ehren...

ehren, who will be 3 in about 3 months, has made the jump from diapers to undies! he started cabout 1 month ago & has never looked back. he makes it through most days without an accident & most nights as well. (yee-haw!)

he is unaware that there is ANY age gap between him & his older brothers. he does everything they do, the good & the bad. he is master of his tricycle & is doing well with aydin's old 2 wheeler (with training wheels, of course).

dried apples, anyone??

we had sooooo much rain this season, our apples had a rough time. most were really brown & skunky. but we still collected all that we could & i chopped them up & we made dried apples. which the boys love!

it was a lot of work though because there were just so many bad spots...2- 5 gallon buckets full only made 5 quart of dried...

where we are now...evyn

we are having a great year so far, granted it has only been one month, but we are doing sooooo much better than last year.

orin & aydin have both matured, ehren also...even though he is only two. evyn is being so at peace with our rhythm...everything just flows together so nicely.

evyn, now 6 months, is on a regular 'schedule with her nursing, about 10 min every hour, with a good 2 hour naps during our main lesson time. she has been teething since mid-july & has recently begun biting(!) i expect to see a few teeth popping in anytime now. she has started rolling over & can almost sit up on her own. she is well loved (& well entertained) by all her brothers.

we are back!

after being offline for the past 30 days, we are back & have so much to tell...

i started this blog to document our homeschooling journey & our life...and as a way to keep a 'scrapbook' of all that we do. when you live in the moment, have four young children, and a home business to boot, the days can sometimes run together.

being tired at the end of the day is a good thing, but i have noticed that i can be so involved in the diaper changes, the feedings, the lessons, the general day-to-day that i don't realize just how much we really do get done. having this blog has allowed me an outlet to document just how much we have accomplish and i'll admit it...i am truly impressed! ;)

i have really gotten into it since we started school this year, and man...to look back over all the pictures we've taken, i am amazed...and we have only been at if for one month!

i will spend the next week or so filling you in on everything that has been happening around here...

i hope that you are all having a happy fall as well! blessings...

grade 1, block I: letter introduction (wk 2)

monday, september 14th

main lesson:
form drawing, mountains (introduce with story)


form drawing story:

"there once was a husband and a wife who lived in a tidy little home in the middle a bustling town. one day though, the wife found out that she was expecting a child. they were so excited about having a child of their own! they both loved each other so much and could think of nothing better than to have a child of their own to share in this love.


but, oh! a bustling city is no place to raise a child. their house was small, and there was only a small patch of grass. the wife longed to have a garden & to raise chickens and goats. the husband wanted a yard large so that he and their children (yes, this was their first child, but he wanted to have lots of children!) to run around and play, and climb trees, and to build clubhouses.


and so they began to search high and low for the perfect house. a house with a yard, a house to be a home for their growing family. they talked to their friends and their family; they looked in the papers. it was hard work, but to find a home perfect for their family was well worth the effort.

they drove to look at many, many houses, in many, many towns and cities, but none of them were quite right. and at last they drove out into the county, right in the heart of the mountains...and there they found it...the perfect house!


and not a moment too soon, for the wife was due to have their child in only a matter of weeks. it was just the size for their family, and it had a big yard...this would be their new home!"


lesson b:
*nature study challenge, #3
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/02/green-hour-3-now-is-time-to-draw.htmll



tuesday, september 15th

main lesson:
(recall story, part #1)
*tell story, part #2
introducing the jester, the golden goose and the vowel 'a' ('aaaahhhh')

*project:
model with beeswax, the prince, the jester & the golden goose



lesson b:
handwork, begin work with knitting mushroom




wednesday, september 16th


main lesson:
*recall story, part #2 (together)
*draw the jester & the golden goose in to main lesson book, glue in the golden star 'A'

lesson b:

baking, vegetable soup

thursday, september 17th

main lesson:

*recall story, part #2 (on own)

*write short summary together, copy into main lesson book

*painting, "early morning"

aydin's is on top & mine is on the bottom

lesson b:

handwork, continue working with knitting mushroom

grade 4, block I, norse myths (week 4)

monday, september 14th
(read on own, sea of trolls by nancy farmer, 45 min)

orin gave "children of odin" a go, but really did not take to it, nor did i. a friend recommended "sea of trolls" & we both LOVE it! planning to give odin another go in the spring.

main lesson:

*math practice
*copy work:

“All know I, Odin,
where the eye thou hiddest,
In the wide-renowned well of Mímir;
Mímir drinks mead every morning
From Valfather's wage.
Wit ye yet, or what?”

*nature study challenge, #3
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2008/02/green-hour-3-now-is-time-to-draw.htmll

lesson b:
form drawing, p. 20, fig 32 b. (trillium knot 2)http://www.millennialchild.com/Slideshows/Resources/Grade04FormDrawing.html


tuesday, september 15th
(read on own, sea of trolls, 45 min)

main lesson:

*math practice
*tell of Njord, Frey, & Freya (D’Aulaire’s, p. 60-63)
(cb): combo of D’Aulaire’s, p. 60, 61, 62
*write a brief bio of each, names in both runes & eng
*choose one to model in beeswax

lesson b:

handwork, braided rock necklace http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/resurrection_fern/2009/07/liberty-and-a-holey-stone-a-tutorial.html

wednesday, september 16th

(read on own, sea of trolls, 45 min)

main lesson:

*math practice

(recall njord, frey & freya)

*tell of bragi (D’Aulaire’s, p. 64-67)

(cb): D’Aulaire’s, p. 67

*draw portrait of bragi, write a brief bio, name in both runes & eng

lesson b:

baking: rosenmunnar, Swedish thumbprint cookies http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rosenmunnar/Detail.aspx

thursday, september 17th:

(read on own, children of odin, 45 min)

main lesson:

*math practice

(recall bragi)

*tell of frigg, D'Aulaire's, p.81-83

(cb): D'Aulaire's, p. 81

*write brief bio of frigg, name in both runes & eng

*painting day: portrait frigg, p. 81

orin asked if he could just do "color exploration" today, and so he did

lesson b:

handwork, finish braided rock necklace http://resurrectionfern.typepad.com/resurrection_fern/2009/07/liberty-and-a-holey-stone-a-tutorial.html

friday, september, 18th

orin at Dancing Springs Learning Cooperative, hs enrichment program