Craziness!!

Sorry for my absence ladies! This month has been so crazy, and I am afraid this craziness is going to have to last a little bit longer! Between my great-grandmother's death, finishing our basement, rearranging our ENTIRE house to move into our basement, my son's birthday and my birthday (tomorrow), things have been a little nuts!! However, I didn't want to leave you all hanging on the homekeeper challenge! I hope you are all continuing to work towards being the best keepers of your home that you possibly can be and I would love to here about your progress. If you could leave your link in a comment that would be awesome- I hope to have the Mr. Linky back up and running for next week's post! I also hope to post more this week about the progress on our house and all the birthday festivities! I also will be filling you all in soon on the amazing Homeschooling & Home Discipleship Conference my husband and I attended last weekend- it was inspiring!

So hang in there with me and please post your links!

Homekeeper Challenge Weekly Post #2!

Alright, first of all I need to apologize for my absence this past week. As many of you know form reading my last post, my Great-grandmother died last Tuesday evening which has been difficult on my family all around. On top of that, we are finishing our basement and my husband painted sealer on the tile in our new shower, in turn producing noxious fumes that drove us out of the house for three days. So between the funeral and staying at a variety of houses (my grandmother's and my in-laws) I have simply not been able to blog as I would like.

The events of last week also put a bit of a hitch in my efforts to be an honorable homekeeper- much to my dismay. It was just one of those weeks that you feel like a failure. It was pointed out to me, by someone who shall remain nameless, that perhaps I am making myself sound on my blog like I have this homekeeper thing down and I am schooling all of you in it. I would like to make it abundantly clear right not that that is not the case! I am a work in progress and have sooo much to learn! I just thought this little challenge would be a great way to meet other women with the same goals I do so that we can spur each other on the good works and learn how to better bless our families in the process. So, forgive me if I have made myself sound otherwise.

With all of that said, I come to my personal challenge for the week- blessing and helping my husband. In general, I don't think I am very good at this. Whether it be lack of will or lack of knowledge, I don't always bless him in the ways I am sure he would appreciate. For instance, he is currently working on finishing our basement (it should be done in just a few weeks- yay!!) and most of the time I just let him do it all- he is the carpenter after all! I reason in my head many times that I would just be in the way or simply have better things to do, but in reality I know that if nothing else he would enjoy my company while he worked.
So, for me this week I am taking on the challenge (a little reluctantly, I must admit) of blessing my husband in whatever way I can, be it holding up a board while he screws it in or simply watching my tone of voice to make sure that I don't sound snappy- I just need to do it and quit making excuses for myself! This couldn't come at a better time since it is baby making week and nobody wants to TTC with someone they aren't particularly fond of at the moment! So, wish us luck (or God's hand of blessing, rather) and blessings to you in the challenges you choose for your upcoming week!

In Honor of Granny- Oct. 6, 1916- April 1, 2008

Last night my 91 year old great grandmother, Granny- as we all affectionately called her, left us to be with the Lord. For the last year she has been in an Alzheimers care facility but my grandmother was still chiefly responsible for her care- visiting her nearly everyday, making doctors appointments, handling finances, ordering prescriptions and seeing to it that she received the best care possible. Her loss is deeply felt by the whole family. My brother and I were cared for by her many times during our upbringing and knew her very well.She was a very active part of our lives growing up. For a number of years she picked me up from school everyday so that I didn't have to attend my school's after-school childcare program- I much preferred spending that time at home with my Gran. She would listen to me practice my Violin while offering constant praise- even though I was terrible! She sewed me countless costumes and adored attending my performances. Whenever we got sick on a school day, off to Granny's house we went while my parents were at work. She always made us grilled cheese sandwiches and I will never forget exactly what kind of bread she used and how the cheese melted in our mouths. She helped care for my brother while he was in a body cast after an intense surgery many years ago and would do anything to cheer him up- including standing on the couch and clucking like a chicken or howling like a wolf, just to see him laugh!
I am so joyful in knowing that she was alive to meet her great-great grandson, Roman. When he was born two years ago she actually stayed at the hospital until he was born at 1:00 am- at 89 years old! Although she was never of sound enough mind to remember his name, she would always ask about the little blue-eyed boy and when he would be back to see her. Just two weeks ago I took him to visit her and she was so happy to play with him. He even gave her a kiss goodbye and she gave me a hug, even though she no longer recognized me (especially with my short hair).
She loved us. She cared for us. She was the matriarch of our family. And now she is with Jesus. Her body is youthful and she is touring heaven with so many loved ones that have passed on before her- including my sweet little Micah. It is strange but comforting to know that just yesterday she was here but now she is with him and knows him- more than I even had the chance to know him. In many ways I feel like I can say my goodbyes more now than when she was alive because I know she can understand now and I truly believe that she can look down and see the good and the love.And so, Granny, I love you. You have done so much for me in my life I can't even begin to express my gratitude. You are lovely and ever so kind at heart. We will miss you dearly but I am so glad you are now in heaven free from all the bonds and pains of earth. Take care of Micah for me- kiss him and hug him the way I never could. And could you tell him a little bit about me and his big brother- the little blue-eyed boy who showered you with hugs and kisses? Thank you for your sweet life. You will not be forgotten. I look forward to meeting you in heaven someday with Micah in your arms. Until then- farewell...

Some lapbooking questions answered...

After my post yesterday about lapbooking I received some questions, so I thought I would make a little post here to answer them.

Question #1- How do you create a lapbook?
Answer #1- Well, I got the basic folding technique from this site: http://scrapbookingtolearn.com/folds.htm- very helpful, basic ways to fold lapbooks. You can find more links about what lapbooking is all about and how to do it on this site: http://lapbooklessons.com/Lynn/?p=3

Question #2- Why is it called a lapbook?
Answer #2- I have no idea!! That is a good question though! Of course I can't leave you hanging with an answer like that though! So, after some looking I found out (at least according to this site- http://www.squidoo.com/lapbooking) that they are called lapbooks because they are large and cover your lap (hehe)! No, seriously- that is what it truly said! Look for yourself! I am sure there has to be a better explanation, but so far that is all I have found. Sorry!

Question #3- Do you plan on creating one every week?
Answer #3- Yes, indeedy do! However, there are lots of people who do one per month or one per whatever topic they are studying- however long that topic takes to learn. It is really based on personal preference. I plan to do one for each theme of the Letter of the Week curriculum, which equals out to one a week. We have been doing enough activities that I am having trouble fitting them all in one book, so one per week is my minimum (it's the over achiever in me!). With older children you could obviously do much larger and more detailed lapbooks. They work well with any kind of curriculum really- unit or individual subject. They also incorporate well into the Heart of Wisdom teaching approach.

Well, I hope that helps shed a little bit more light on what lapbooking is all about! So far I am really enjoying putting them together with Roman and I love to see the joy on his face when he shows them off! Yup, I think we will be sticking with lapbooking for many years to come!

Our Adventure into Lapbooking!

Lately I have been feeling a little like I haven't been investing enough time into teaching Roman- things such as numbers, letters, shapes, colors and so on. This problem partially stems from the fact that (yes, I will admit it) I don't always know what to do with him! I didn't have the upbringing that I hope for my kids- a large family where you learn how to take care of children because there are always some around. I had one brother 21 months younger than me, and my world was all about... me! By the age of 11 I had an agent across the state and was filming commercials and staring in local theatre productions. I rarely babysat- and even when I did it wasn't children under 4 or 5- and I had no younger cousins nearby to speak of. So, this is me- completely and utterly unprepared for what to "do" with a 2 year old!

So, of course I had to turn to the place I always do when I am once again reminded of my total lack of education in the homemaking realm- the internet! I had known for quite some time that I was going to homeschool our children and had done a small amount of research on the matter (even reading homeschool books when I first got pregnant!) but I hadn't heard much about what to do with a child this young. I began searching out some homeschooling forums for ideas but was mostly met with the response that I was starting much too young with "formal education" and I should just let him play. Somehow I felt misunderstood and the idea of "just letting him play" wasn't working for us. I knew that I needed to be playing with him but I just didn't feel like I knew how.

I am the kind of person who needs structure and a plan or things just won't get done the way they should be! So, I did a little more searching and I found this great (and free) little curriculum called Letter of the Week. There are all sorts of different levels to work from and since we are starting at ground zero, the Preparatory Curriculum seemed like a good place to start! Each week it includes a general theme (such as cows), a letter, a number, a color or shape and a nursery rhyme. I have tweaked it a little bit to include Bible verses and stories and we also are using a lapbook to display Roman's work instead of the poster board they recommend. Throughout the week you do different activities from coloring, to dancing, to singing, to writing letters in pudding- all of which reinforce the main focuses of the week.

Each week I simply copy the curriculum into my Pages program and get everything lined up for what we will be working on each day. I then print out coloring pages and activities for the areas we will be focusing on that week, and type out the poems, songs and the nursery rhyme in cute little fonts. I also glue together a simple lapbook that will house all of Roman's work for that week, and map out where I expect to put all of his activities inside of it. As we work on things throughout the week we then paste them into his lapbook so he can continue looking at them the rest of the week. When the week is over he can then show off his work quite easily to grandparents and friends. It amazes me just how much pride he is taking in his work even at this young age! I also plan on including pictures of Roman doing the different activities and a list of the accomplishments he made that week. I am looking forward to having these lapbooks as memorabilia of the different things Roman was learning as he grew and it is nice to not just have random coloring pages floating around my house and in boxes- they are displayed and available to look back on at any time.

Here are pictures of the first lapbook. We started last week with the theme of Easter (not part of a curriculum). I printed out different coloring sheets and mini-books, along with children's resurrection songs and Bible Verses. Throughout the week we read the verses, sang the songs, read resurrection books and completed the activities, all the while including them into the lapbook. By the end of the week I was truly amazed by just home much Roman had really absorbed! His verbal skills expanded ten-fold in just one little week and he seemed to really catch on to the meaning of Easter by the time we celebrated on Sunday. It brought such joy to my heart!

We still have to complete the activity for the cover (a tomb with Jesus popping out the top), and I plan on scrapbooking our Resurrection Sunday along with our traditions in the last half of the lapbook. This lapbook took a total of 4 file folders, which I connected with permanent double stick tape, and includes a nice little pocket in the middle where we can keep his Easter cards from this year. I am very happy with the way that it turned out and am so glad we will have it to look back on next year and compare how much Roman has grown and changed.

This week is our first in the Letter of the Week Curriculum and so far it is going well. I will make sure to post our completed lapbook next week sometime for you all to see. I hope this post can help encourage you all to find activities to participate in with your youngsters as well- it is truly rewarding as you see the wheels in their little heads turning and things really beginning to click! Happy Learning!

By the way- here is another great site on Scrapbooking to Learn: http://scrapbooktolearn.ning.com/