The Homeschool Mother's Journal - August 12, 2011

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In my life this week...
       There has been more work to be done in our basement. We finished painting and it's starting to look put   together again, but we have several new things ordered, including new flooring, carpet, and a large sofa, so we can't hang any pictures back up on the walls of our stairway gallery!  I do feel much better about the classroom area and it will be functional when we begin school soon.

In our homeschool this week…

 Our last days of summer are coming to a close.  Fortunately, we can still enjoy the cooler weather we are having this week and be outside and even when we begin school we can go outside and work at the umbrella table on our deck.  I'm trying to finish getting supplies and decisions on planning and curriculum.  I did receive our HWT Cursive Success in the mail this week and it looks like just the right next step for practicing our handwriting!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

 We have a fun evening of boating and tubing this week with my sister and her children.  It is really calm and relaxing to go on a weeknight when hardly anyone else is out on the lake.  Ah, summer nights!

My favorite thing this week was…

 We finally held our open house for our 2010-11 school year.  This is the third year in a row that we have had my mom and stepdad over to celebrate the passing of another school year and to share our work with them.  My children showed them their Creation to the Greeks history notebooks, Greek vocabulary books, subject notebooks, art projects, and Lego projects.  Then, they shared scripture memory verses that they have spent many day working on memorizing.  They recited Psalm 23 together, then J recited 1 Timothy 3:16-17 and B recited Isaiah 40: 21-31.  It was a huge blessing to the children to share what they have learned with their family!  It was also a blessing to the grandparents to hear the children recite so much scripture that they have "hidden" in their hearts! To finish the evening, I presented each child with a certificate of completion for their grade so they have officially moved onto the next grade level and we took pictures. Praise God for all that He has done!

Sharing her 4H scrapbook with Mam

Art and Lego projects on display

Pap, B, Mam, & J with promotion certificates and prizes

Things I’m working on…

Getting our classroom and materials organized and ready!

I have been inspired by what I’m reading…
I finished reading Leigh Bortins' book, "Echo in Celebration: A Call to Home-Centered Education" and it was truly inspiring!  I want to recover and use the "lost tools of learning" alongside my children.  I want to teach them in our home so that their hearts can be discipled and led toward God.  I want to be like Annie Sullivan who saw a vast potential in her student, Helen Keller, that her own family did not see and led her to learn so that she could influence the world. I want our family to echo our praise back to God for all that He has created as we learn about and marvel in His creation!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Another year of growing through our journey of home education!