Menu Plan Monday ~ Last Week Of 2015

Here is our menu for the last week of 2015:

Monday ~ Boys and husband have a Trail Life cookout, not sure what my daughters and I will eat

Tuesday ~ Cube steak with gravy and onions, mashed potatoes, veggie

Wednesday ~ Chicken tacos

Thursday ~ New Years Eve party at friends

Friday ~ Beef Stew

Saturday ~ We will be at the in-laws

Click on the picture above for more menus.

Verse Of The Week ~ Christmas

The 2, 3, and 4 year olds dressed up for our Christmas candlelight communion service at church yesterday. My 4 year old daughter was chosen to be Mary.

Verse of the week is hosted by Counting Pinecones

Wordless Wednesday

My boys are in a local Trail Life group. They participated in the Christmas parade this past Saturday. One of my boys is in the canoe (in the back).

Christmas Lights

If you live in Eastern North Carolina, you need to try to drive over to Benson to see a beautiful Christmas light display. Meadow Lights was started 40 years ago by a homeowner who wanted to make Christmas special for his family and friends. Over the years, he has added more and now it is a beautiful light display for all to enjoy.

They offer train rides for a small fee. There is also a carousel ride (also a small fee). Your children are able to visit with Santa and get a picture (for a fee). They also have a concession stand. And don't forget to visit the candy store before you leave.

The pictures are from our ride on the train. There are so many fun lights on the property. The kids had a great time. We visited the candy store after the train ride and bought some candy.

Here is a short video I took on the train ride:

Verse Of The Week

Verse of the week is hosted by Counting Pinecones

Scripture & a Snapshot is hosted by a glimpse of our life

Back On Review Crew!

After taking a year off, I am excited to be back on the Schoolhouse Review Crew. Honestly, I am glad I took this year off since some things came up with my husband being in the hospital in early summer. It was good not to have to worry about reviews. But, I feel that everything should be fine for next year and wanted to re-join. I'm so happy I was picked!

I reviewed many great products in 2013 and 2014. In fact, we still use a couple of the products in our school. Fix It Grammar and CTC Math are our favorite finds from those two years that we are still using now.

There are several great products listed for us already and I am excited to start reviewing some of them. First up will be a review of SchoolhouseTeachers.com. Look for the review the first week of January. Last time, I tried to keep a list of upcoming reviews on the sidebar. I may start the list when the year starts picking up so you will be able to see the great products.

I am looking forward to a great 2016!

History Behind The Song

My favorite Christmas carol has always been the song "O Come All Ye Faithful." Just recently, I decided to look up the history of the song. I just never thought to do it before. Looking up the history of a hymn can be interesting.

Some things I found about this song is that it was originally written in Latin. It is believed to have been written by John Francis Wade.  His name is written on the earliest copies of the song.

The earliest it has been found to have been written is sometime in the 1740's. Upon hearing the hymn, the Duke of Leeds, commissioned a fuller arrangement to be written. It became popular in France and Germany in the eighteenth century.

The English version that is well known now was translated by a Catholic priest, Frederick Oakeley in 1841.

There really is not much known about this hymn or the author, but what I did find was interesting to read.

I found this video to be interesting as well:

Thankfulness ~ Week Four

Final week of my Thankfulness blog posts.

This week I am thankful that we had a beautiful Thanksgiving day at the house. I am thankful that we have had a great month. I am thankful that this year is almost over and we are farther in our school work than I thought we would be.

Wordless Wednesday

Thankfulness ~ Week Three

Already to week three of November. It is flying by. This week has been great, but I wish I could slow time down on some days. Especially the days when my four year old lets me rock her and cuddle with her.

This week, I am thankful for being able to stay home and homeschool my children.

I am also thankful that I am going to be reviewing again for the Schoolhouse Review Crew in 2016.

I am thankful for the children I care for each Wednesday evening in the church nursery.

I am thankful for having the ability to read the Bible each evening with my family.

I am thankful for everything!

Menu Plan Monday ~ November 16

Time for another menu plan. The week before Thanksgiving. And another bonus, it is getting cooler and I love to make soups and chilis.

Monday ~ Homemade chicken pot pie (the crust is not homemade)

Tuesday ~ Chili

Wednesday ~  Lentil tacos

Thursday ~ Lasagna

Friday ~ Probably leftovers

Saturday ~ It's going to be cool, so I will probably make chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese.

Click on the picture above to see more menus ideas.

Thankfulness ~ Week Two

I found myself complaining yesterday while we were out enjoying some beautiful weather. It had rained on Monday, but I didn't realize that it rained so much that the park would still be wet on Thursday. Actually, only the wood chips were still a soggy, the slides and swings were dry. So, what was I complaining about and not being thankful about? Mosquitoes! Wow, I have never seen so many mosquitoes at one place at one time.

We wanted to walk on the little nature trail at the park (around 3,200 feet). We started, but around the 2,200 foot marker, we encountered a big puddle. We managed to hike up our pants and wade through the puddle and make it through, but that is where we encountered an army of mosquitoes. So, as I was sitting at the park watching my children play and have fun, I was still angry about the mosquitoes and wondering why God would create something like that.

I've thought about it and I realize God would not create something unless it serves a purpose. So, today, I am thankful for the mosquitoes that God created.

I do have more to be thankful for and I'll list those below:

I am thankful for this week. Even though it rained Monday, the rest of the week was beautiful.

I am thankful for all of my children the Lord has given to me. Even though they may fight at times, I love them all.

I am thankful for all of God's creatures. Even though some are pests (mosquitoes), I am thankful God has the wisdom to know what the earth needs.

Wordless Wednesday

She created and cut this out herself

Thankfulness ~ Week One

Once again, we are at the Thanksgiving season. I have much to be thankful for this year, but I always take so much for granted until I sit down and really think about all the Lord has given to me.

I am thankful for good health for my family and me. My husband was in the hospital in June for two weeks, but praise to God for healing him.

I am thankful that I am able to stay home and take care of and school my children. Although there have been many "bad" days and I would have loved to just sent them to school for the day, the "good" days make it worth it in the end.

I am thankful for a roof over our heads and food on the table. Not everyone is able to have these two things that some of us take for granted every day.

I am thankful for my Lord. He is always there when I need Him. He has never left me, even when everyone else has left me, He is always there for me. He loves me and I love Him!

Menu Plan Monday

My plan for this week:

Monday ~ Cube steak with gravy and onions, mashed potatoes, other veggies

Tuesday~ Copycat Chick Fil A chicken nuggets, waffle fries, veggie

Wednesday ~ Spaghetti and salad

Thursday ~ Breakfast for supper (eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, pancakes)

Friday ~ Boys will be camping, girls will probably eat pizza

Saturday ~ ????

Sunday ~ Beef roast and veggies

Click on the picture above to see more menu plans.

Random 5 On Friday

1. I cannot believe October is already over.

2. I love the fall season. The leaves are finally starting to change her in Eastern NC and it is so pretty.

3. I love to read, but don't usually have much time anymore, but I am going to find time to read the latest book from one of my favorite authors (Nicholas Sparks).

4. I applied to be on the TOS Homeschool Crew again. I needed to take this year off. I hope I am able to be on it next year, it such a blessing to me.

5. And something very random --- My favorite candy is Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Fun at the pumpkin patch

Classroom Friendly Supplies ~ Review

**I was not compensated for this post, I did receive a sample product for the purposes of review. This did not influence my review or my opinions. My views are 100% my own.**

I was given the opportunity to review Classroom Friendly Supplies brand new sharpener color -- purple! My favorite color is purple, so I was excited to receive the sharpener to review.

I actually reviewed a sharpener last year. You can read my review here. For this post, I am going to tell you how easy it is to use this sharpener and how great the color purple is.

Isn't it pretty? Okay, for this review, I chose to test this sharpener against an old school pencil sharpener that my parents had in their house. I used Ticonderoga pencils for the test.

Up first....Old school metal sharpener

It still sharpens pencils nicely..in my opinion.

Now let's see how sharp the Classroom Friendly sharpener sharpens.























Wow! That is great. Maybe you need to see a comparison photo. Can you guess which is which?






















The Classroom Friendly sharpener is very easy to use as you can see demonstrated in the video below:



My kids and I love our purple sharpener. You can get one at their site. There are also more helpful photos and videos found here.

You can also find them on:
Facebook
Pinterest
Youtube

Wordless Wednesday

I am going to miss summer. This picture was taken on Saturday (10/17) when we went to the beach one last time for my daughters birthday.

Presidents Copywork Book ~ 31-44

Finally, the last installment to my Presidents copywork book.

Click the image above for the file (or click here).

For Presidents one through thirty, click here.

Menu Plan Monday ~ October 12

My plan for this week:

Monday~ Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup (copycat recipe)

Tuesday~ Salmon patties

Wednesday~ Chicken tacos

Thursday~ Leftovers (??)

Friday~ Homemade Pizza

Click the picture above for more menus.

Presidents Copywork Book ~ 21-30

Finally, I have finished presidents 21-30. For Grover Cleveland, you can print two pages or just fill in the dates on one page. Be on the lookout next week for the final installment of the president copywork book.

Click on the image above for the freebie or click here.

Did you miss out on the first two installments (Presidents 1-20)? You can find them here.

An Update

Time just has gotten away from me and I have not updated in a long time. I need to and want to start getting regular in my postings again. I need to finish my president's freebie (President's 1-10) and (President's 11-20).

We have completed one quarter of school. My 8th grade son is taking three high school courses this year - Apologia Biology, Visual Latin, and Abeka Algebra I. He has finished the first quarter with A's in all three subjects.

We have taken several field trips to the coast, before it was rainy and cold. The aquarium had a homeschool day and we also hiked at one of our favorite spots. The photo above is from one of our hikes (at this place) from a few years ago.

As we are gearing up for the cooler days of fall, we have some places we would like to visit. It has been rainy (Eastern NC) lately and we have not been able to get out and do things. The boys have a camping trip coming up in a couple of weeks and I haven't decided what the girls will do. All of them want to go to the fair this year.

Well, that is an update for now. I'll try to get on later this week with the third installment of the president copywork book.

What's For Dinner? August 31 to September 5

In no particular order for this week:

~ Chicken Stroganoff
~ Chicken Enchilada Casserole
~ Beef Tips (or beef stew)
~ Hamburgers
~ Homemade Pizza
~ Leftover night (we have one leftover night a week to clean out the fridge and try not to let any food go to waste)

Click the image above for more menus.

School Time ~ Planners

We are starting our third week of school this week. It has been going great and I am glad I found some planning tips to make our day go more smoothly.

The first planning tip that I have found useful is writing my boys assignments into a spiral notebook each week. I write down their daily assignment and they check it off. It helps keep us both accountable. You can learn more here.

For my oldest daughter, pictured above, I use the My Student Logbook that I reviewed last year. I loved it so much that I had to order one again this year. She loves to check off her assignments each day.

I am using Alpha Omega Horizons Preschool with my 4 year old and she is just loving it. She loves to cut and glue. She just really loves to learn. I don't have a planner for her, yet. But as she gets older, I will most likely stick with My Student Logbook during the elementary years and move to the spiral notebook when they get into middle school because right now it is what works for us. But, that could change. I will just go year by year.

Final Curriculum Choices 2015-2016

Wow, I can't believe our summer break is over. We start our new school year today. It took me a while to finally decide our curriculum this year.

Up first, my 8th grader. He is taking a few high school credit classes this year. He will be studying the following:

~ Abeka Algebra I (High school course)
~ Visual Latin (High school course)
~ Apologia Biology (High school course)
~ Fix It Grammar: Book 3
~ Abeka Literature
~ Abeka US History
~ Abeka Spelling
~ Jump In Writing

Next, for my 7th grader, I chose the following:

~ Saxon Algebra 1/2
~ Abeka World History
~ Fix It Grammar: Book 3
~ Abeka Literature
~ Abeka Spelling
~ Apologia General Science
~ Jump In Writing

For my 5th grader I chose:

~ CTC Math
~ Abeka World History
~ Fix It Grammar: Book 1
~ Apologia Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology
~ A Reason for Handwriting
~ Abeka Reading
~ Home Spelling Words


















My 4 year old is using Alpha Omega Horizons curriculum for preschool. She will be done in December and move on to Abeka K5 in January. We bagan the Horizons curriculum in the spring and have worked through the summer 3-4 days a week on it.

Freebie: President Copywork Book 2

Presidents 11-20 are ready (just a few days late). I am planning on doing ten presidents a week until it is completed. I will post the freebie every Monday.

Click on the image to above to download the book or click here.

Presidents 1-10

Wordless Wednesday

Happy 12th birthday to my youngest son!

Menu Plan Monday

It's just my husband, two girls, and me this week since my boys are away on a mission trip.

Monday: Roast beef in crockpot with carrots, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts

Tuesday: Chicken tacos

Wednesday: Hamburgers with zucchini and onions

Thursday: BBQ Chicken with veggies

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: ?? Celebrating my son's birthday. His birthday is the 22nd, but we will celebrate when he gets home from his mission trip.

Click the picture up top for more menu ideas.

Freebie: President Copywork Book

I have been working on a copywork book for Presidents. I have only done the first ten presidents, but I wanted to go ahead and post it. I am planning on doing ten presidents a week until it is completed. I will post the freebie every Monday.

Click on the image to above to download the book or click here.

Random 5 On Friday

1. I finally have all of our curriculum and have started planning for the new year.

2. We will start our new school year on July 27.

3. My boys are on a hiking outing today and tomorrow and it is quiet here.

4. They leave on July 19 for a week long missions trip. I think their sisters will miss them.

5. I am over summer. my favorite season is fall and I cannot wait.

I'm Back

After a couple of months of dealing with family in the hospital and other things, I am back and will get back to blogging regularly. We finished school in mid May and have been planning our new year. I'll post our official curriculum choices in the next few days. I think I have finally decided on everything. :)

Sorry to leave you all hanging, but I have had a difficult past two months, but I am so glad to be back.

Random 5 On Friday

1. My niece graduated from college today with a 4.0 grade point average (summa cum laude). So proud of her.

2. We have one more week of school.



3. I am thinking about taking a trip to the beach for an end of the year party for us.

4. Looking forward to a nice summer break.

5.  My four old keeps talking about being five and losing teeth. Her birthday is not until next March. I try to keep telling her that she does not want time to pass so quickly, but she doesn't believe me. Oh well, maybe one day when she has her own four old daughter she'll remember wanting to grow up so quickly and realize why I wanted her to stay little longer. She's my baby.

Field Trip Friday

This past Tuesday, we were able to visit our local dairy farm. We were able to learn how they raise the cows from birth to when they are milking cows. This farm raises Jersey cows for milk and ice cream. It takes them about one and a half hours to milk 180 cows. They milk them twice a day. Their milk and ice cream tastes great and fresh. We love it! Here are some pictures from our trip.

This is a 3 day old calf:

 Trying out on a fake Jersey to see what it would be like to get the milk by hand: