Project Life Week 4 // January 22-28

Week 4 of Project Life! This week has two inserts - a 6x12 insert from the little girls' overnight with Grandma (and Grandpa) and an 8 1/2 x 11 with some papers I wanted to highlight, also from the little girls.



On the left:

• the heart on the title card was left over from the craft I attempted with my Sunday School kids. I had a few extras so I stuck one in the album.
• head shots of my Sunday School class (those that were there that day) for a little project I am working on
• a photo of one of N1's timed math tests from last week. Worth recording!
• a photo of my notes from Beyond Opinion (which I blogged here).

The photos below were both 4x4 so I attached two of the filler cards from the Clementine kit to fill out the 4x6 slots.



Have you downloaded the free "recently reading" project life card from Emilie Ahern yet? I've already used it twice. I foresee this will be featured prominently throughout the album this year! The card on the right is a printable from Marcy Penner - the Take Note Series 1.



My 6x12 insert.







My 8 1/2 x 11 insert. The front is a story by N2 that I wanted to save. (She wrote it apparently under the pseudonym Emily). : )



A piece of art from our Bible study with a note on how B is doing in the class from her teacher.



The right side:

• a dessert that N1 made in a field trip she went on last week
• N2 + the boy + his dog
• a picture that N2's best friend drew her
• a photo from a church music team gathering that took place at our house. May I just state for the record here that a good time was had by all ... and it was LOUD. : ) The card on the far right is one that folds over and there is a little hidden journaling there about the husband. : )

This card is a printable from Paislee Press and I used it to record something our sweet neighbor said.





And, as a little thank you for the three of you that read my Project Life updates each week, I made a little printable for you. : ) This is my first attempt at a Project Life printable - I was inspired by Emilie's "recently reading" printable and decided I needed one to keep track of any memorable movies that we watch as a family. It's sized to fit in the Project Life 3x4 journaling spots and I've printed and tested it so it should hopefully fit for you!



If you click the link below, you should be able to download a PDF ready to print. (If you do download it, would you please let me know? Thanks!) It probably goes without saying that this is for personal use only.



Hope you all have a great weekend. I'm already thinking about next week's PL layout - the one with all the birthday pictures. : )

Our Homeschooling Day // January 2012

I've been wanting to do a day in the (homeschooling) life posts for a while now. We have some days flow well and we get a lot done and others are total train wrecks. At the end of the day my husband will ask the girls what we did in school, and while I know I have a record of the pages that we checked off in workbook A, B, or C, by the time we sit to dinner, I'm too tired to remember a lot of the nitty gritty details. This is my feeble attempt at recording some of that for my remembrance.

For any that might be newish to the blog, my crew consists of an 8 year old girl (2nd grade), 6 year old girl (kindergarten), 4 year old girl (pre-K-ish), and a 16 month old boy.

6:05   Up, coffee, check email/Facebook/Twitter, Bible study. My alarm goes off at 5:30, but apparently I hit the snooze a few times this morning.




7:10   Everyone is still asleep - we had a semi-late night last night because our power went off - and the girls and boy were up until about 9:30 pm. Hop in the shower.

7:30   I'm now clean. Little girls are up and the baby is making noise. Help little girls find clothes, diaper change, peek at email.

7:45   Head downstairs and start breakfast. N2 starts unloading the dishwasher - her new chore now that she is SIX. Nutella on toast for a couple girls, cereal for B, dry cereal + some egg for the boy, egg mcmuffin for me. Make T's lunch and check the fridge for our dinner plan. It's Wednesday/Awana, which means easy and fast: quesadillas for the kids, and T and I usually have something like fajitas or chips and salsa.


Morning tunes.

8:30   Start getting ready for a run to Office Depot before we start school. We are completely out of white paper and I have some printing that HAS to be done for church today before the aforementioned Awana. I visit with T while he checks his email and gets ready for work, girls are getting shoes, brushing teeth.

9:00   Leave for Office Depot.

10:00 Back home. (How did that take an hour?) N1 helps me start a load of laundry - her new chore now that N2 is six. The boy goes down for a nap. We read our Bible story (Catherine Vos Children's Story Bible about Jeroboam and Rehoboam). N1 works independantly on her Bible study homework, Explode the Code, handwriting and then reads. N2 reads a whole book to me for the first time: Annie and Snowball and the Prettiest House. We had a few words we needed help over, but all in all, this is the first real book that she's read out loud to me. Big stuff.



11:00   Check email and print a couple things for N1. We are reviewing our recent reading on Ben Franklin so I print some notebooking pages for her to write what she remembers about him. We go and look at our timeline on the wall and review where he fits in the history that we've covered so far and add the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the timeline. N2 is working on her Explode the Code and handwriting and a math worksheet I printed for her. B is alternating between drawing and playing. While they all work for a moment, I switch laundry.

11:45   Baby is up. N1 and I try to finish her Writing with Ease and First Language Lessons before lunch, but baby is too distracting. N2 and B have gotten out some of our math shapes and are playing a pattern game they made up. Minor meltdown because someone didn't follow the "rules" and pieces are thrown. Everything halts while order is (semi) restored and pieces picked up.

12:00 Lunch. N1 on baby duty for a moment while I find food. Kids have hot dogs, assorted fruit and chocolate ice cream. Totally healthy today. Ha. I eat leftover salad and baked potato and not-one-single-bite-of-ice-cream. Go me. : )

12:40 Girls are done with lunch, boy still eating. Little girls are playing upstairs and N1 is downstairs with me researching American Sign Language on her Dad's computer. Sweep kitchen, take out trash, tidy downstairs  while waiting on the boy.



 1:00   Check email. Nothing - yay. : ) We move into the boy's room and do our afternoon reading aloud there to contain him. Two chapters of The Long Winter.



2:00  Back to the school room. Finish N1's language arts + math. Little girls and boy are playing in a bedroom.

2:40   N1 done with math. I go to help with little girls with cleaning their room and fold a load of laundry.

3:00   Boy is down for a nap. I help N1 print a few pictures for something she's working on in her room, check twitter, get sleepy.



 3:40   Find something to drink and move to my comfy chair in my bedroom for (hopefully) about 1/2 hour rest time. The boy is still making noise in his room; the nap turns out to bust for this afternoon, but I leave him in there for a while longer. Little girls are listening to Christmas music (?) in their room and N1 is in her room listening to an audiobook by Alexander McCall Smith.

4:15   Give up on a nap for the boy. Get him up and head to the school room so he can play and I work on my Project Life album for a bit. Girls have gone outside to play and I can hear/see them from the school room window.

5:15 Start dinner. Girls eat, review verses for Awana, etc.

At this point, I quit trying to take notes on what went on. Girls + neighbor were delivered to Awana at 6:30 and I went to pick up a few holds at the library and some milk. Back home by 7:15 to put a very tired little guy to bed and wait for T (who was still at work) to get home. Long day for him. He goes to get the girls from Awana while I make dinner for the two of us, tidy the kitchen again, pick up a bit around the house and in the school room. We get little people home, jammied, and into bed by about 8:30/8:45 and then we collapse and watch a TV show on Hulu together. I attempt to read but am too sleepy by this point. Bed by 10:15.

All in all, this was a good day. (If I had taken notes on Thursday/yesterday, you would have noticed that it didn't flow as well). I prefer to do math in the morning, but of late, we have been doing it after lunch so we can get some of our reading done while the boy takes his morning nap. I imagine when he drops his morning nap, the schedule (such as it) will be reshuffled again. I would like to get us back to reading some while the girls eat breakfast and lunch, but I haven't made that happen. That needs to go down as a habit to resume for February.

Happy Friday to all!

I'm linking up with Simple Homeschool's Day in the Life series today. 

Read Aloud Thursday // Reading About Groundhogs

Happy Groundhog Day!

In honor of the "holiday," I am taking the lazy man's approach to Read Aloud Thursday this week and sharing links to two other posts that I've written on Groundhog Day reading. Mama was not quite on the ball this year on checking out some of our favorites from the library, but that's okay. It will roll right back around next year. : )

2010 Groundhog Day reading post

2011 Groundhog Day reading post

For more great read aloud suggestions, visit Amy at Hope is the Word!

February Reading Plans

In January I tried to make a few short term goals for reading to get myself back in the habit of prioritizing time with a good book. My goals were short (and hopefully attainable!) I wanted to read Beyond Opinion for the Reading to Know book club and two L.M. Montgomery books for the L.M. Montgomery challenge (also at Reading to Know.

The result? I finished both my LMM selections (blogged here) and made it almost, but not quite, halfway through Beyond Opinion (blogged here). Yay!

I also read two short e-books: Blogger Behave and Mindset for Moms that were great food for thought (and short reads!)

I also blogged N1's Winter Reading List that I've assigned her, and on her behalf, I'll report that she's already finished two books from the list - a first to have them done so early. She finished Mr. Popper's Penguins and Huge Cabret. Now, she's never read beyond the two that I've required because she's usually got a stack of her own library selections to peruse, however, if she is willing to tackle another of Mama's choices, then she runs the risk of a prize or two. We'll see if she does that this month as she has all February to do so.

Since my January plan worked fairly well, I thought I would try the same thing for February. My goals for the next 29 days are to read:

• Running Away to Home for the Reading to Know February book club selection
• The Core - written by the founder of Classical Conversations, a well known homeschool tutorial

Only two books. I don't have any fiction grabbing me right now so I didn't put any on the list. I also really want to read Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick, but I have told myself that I can't purchase it until I finish both of these other books. Incentive!

What are you reading? Anything good? Happy February!

2012 Reading Goals:

January

Six

Hello.



One.



Two.



Three.



Four.



Five.



Six.



Happy Birthday to our new resident six year old! We are making merry today with birthday donuts, a day off school, and friends over for dinner. It's going to be a good day.

Beyond Opinion :: Reading to Know Bookclub January 2012

One of my January reading goals was to read Beyond Opinion by Ravi Zacharias as part of the Reading to Know bookclub. As of today, I am crying uncle and throwing in the towel. This is an extremely meaty book about living and defending your faith and what it means to have a Christian worldview. What I did read, I was encouraged by (and I'll share a few things below), but this was a TOUGH book for me to get through. That said, I don't regret the time spent on this and I plan to put this on my shelf for reference and referral, especially as my children get older and we'll spend more time on the apologetic side of their education.

One of the most helpful things that this book did for me was give me some simple definitions of things that I have (ashamedly) been fuzzy on. Words such as postmodern, a "worldview", what does an athiest actually believe (or not), etc. Words that in the context of a conversation I could nod and "um-hmm" and get the gist of where the person was going, but now I have a little more meat to sink my teeth into in regard to some of these terms.



I now feel like (from the first chapter) I have a better understand of why there is so much intolerance to the Christian lifestyle and worldview. People nowadays are brought up under teachings that highlight individuality and uniqueness. Because of this, the concept of one overarching Creator and Lord is not diverse enough to meet everyone's needs so it's refuted. Sadly, thought I'm not saying it's right, it makes sense to me.

I was also struck by the chapter on youth and apologetics. There were so many good things that I underlined in this chapter. A few of them:

• passively refusing to prepare them [youth] to make wise choices = actively arranging for them to sin
• faith and commitment cannot be more than vaguely real when you are unable to have a simple conversation about them.
• reach teens by helping them develop conversation skills (p47) I wish I had had more training in this as a teen!
• mentor teens diligent in Biblical worldview studies but also full of joy in their relationship with others and full of wonder at the world around them. Something I ponder in terms of social media and how that affects our relationships with others. Can someone really see your joy or wonder through a facebook status or tweet vs. a face-to-face conversation, a phone call, or even a person email or note in the mail? Speaking to myself here... : )
• the single most important social influence on spiritual lives of teens = PARENTS. Especially fathers. (p56
• A quote from George Washington: "The future of this nation depends on the Christian training of our youth." (p58)

And so on.

I barely scratched the surface on the chapters on science and faith and may at some point go back and read more there, but for now, I'm encouraged. Books like these are a good reminder to me that it's okay to have questions about my faith and it's okay to ask them. What's not okay is not looking for the answers or doing to the soul searching needed to find them. When that happens I fail myself and the children I am training by giving less than my best.

Thanks, Sky, for suggesting this book for the Reading to Know bookclub. While I didn't finish, I still came away with much to think about! And, I'm looking forward to next month's book, Running Away to Home: Our Family's Journey to Croatia in Search of Who We Are, Where We Came From, and What Really Matters. I went to Croatia in 1998 on a mission trip and I'm feeling inspired to dig out a few pictures and scan them in ... taken in my pre-digital days!

For more on the Reading the Know book club visit Carrie's blog at Reading to Know.

Instagram Friday // January 27

A little of this week's randomness:

Yesterday started fairly early with percussion.



It ended with an impromptu jam session in the front room.



I'm guessing it goes without saying that it was a loud day yesterday? : )

N1 took part in a cooking field trip on Wednesday. Her concoction that she left the class with:



She gave it to her Dad. Hmpf.

We had to get out a bit on Tuesday to meet a service person at our church. The kids ran around outside (in short-sleeves!) and got some much needed fresh air.



The boy thinks he's big stuff running with the sister. He will probably get upset with her in about 2.2 seconds, but for now he's good.



Just a little Friday randomness!

The Story Girl and The Golden Road // 2012 L.M. Montgomery Challenge

 

With the end of January, comes the end of another L.M. Montgomery reading challenge. This month I was able to reading The Story Girl and The Golden Road, revisiting time with the King cousins on their farm in (where else) Prince Edward Island. I love these stories and as I read them this year as a parent of many small children, I seem to understand a bit more why I am drawn to these books and their characters.

For the unfamiliar, these two books are set among the King cousins and a couple special friends:

• Sara Stanley (aka the Story Girl)
• Beverly & Felix King (Bev is our narrator)
• Dan, Felicity, and Cecily King
• Peter (the hired boy)
• Sara Ray (the neighbor girl)

The children were descendants of Grandfather King who put together an amazing farm on PEI, complete with an orchard perfect for the many adventures and mishaps they found themselves.

Coming from a family of only one sister and very few cousins that we didn't see much growing up, I absolutely LOVED the idea of a large family. During most of my growing up years, we weren't able to live close to family and while I have many letters saved from corresponding with grandparents, face-to-face time was rare and something that makes me a bit regretful to look back on and think about. (As an aside, I don't regret the path that my parents did take, just what might have been if I could have had the best of all worlds). These children were actively involved in each others' lives - this year and half (or so) that the book spans where they live and learn and work together is an incredible time of bonding and friendship for all of them. Even though there is no epilogue to these books, I imagine that they all stay in touch as they grow older, writing long newsy letters, and have grand reunions at each others' weddings down the road.

They were also tied together by the King farm. It was home to all of their parents (and the aunts and uncles that they haven't even met) and there are many stories passed down and shared from the previous generations escapades and (mis)adventures. Even when the children start moving on at the end of The Golden Road, they leave with the knowledge that the family farm will be there to welcome them back should they need to return. It will always be home to them. As someone who moved quite a bit growing up, I love the idea of the home that you spend years at, adding bits and pieces to make it unique, such as the King orchard which had a tree planted for every family member and even some honored guests. My girls love to hear stories about trips that we took to my grandparents' home that was set in a small town in Oklahoma and the (fairly tame) adventures that I had there growing up. 

All that to say ... these books impress to me to benefit of leaving a legacy to your children. Along with a spiritual legacy (which is by far the most important), it is important for me to make sure my husband and I pass on a legacy of stories of our childhoods, and that I help my children capture their childhood stories so that they can remember and pass them on. When the little girls ask me for a story from when I am a little girl as I tuck them in, some nights I am wracking my brain trying to think of something that I haven't told them before. It is important to be deliberate in sharing these stories with our children - our adventures, embarrassing moments, what scared us, and our mistakes and the forgiveness in those situations.

In my opinion, these books are wonderful and the time spent reading them is well worth it. I have enjoyed this trip down memory lane and look forward to the day I can pass these on to my girls as well.

Thanks, Carrie, for the annual nudge to pull my L.M. Montgomery books off the shelf and indulge in a little comfort reading. 

Wordless Wednesday // Just Yesterday

No, really. This was yesterday.



No. Wait. This was.

Project Life Week 3 // January 15-21

Week 3.



The left side:

• N2 holding a friend's new little baby at church.
• a meet up with some special friends!
• the littlest girl doing her school

Why the flowers on the bottom right photo? Well, last week we had a super fun bloggy meet-up with our penpals-now-in-person-friends from Hope is the Word! Since Amy has chosen not to put her children's faces on her blog, I add a few well-placed flowers to hide her girls' very cute faces. : ) We had a great time with Amy and her munchkins. The girls hit it off immediately (as if there was any doubt about that) and Amy and I had no problem jumping right into conversation as well. The hour we had to chat sped by MUCH too quickly! I've so appreciated trading emails with Amy over the past several years and it was such a blessing to be able to talk face-to-face. 

A little photo evidence of our mischievous boy fit into one of the journaling spots.



The right side:

• N2 with her Awana leaders. Note to Erin - you made the Project Life album! : )
• Pictures of what we have been reading this week.
• a photo of the boy ... because he is pretty stinkin'cute. : )
• The little girls with our neighbor.

The journaling card I used below for our "recently reading" page is a free download from Emilie Ahern. She's offering a free Project Life journaling card on her craft blog every Friday and she has some cute stuff. I went ahead and purchased her birthday set in anticipation of N2's birthday next week and can't wait to use them.



Photo collage created in Photoshop using templates from Paislee Press.



This is another Project Life printable from Emilie below. I love these simple lined cards.



Boy journaling written on labels and stuck right on the side of the photo. I ran these labels through my printer so that they would have graph paper on them (a la this tutorial) and really like how they turned out.



That wraps up another week in our album. How are we almost at the end of January already? This month has flown by ... or so it seems to me. So thankful for this approach to scrapbooking that is helping me look at the little details of our days and capture bits and pieces to include and remember.