then, once the 6 year old is settled in from of a Veggie Tales or PBS show and the 3 year old is down for a nap I am freed up to read aloud, or do science experiments or work on lapbooks with the oldest two kiddos. At this point Baby Girl is awake and enjoying the chaos or asleep, either way she is usually in my sling or in the baby swing near by.

Late afternoon really depends on which day it is:

Mondays ds(10) has gymnastics from 4:30-8:00pm

Tuesdays ds(6) has Karate from 6:00-7:00 pm

Wednesdays we all eat supper at church and attend church clubs or classes. And from 1-3pm on the first Wednesdays of each month a local Nature Center has Seasonal Homeschool Activities (harvest, migration, tracking, cross country skiing, just to name a few)

Thursdays ds(10) has gymnastics from 4:30-8:00pm and dd(13) has her harp lesson from 7:00-7:30

Fridays dd(13) has horseback ridding lessons from 3:45-5:15

HomeschoolMemoirs08

A new meme is beginning today over at HSBA
They always do such a fabulous job, I'm sure this will be a fun meme to read and participate in.




The first theme begins today, August 20th, 2008. This week, we want to hear about YOU. The author behind the words. The Momma behind all the homeschooling kiddos. Just write up something about you, your family, and your home. How long you’ve been homeschooling and why you decided to homeschool. It doesn’t have to be anything lengthy at all, but we’d love to hear it!



So here is my post ... about me:

I am a Christ following, Attachment parenting, Homeschooling, Babywearing, Breastfeeding, mom to five beautiful blessing and married to my best friend, my high school sweetheart.

I'm a pretty flexible, go-with-the-flow personality. I could certainly use help in the areas of time management and household organization. I love being with my kids all day, everyday! I love to watch them grow and learn and I love the relationships we are building.



This past Sunday we dedicated our Baby Mary to the Lord in our morning church service. And as at all my children's dedication services their grandpa (my father-in-law) sang a special song. This time we chose to have him sing "Take My Life and Let It Be". That was the song playing on my ipod May 29th as our Baby Mary was being born and it really does seem to sum up all my prayers for my self, and for my children:



Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing
always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as You choose.

::Chorus::
Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it's all for Thee.

Take my will and make it Thine
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is Thine own
it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord I pour
at Your feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.
Take myself and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it's all for Thee.
x3


If you still want to know more about me click HERE