Summer 2017 Recap with an Announcement...

Our official summer vacation was pretty short.  The boys finished school mid-May and started back up on July 10th.  In that little window we managed to squeeze in quite a few fun summer activities...

The boys participated in two different Vacation Bible Schools, they went to MRBC's Sports Camp again this year, and had Swim Lessons.  We took part in free Slurpee Day and Cow Appreciation Day.  They played tons of video games and watched way too much Netflix.

Who can say no to a free slurpee?

Entirely FREE meals for looking silly, we're in!

We also were able to sell our Saturn Vue, which lacked A/C, and buy a new-to-us Dodge Grand Caravan!  Which is good, because... turns out, we also need the extra room.  Read on...

Our first ride to church in our van!

It's so pretty!!!

Yep...we are expecting Baby Clark #4 due early December!  Back in April I had been feeling crummy from a cold, but on Easter I realized that I was feeling strange and all of my clothes fit a little funny.  I took a test, and WOW - can you say shocked?!  It took quite a while to get over that feeling (and honestly, we're still a little blown away by it!).  We told our parents that evening.  And announced to the "world" when I was about 9 weeks along - we kept letting it slip, so figured we might as well just tell everyone.  We're not good at secrets.  The exciting thing is several friends are due around the same time as us!  And most of those are complete surprises, too!  Haha.  I had morning (all-day) sickness up until about 16 weeks, and will find out if we're having a boy/girl in just a few days!  So exciting!

Silly Easter Bunny left us a surprise!

Facebook announcement photo.

Her shirt says Little Sis, haha!

My Babies...

Preston James, 2005

Callen Levi, 2010

Josephine Lilly, 2015

I Kind of Forgot to Announce This Here...

I was pretty sure I had already posted about this specific topic, and yet... when I looked, I couldn't find it.  Um, oops.  That's rather embarrassing.  So, the news is...

We're expecting Baby #3 towards the end of August!  Yep, another Clark on the way!

We found out on the morning of Christmas Eve.  I had been sick the week before (like allergies, cold, not morning sickness) and was just feeling "off" and hadn't had my cycle in a bit.  That's normal for me though, being irregular and all.  But for some reason, I felt like I should take a test.  I had taken tests the previous months fully expecting a POSITIVE and not getting one.  This time I fully expected a NEGATIVE and yet... it was POSITIVE!  I was so shocked!  I ran in and woke Michael up, telling him "Christmas Eve Gift!"  He didn't know what to think and ended up trying to go back to sleep, lol.  I wanted to tell everyone right away, but we agreed to wait and confirm more and give it a while.  It's funny, because about half a dozen of my friends made Big Announcements on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day... and then New Years, too... and I was just over here, like, ME TOO!  Lol.

I started feeling bad pretty quickly after finding out we were expecting.  We announced to my parents and Michael's.  We told Jill and Steve in person because they were in town staying at the Ranch in Ennis for the Winter.  We told my parents by meeting them at Jason's Deli.  We didn't tell the kids right away, though.  When I went on my Leadership Retreat to Branson, MO, I had to tell the gals I was riding with in case I ended up being sick (I was nauseous a lot, but hadn't hurled at that point).  I also told Candi and Regina around that time, I was just too excited to keep it to myself.  Haha. 

We finally made our big announcement by posting on Facebook, and received a ton of likes and comments from friends and family.  I was so glad it was out.  We also told the boys... Preston seemed kind of excited and Callen pretended to be a cat, so we weren't really sure what his opinion was.  I commenced being really, really sick around that time.  There were days I couldn't keep anything down and could barely get out of bed.  This was different for me because as much as I felt bad and hurled with the previous two pregnancies, I would hurl and then feel better... it didn't last all day long like this.  Finally, around 17 weeks, the nausea faded and I haven't been physically sick since (knock of wood!).  I am still tired a lot and feel funky quite often, but so much better than the first trimester.

In about 3 weeks, we get to do the sonogram and find out what we're having.  I am so excited.  I feel like it's going to be a girl, but who knows... I am a "boymom," after all.  The other thing is that we are using midwives this time and will either use the birthing center or have a home birth.  We are still undecided at this point, but leaning towards home.  I'm nervous about that, but also extremely excited.  My previous births weren't horrible experiences, but they weren't what I wanted.  I ended up being induced both times, and I would prefer not to go that route.  So... hoping for as natural as possible, and what's more natural than at home?!

Ok, so there.  It's officially on the blog.  I can't believe I hadn't posted before.  Sorry Baby#3, there just aren't enough hours in the day, apparently.  But I promise you'll receive a lot more attention when you're here!

Homeschool Recap, Year 2013-2014

So, we are officially done with school for this 'year.'  Preston finished 3rd Grade and Callen did a few preschooler type stuff, but mostly he just played and tagged along with brother's stuff.  This school year did not go at all as I wanted it to, but we tried to make the best of it.  And all in all, we accomplished what we needed to. 

It was off to a rocky start because I didn't start us when I normally would have since our house was on the market.  We hoped it would be a quick sale, so I kept hoping we would be able to start when we were moved and settled.  But it wasn't, and we didn't.  And then, since we got a later start than I wanted, I felt like the rest of the year was rushed.  I didn't HAVE to do it this way, but I did.  Because I wanted to get back on track with the next 'school year.'  Anyway, we survived, and truthfully, that's what matters, right?  Lol.

Starting with Callen... I intended to do Before Five In A Row with him for the whole year.  But, we really only ever got through about three books (Yellow Ball, My Blue Boat and Jessie Bear What Will You Wear?), and he just wasn't ready to sit and have his own projects.  His 'school' became coloring and sticker books and watching PBS Kids most of the time.  He did learn about the continents a bit since he was around while I was teaching Preston, and he really enjoyed working on the big felt world map, moving the animals around and such.  He recognizes all of his letters and numbers, he knows what most of the letters sound like, can spell his name or recognize it when it's written on something, he has a great vocabulary and uses big words in sentences correctly.  And he finally learned how to pronounce his c's and g's, that was a major breakthrough right after his 4th birthday in March!

Coloring a continent!

On to Preston... we used My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures and we (I say we because I was learning geography right along with him!) learned about a lot of countries in the world.  While I don't expect him to have them all memorized and tons of details about each one, he got pretty good with the Geography Game, so I call that a win!  He got good grades in math was we went over multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and more.  He learned how to form letters in cursive and they look great (while often his print is horrendous!).  We read a bunch of missionary stories and learned that so many other places and people in this world need prayer!  We also learned about animals from different countries and ecosystems in various part of the world, too. 

All done with 3rd Grade!

 Even though we're done with school, in June we are doing a lapbook as we read through the easy version of Treasure Island.  And we will start up our new school year in July!  We will be doing My Father's World Creation to Greeks, and I will once again try out Before Five In a Row with Callen.  Looking forward to getting back on our year-round schedule so we can take plenty of breaks during the year and not get burnt out!

I Am That Stark Raving Lunatic...

This is my life.  Mostly with my kids, though... at least my husband is a little more understanding.  The boys do not seem to respond to me unless I am screaming and flailing my arms about. Or possibly throwing things.  I constantly find myself in absolutely uncontrollable monster mode because I was ignored the first twelve times I calmly asked them to "stop."

I want to be a gentle mother.  I want obedience.  I want pleasant attitudes (mine and theirs).  I do not want my boys to look back on their childhood and remember their mother screaming at them.  But right now, I can't muster an ounce of respect or submission to my authority without going ballistic.  I don't want them to be scared of me... I just want them to know that they are to obey me.  Silly me, I was under the impression that kids were built to understand that their parents are in charge.  I mean, I feel like Michael and I have made this pretty clear over the past 8 years... but, they don't get it.  They continue to push everything past it's limits, to push ME past my limits.  And I feel like a parenting failure.  I keep thinking, OK, it'll sink in soon, they'll realize that they can't get away with this behavior because the consequences always catch up with them.  But, no... the very next day it's the same exact routine, they don't LEARN.  

As a homeschooling mom, there is no break.  I'm with them, basically, 24/7.  And that's tough when I'm spending about 12 of those hours each day saying "No. Stop. Don't do that. Come back here.  Put that down. Stop picking at each other. Listen to me. Pick that up. NO NO NO NO NO NO!" and they're NOT EVEN LISTENING TO ME.  I admit I am NOT the most patient person in these situations, but I try to give them a chance.  And they poop all over those chances.

From Preston (8 years old) I get: "But I didn't know" and "I tried to do the right thing."  He did know, and it wasn't the right thing in any way, shape or form.

From Callen (almost 4 years old) I get: "I'm going to do it anyway" and "No!" because he does not think I have the right to tell him what to do, apparently.

I've read a lot of things and I've tried a lot of approaches, but nothing has worked in gaining any ground in this fight.  Prayer, lots of prayers for patience, the right words and approach to use, that they'll somehow just "get it" and be GOOD.  

Why am I sharing this?  My children are not bad, and I am not a bad mother.  I have a feeling there are a lot of other parents in my shoes.  But I hope that one day in the near future I can look back at this blog and I will have figured it out and I can laugh at how silly I was for not knowing then what I know now.  And my two boys will be caring, respectful, upstanding, obedient men of God.  For now I will enjoy those moments where they do the right thing, where they snuggle with me for a few minutes, where they play nicely together, where I handle the situation correctly, where they learn their lesson and where I see that spark of hope that this phase of our lives will end.  I don't want to rush their growing up, I'd just like to be able to enjoy it a little more.

[Edit: Added 01/29/14] I just read these two articles.  Dear Lord, I needed these two articles!
5 Ways to Overcome the Yelling Mom
I Don't Want to be an Angry Mom, so I threw away my coffee pot

Not-Back-To-School Blog Hop Post

As you have already heard me whine about, I'm sure, we aren't officially starting school until we move and get settled in a new place (and at this point, I have NO idea when that will be!).  But, I got antsy, and decided we have to start SOMETHING before I go nuts!  And the kids are getting kinda funky, too, so I feel they need a little more structure in their day on a regular basis.  Preston finished up his Rod & Staff Health and Manners workbook on Friday (here's hoping he retains some of those manners, sheesh!), and I told him that we'd be starting some school on Monday.  He didn't groan or complain, and first thing Monday morning he woke me up and said, "Let's do school!"  So, I think that means he's ready.  Lol.

Going along with iHomeschoolNetwork.com's Blog Hop (which is really supposed to be a 4-week-long thing, and I crammed into one post because, again, we're un-officially starting, lol), here is an update on Clark Family Academy...

Curriculum:
For Preston, my 3rd-Grader, we will be using My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures, BUT because I don't have the ability to pull out all of the stuff and put maps up and all that (thanks to our beautifully staged home right now), I decided to start with the subjects that don't require many supplies.

Preston's curriculum

We are doing Spelling Power, according to the MFW ECC instructions.  We did the survey and spelling test and Preston gets to start with Level C.  He was pretty pumped about not having to start at the beginning.  The Justice League notebook is where he does his writing.  And we are starting up Grade 3-A in Math Mammoth on the iPad.  I was not looking forward to having to print out all of the pages in the two workbooks this year, then the amazing Amanda Pelser posted a tutorial on how to do worksheets on the iPad (and her example was even using Grade 3-A of Math Mammoth, um... yeah!).  So, no more spending tons of money/ink trying to print out everything, AND Preston enjoys getting to use the iPad, of course!

My preschooler, Callen, and I will be doing Before Five in a Row... at some point.  I have lent most of the books for that curriculum to a friend doing it with her kiddos, and since we're not ready to truly start, haven't asked for them back.

Callen's curriculum

So, for now, Callen will be doodling in his Planes notebook, and creating letters (print outs from COAH) with his Wooden Pattern Blocks.  He'll also be running around like a banshee, and getting into trouble.  That's just what he does.  I'll be finding other things to do with him/occupy him as we go.

School Room:
Welp... I was really hoping to be settled into a new place that has a nice area that we can set up "school."  It's certainly something on top of my 'want' list when we look at houses.  But, for now, our supplies/books are stashed away deep in my closet.  I was able to dig out what we needed and find a place to have it easily on hand but mostly hidden as well.

Just a few books for now!

The books are tucked away in a corner of our kitchen hutch, close to the kitchen table.  That way when potential buyers come in for a showing, they can still see our beautiful kitchen and not be distracted by a ton of school stuff all over the place.

Our staged kitchen, photograph from our listing.

Student Photo:
Ok, obviously I haven't done much with this.  But here are my two dudes hard at work on Monday...

Doing work just before dinner.

Day In the Life:

Our first day (yesterday) went a little something like this... Preston woke me up excited to get started.  So, before Callen woke up and demanded breakfast, we got to work on the Spelling Power Survey and Placement test to see where we start in that big 'ole book!  I read through the list of words, Preston spelled to me, and I wrote them down.  Now, I told him that would NOT be the norm, because even though he hates to write and complains about it constantly, he HAS to do it.  But, since we had to get through a bunch of words and I needed him to concentrate on actually spelling, I knew it'd go smoother if I did the writing.  And it did.  He did great!  After that, Callen woke up... we did breakfast, tidied the house, ran out for a few errands, came back for lunch, Preston hurt himself*, headed out to the chiropractor, came back, Daddy came home, we ALL took naps, woke up, did some more school (what you see them doing in the picture above, Preston doing math and Callen "writing" in his notebook), dinner, then off again to a children's ministry meeting, back home, tidy up some more, kids watched a tv show with dad, bath, bed.  Whew!  Certainly made for a full day.  Obviously, not all our days are that packed with go-go-go!  Thank goodness!

Building the capital 'V'.

Spelling words daily test.

* My darling sons came out of Preston's room while I was doing some work and were both clothed in at least 10 shirts each.  They had decided to make themselves fat by putting on as many layers of shirts as they could.  Well, when Preston went to take his off, he pulled really hard and it yanked his head back really far.  He said he heart a crack, and he began to freak out.  I went running and found him, with his neck twisted one way and he said that if he moved anything it hurt really bad.  When he tried to show me, he cried.  Poor kid!  I put ice on it and finished up what I was doing.  It was totally a God thing, because I was doing some ironing for a friend who is a chiropractor... so we ran up to her office to take it back and I asked if instead of paying me, she'd help Preston's neck and, of course, she did.  She worked on him a little and he was able to move a ton more than before, so praise God for that.  In the picture above, he is doing his work with an ice pack on... having to do that periodically to help him heal.  Never a dull moment around here, for sure!

Giving Callen His Kudos...

Callen is just about fully potty-trained!  Hooray!  We still have a bedtime accident several times a week, and on rare occasions he doesn't quite make it to the potty.  BUT, for all intents and purposes, the boy is potty-trained.  No more Pull-Ups!!!  I was beginning to think this would never happen, and when I stopped trying to force it... that's when he took it upon himself to get better at it.  So, yeah.  Whew.  We even moved the changing table out of his room so that it would look bigger to possible buyers.  That made it official, ya know.  He's growing up!

And the other day, he correctly used the word "literally" in a sentence.  Really, kid?  Geez.

Being a "Bob"

In Limbo...

Our house has been on the market for nearly three weeks.  We've had about 25 showings or so.  Most feedback has to do with it being "too small."  Not much we can do about that.  Just need to find the right young couple or empty nesters, I guess.  It is an interesting experiment in keeping this place tidy.  Getting out the door with two kids is hard enough, but now I have to do a full sweep of the house anytime we wanna go out to make sure it's pristine.  This evening I was in the middle of cooking dinner, and got a call for a showing for 6-7pm.  Problem was, it was already 6:05 and dinner was only half cooked!  We had them give us till 6:45, wolfed down our food, tidied like fools and got out.  Lol.  Such an adventure!

We've looked online at a list of houses for sale that our realtor gave us.  Narrowed down a list of about 125 to about 35.  There's not a lot of use going to look at these places until our house has some interest.  So, feeling a bit in limbo.  Waiting for something to happen.  The homeschool mom in me wants to start planning out school... normally, we'd be starting back up in a few weeks.  But, that stuff is in a tub under everything that's been piled and stashed in the closet. So, trying to let that go and not worry.

Preston has been doing Cub Scout Day Camp this week, and has been LOVING it.  I was freaking out on Sunday night.  This was our "kindergarten moment."  The first time I really took him somewhere, dropped him off with people who weren't family or super close friends, for SEVEN HOURS.  But he did great, I didn't cry, and all was well.  He has really had a great time out there, despite the 95-degree temps.  He's gone swimming, done archery and shot BB guns, and all kinds of fun things.  He's in heaven!  I'm really glad that he's doing well and enjoying this experience.  It's probably going to be one of the last scout activities he'll get to do.  The recent decision regarding openly homosexual scouts is just a bit too much.  I understand that at this age it's not an issue, however if that's the case, why did it have to be an ISSUE?!  I can only see it going further, and don't really want to have my child in the mix.  I love people of all sorts, but I do not agree with their lifestyle if they choose to live like that.  And I do not appreciate it being forced into places it doesn't even belong.  No, it shouldn't be an issue... but it is now, isn't it?  I'm very sad about it all.  Michael was an Eagle Scout.  My dad was an Eagle Scout.  And all Preston got was Tiger and Wolf?  It's been a hard decision, he doesn't even know yet - and I am not looking forward that conversation.  Mergh, it's just all so sad, really.  "Duty to God" is the scout motto... sigh.

Anyway, we finished up AWANA at church.  There is a new program going on starting next week called Art & Soul and I think the boys will enjoy that.  And, of course, we'll have VBS in July.  Hoping to do some more fun things while we're having our break.  And, Lord willing, we'll MOVE before the summer is up.  Lol.  My UBAM convention is next week.  CAN'T WAIT!!!

Spring Turns into Summer...

Well, we're on break from school.  You'd think I'd have more time to blog... but not really.  I still need to upload the pix from my real camera of our camping trip several weeks ago.  Oops.  And lots of other this and that's on my to-do list as well.

We are busy getting ready for a garage sale this weekend.  Trying to de-clutter the house.  Why?  Well, I'm sick of the clutter and everything collecting dust.  No more "maybe I'll need this someday..."  Ugh, no, get rid of it!  But, also because we are planning to put our house on the market and move.  Like soon.  CRAZY.  We've been here over 10 years.  And it's just time to get out from under it... find a bigger place in a different area and start over a bit.  Obviously, we don't want to go too far.  We are very connected to our church near here, our friends and my parents... obviously, can't wander off to far from them.   So, we're in full-swing to make this happen this time.  Talking and meeting with realtors, seeing what our options are, having a foundation company come out and fix what they can.  It's overwhelming, and honestly... terrifying.  But exciting as well.  Just praying that we are truly guided by God in all of our decisions with this.  Both of us really feel it's time to move, so... we're doing what we can to get that ball rolling.


The kids are going through their phases.  Callen is still in his "terrible two" mode despite having turned three in March.  He is challenging, and it's just a real good thing he's so darn cute.  Sheesh.  Preston pesters him like crazy and often completely lacks common sense, so he has his share of trouble.  I'm doing my best, but I often feel like such a huge parental failure with them so far.  Preston cries about everything.  Callen destroys everything.  I'm sure that most kids their age are like this, and I'm expecting too much on them and myself.  It's just hard sometimes to see the same mistakes day after day, and no real sense of them "learning" the right way to act/react.  I keep looking at myself and realizing that I'm the same exact way, though.  God must face-palm Himself a lot regarding my actions, too.  Lol. On a positive note, the boys and I have met a new family in our area that we have just fallen in love with.  They travel a lot so we have to take advantage of them when they're around, but The Stauffers have been a great addition to our friend circle in the short time we've known them.  April and I get along really well, as do Preston and her son, who is 8.  They have two girls, too... and Callen enjoys all of them! Another random, but positive, note is that the boys and I have enjoyed having smoothies lately.  Getting in our veggies where we can.  The boys have loved them all, so it's really easy to make us a quick drinkable lunch packed with fruits and veggies (spinach!).  I am loving having that option instead of always trying to come up with a lunch that they'll actually eat.  Whew!

Michael finished up his teaching semester yesterday and won't be taking on a Summer class since they wouldn't fit his regular full-time job schedule.  Hopefully he'll get to return in the Fall.  His full-time job seems to be going along just fine, no real news to report there apparently.  Other side things are going ok, and he only does pizza every once in a while when they need an extra hand and he's able.  His earache, migraine, hip/leg pains are all still present and bothersome.  As are the many medical bills arriving constantly for the things we've tried to do for those particular ailments.  I just want him to feel good again.  Is that too much to ask?  He works so hard to provide for his family, it just isn't fair that he always has to be so miserable.  The boys have enjoyed utilizing Netflix with him and they watch episode after episode of superhero cartoons.  I'm glad that Michael is good at deciding which ones are appropriate for their ages, 'cuz I have no idea.  But they're quickly becoming experts on all things superhero and comic books, haha.

I was able to accomplish this year's Connect4Challenge with my Usborne Books & More business.  I am going to convention in June for FREE!  That'll be such a blessing.  A chance to get away, learn more about making my business successful, meeting a bunch of people I only know via Facebook.  I'm really looking forward to it!  After the last four months of steady action, taking a bit of a break in May and then I have a bunch of events lined up for June to hopefully get right back into the swing of things.  Getting the commission checks for those months was definitely a nice thing, plus... now I don't have to spend out-of-pocket money and feel guilty about going to convention!  Woo hoo!

That's about all I can muster at the moment, as far as an update goes.  I do have several things on my to-do list that need to get knocked out over the next few months, so... prayers that those get taken care of easily.  And prayers that this moving business is a smooth transition for all of us.  I'm a natural worrier and get extremely stressed out with big change like this.  I'm TRYING to take it easy and go with the flow, but that is just not how I'm wired.  

Homeschool Recap, May 3rd (Week 34) DONE!

In our lives this week...
Just gotta say, so glad to be DONE for a little while.  We've got some crazy stuff up in the air, and I need a break to focus energies elsewhere.  However, the boys NEED activity, so can't sit still for long.  We'll see what can be done with our brief time out.

Even at 7, still an adorable sleeper!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: What tot school?  ;)

Enjoying a good book and some sunshine.

Bible:   This week's name of Jesus was "The Alpha & Omega" and Preston's memory verse is Revelation 21:6. We looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that explained how Jesus is the first and the last!  Put our final picture up on the branch.  Isn't it awesome?

Names of Jesus Branch

Reading/Writing: We finished Spelling by Sound & Structure. Did a few final reviews/tests of words Preston has struggled with over the year. 

History: This week Preston learned about Alaska (read and watched the movie Balto) and Hawaii (read The Island-Below-The-Star) to close out the 50 states.  The boys enjoyed listening to the audio book The Scrambled States of America.  We also learned about the White House, and wrote a letter to the President and finished out our wall time line.  Reviewed some of the things in the History Notebook.

Working on White House facts and worksheets.

Math: Preston is finished going through comprehensive reviews of each chapter using Math Mammoth worksheets, and took his year-end test.  He did great.  Really, the only questions he missed was because he didn't read the instructions and/or pay close enough attention to the signs. 

Science:  This week's we learned about a few more birds in Birds, Nests & Eggs. And used First Encyclopedia to talk about electricity and computers.

Music/Art: Done.

Spanish: Did a Spanish alphabet review and read a few easy reader books in Spanish.

We did it.  ALL DONE with 2nd Grade!!!

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.



[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Homeschool Recap, April 26th (Week 33)...

In our lives this week...
I worked Share-A-Thon at Power FM three days this week while the boys stayed with grandma... so, needless to say, schooling took a backseat a good chunk of the week.  However, it was our second-to-last week of school, and I didn't want to get off track so we can officially end next Friday!  We squeezed lessons in where we could and finished it up on Saturday morning.  Whew.

A picture to share...

Preston aced the STAAR tests!

Everyone was posting about how stressed they and their kids were regarding the STAAR tests this week.  I had to rub it in a little that we don't have such silly things.  Lol.

It's beautiful!  Don't touch it!!!

I have the best mom ever.  She not only watches my kids for me, but organized my nightmare of a tupperware cabinet.  Seriously, the best mom ever.

People we're seeing...
On Monday, we met up with a couple of other ladies (April and Jessica) and their kids from our homeschool group to play at the park.  Then, on Tuesday, I invited April and her kids over for a movie night.  The kids wanted to watch Kronk's New Groove, lol.  It's so awesome having a new friend who homeschools, has kids around the same age as mine and lives nearly around the corner!  Thank you, Lord, for this awesome new friendship!  Oh, and thanks to Eddie for introducing us... he knew we'd hit it off!  Then, of course, it was nice to see all my Power FM peeps the rest of the week.  Love that crew, they still feel like family even after I've been gone so long.


In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Pretty much nothing formal in the way of schooling for Callen this week.  We did read If You Give a Pig a Pancake (several times) and Frederick by Lionni.

Bible:   This week's name of Jesus was "The Word" and Preston's memory verse is John 1:1. We looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that explained how important The Word is, and words, in general, are too.  We talked about the use of words, and read about Helen Keller.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure. We finished with In Grandma's Attic, our last read-aloud, and Preston wrote a brief summary of the book.  This one was fun, it was all about how much trouble "Grandma" used to get in as a little girl and the lessons she learned from her mischief.  Pretty sure Preston could relate.  Lol.

History: This week Preston learned about inventors like Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers and Henry Ford, as well as four states: Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.  My parents just returned from a vacation in Arizona at the Grand Canyon so it was fun to learn about the state they told us all about.  Books we read this week included: Leah's Pony, A Wizard From the Start (about Thomas Edison), First Flight and Welcome to the Sea of Sand (poem about an Arizona desert).

Math: Preston is going through comprehensive reviews of each chapter using Math Mammoth worksheets, trying to see what we still need help on.  He seems to have a good grasp on what we've reviewed so far!

Science:  This week's we learned about a few more birds in Birds, Nests & Eggs. And used Science with Air to learn about air's movement and how planes fly.

Music/Art: We sang through the "Armed Services Medley" one last time.

Spanish: Pretty much just quit with Spanish for the year.  =)

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.



[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Homeschool Recap, April 12th (Week 31)...

Pictures to Share... 

Preston created a chameleon with play-doh.

My sweet, snuggly boys one cold morning in April.

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: We finished the 1plus1plus1equals1.net "Tot School" printables this week with letter "Z" for Zipper/Clothes!  We read a few books that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the topic, but were just fun anyway: Black & White by MaCauley, Noah's Ark by Spier, The Three Pigs by Wiesner and Kitten's First Full Moon by Henkes.

The last letter is Z!

Bible:   This week's name of Jesus was "The Resurrection and the Life." Preston's memory verse is John 11:25 and we looked up verses in The Discoverer's Bible that talked about Jesus' death and resurrection.

Reading/Writing: We continued Spelling by Sound & Structure. Continued with lesson 76-78 in Primary Language Lessons. We continued with In Grandma's Attic, our last read-aloud.  Had some extra letter formation practice:

Still needs work on certain letters.

History: This week Preston learned about pioneers who moved into the middle of the country.  We read The Long Way Westward by Sandin.  Also added two more states to the notebook: North Dakota (we read River Friendly, River Wild) and South Dakota (Preston read on his own Flat Stanley: The Mount Rushmore Calamity).

Math: Preston continued Part B of Math Mammoth, Second Grade.  Continued working on multiplication practice and added in using a Multiplication Wrap-Up, which he thought was great fun.

Rockin' the multiplication.

Science:  This week's lessons were kind of all over the place.  Did a few topics, like Light & Color and Friction from The First Encyclopedia of Science.  And learned about several more birds in the Birds, Nests & Eggs.

Music/Art: Our patriotic song this week was "Armed Services Medley," and the kids love this one.  Found Callen singing bits from it to himself this week, lol.  We also continued our World's Greatest Artists, Vol 1 unit study, with our last artist: Jackson Pollock. This week, we looked at several books with his paintings and the boys attempted their own versions.

Beautiful day for painting outside!

Pollock-inspired artwork.

Spanish: Read a book from the library called Un Amigo de veras Maravilloso (A Splendid Friend, Indeed)... it was completely in Spanish and we had to figure out what they were saying!  Fun!

We are using Adventures in My Father's World. See our curriculum here.



[This post contains affiliate links for Usborne Books & More and Amazon.com.  By clicking on those links and purchasing items, you are helping me continue to be a SAHM so that I can focus on homeschooling my children!  Thank you!]

Easter 2013 Recap...

We took this past week off of school... our last break before we're done with the school year!  We got to hang out with home school friends at our group's Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic on Wednesday.

Let's do this!

Gathering up the eggs!

This was fun!

We also did some fun Easter crafts:

Oiled-Paper Sun Catchers

Egg Scripture Garland

Working on a Three Trees lapbook

Finished lapbook

On Saturday, we went to the Grand Prairie Farmer's Market Easter Event. The boys jumped, did a decorated egg craft and did a little "hunt."

Jump! Jump!

Creepy Easter Bunny.

And, of course, on Sunday we went to church.  But, not before Easter Baskets!  And afterwards we had dinner with my parents (and watched the first Rangers game of the season - too bad they lost).

Goodies from mom, dad, Grandmas, Grandpas & Uncle Daniel!

Happy faces!

New Easter/Spring clothes - they wanted to kind of match.