Fall Into Reading

I saw this posted on another homeschooling website and wanted to do it too!  We love reading in our home.  My 15 year old daughter reads at least 3 or 4 books a week.  I have a few books that I would love to read this fall.  My list is:

1. Courageous
2. Power of a Praying Wife
3. A Woman After God's Own Heart
4.  The Sun Coast Chronicles.   It is a series of 4 books by Terri Blackstock

I would also like to read more and more to my kids.  We usually spend an hour or 2 a week, but I would would like to make it at least 30 minutes a day.

Slow Cooker

I do believe my slow cooker is my best friend in the kitchen.  With so many things going on, if I didn't have my slow cooker, dinner would be late every night and I would be running around like crazy trying to get it on the table.  I have many recipes for my slow cooker.  My favorite recipes are found in this wonderful e-book.  http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=166&products_id=14184

I would highly suggest getting this!  It has some great ideas for new dinners and desserts.  They are low in cost and easy to make :-)   I just love trying new recipes on my family each week.  I like seeing their responses to them and getting their opinions :-)

A Blessing from the Lord

My daughter Amanda has a tremendous gift that God gave her.  She can sing and play the guitar beautifully.  She writes her own music and lyrics.  Her songs have such wonderful meanings.  The lift the soul.  I wanted to share the links to her You Tube videos with all of you.  Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVE3PEhSnx8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn45cSBWujA&feature=related

Games

We love playing board games in our family.  It is a great time to talk and just spend time together.  Our kids learn a lot from playing these games too.  They learn math and reading, as well as character qualities such as honesty, patience, and kindness.  It is very important to us to have children who know how to get along and solve issues that come up.  We want them to do everything they do to the glory of God.

Our Thinking Chairs....

I have chosen to call our time out chairs by a new name..... they are now our thinking chairs.   I place my children on time out so they can think about what they did wrong.  After their time is up (1 minute for each year they are old)  I talk with them about what they did and use it as a time to train them on what they should have done.  Most thinking times occur at our house as a result of selfishness.  They want their own way, and will try anything to get it.  Most infractions happen with my 2 youngest, who are still very much in the early stages of their character training.  They tend to get upset with each other when one wants something the other has, or if one wants to be the boss over the other.  It gets frustrating at times, but  we have to keep up our training.  We have to be consistent.  We have to train them to have good character :) 

Our Thinking Chairs!!!

Seeking God's Face

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You


To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy


Today this is my prayer.  I want to seek the Lord's face, not His hands.  I don't want to just ask God for things.  I want to know Him!   I want to worship Him with all that I am. 

Training our Children

I feel it is very important to teach our children good Christian values.  We do character training in our home.  We try to be good examples to our children.  It is important that your children see you modeling behavior that is pleasing to the Lord.  We can teach our children day and night, but if we are not good examples of Godly character, how can we expect them to have these traits.  In order to help other families with teaching these character qualities,  I made a Facebook page.  I made this page to encourage families in their parenting journey.  We need to lift one another in prayer.  We need to share our parenting ups and downs with one another so we can improve and be the parents God called us to be.  If you want to be encouraged or you want to encourage other parents and families, please come visit our Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Training-Our-Children-To-Have-Godly-Character/201159269907546?ref=ts

ART!!!!

My kids love arts and crafts.  They love to use their imaginations.  I love seeing what they create.  It is always the highlight of our school day :)   Here are just a few of their creations

Been busy

I have been so very busy with school and  getting ready for the 4th annual Baby Loss and Healing Memory Walk.  Each year  I am amazed how God provides our needs for the Walk.  I have talked with many radio stations and tv news stations and they are helping me get the word out about the Walk.  I will be doing a few radio interviews soon.  I get a little nervous, but I know it will help families to know they are not alone.  Losing a child is devastating.  They need support.  They come to the Walk for healing and understanding.  They get a chance to memorialize their little one. 

I would appreciate your prayers as this comes together.  Please pray for each family attending.  Pray they will feel that they are special and that their child will never be forgotten.  Pray for healing to come to their broken hearts.  

Our daily routine

I typically wake up at 5 or 5:30 every morning.  That is when my husband goes to work, so his alarm always wakes me as well.  I then spend time doing devotions and catching up on any work that I didn't get done the day before.  7:00 am is when the fun starts :)

7:00 am :  Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory (even when we are tired),  Clean up rooms and get dressed
8:00 am:  Eat Breakfast
8:30 am:  Morning chores
9:00 am:  School Starts  (The older children have a school schedule they follow daily, while the younger ones follow mom's schedule that is different almost everyday)
11:30 am:  Lunch time
12:00 pm:  Back to school
2:00 pm:  Free time (unless they didn't finish schoolwork)
4:00 pm:  Cooking/Eating
5:00 pm:  Free time
7:30 pm:  Family Devotions
8:00 pm:  Younger ones bedtime routine
8:30 pm:  Younger ones Bedtime
10:00 pm:  Older Kids Bedtime.... and hopefully Mama's too :)

*********************************************************************************
Older children's school schedule:

9:00:  Bible Class
9:30:  Spelling/Vocabulary
10:00: Language Arts/ Literature/Writing
10:45: Math
11:30:  Lunch
12:00:  Science
1:00:  History/Geography/Government
2:00:  School is done, unless you didn't get something done :)

Listening!

I don't know about you, but my kids have always been so inquisitive.  They ask tons of questions.  When we go out, they love to watch everything and take it all in.  I enjoy answering their many questions and asking them what they think.  Their opinions and insights are important to me.  I have always hated the saying kids should be seen and not heard :(   That is not true!!!!  They are special people and we need to listen to what they have to say.  I believe God can speak to us through them. I know I have learned a lot of lessons through my children.  They have taught me humility, patience, kindness.... I can go on and on.  The next time your little one talks to you, please take the time to listen with your heart.  You never know what they may have to teach you.   God may be trying to tell you something through the heart of your child. 

Time with kids

I have found over the years that it is so important to spend quality time with your children.  They rarely remember the gift they got for their birthday 2 years ago, but oh my they sure do remember the time mom or dad took them out and spent time with just them.  My husband and I try to spend one on one time with each of our children weekly.  Rather it be a special night out, or just making dinner together, they love that time.   They enjoy having mom or dad's undivided attention.  As a family we try to spend time together at meals and during family devotions.   We are not perfect in our parenting, but we try really hard to love them. 

I will always treasure each and every moment with my kids.  I will never take them for granted.  I will savor the sounds of their giggles and their little smiles are forever embedded in my mind.  The sparkle in their eyes light up my world.  They are truly the most amazing gifts from God!!!!

A great weekend

This weekend we were able to go to Cedar Point with the youth group.  Everyone had a wonderful time.  The adults were a bit worn out by the end of the day, but it was a fun experience.  Our little ones rode every ride they could at least once :-)   Sunday was Youth Sunday.  The youth group ran the entire service, and did great!!!  Robert did one part of the sermon and was such a blessing.  He spoke on God's grace. David (Amanda's boyfriend) did the second part of the sermon and taught on God's love.   Mandy played her guitar and sang "Thy Word".   Meg and Katie (Robert's girlfriend) sang " Lead Me To The Cross".   It was an incredible weekend!!!  God's blessing fell on all of us!

Zealous 4 year old

Hope just turned 4 in May.  She is a very energetic little girl.  She loves to learn, which makes me very happy!  On Monday, we started school and she is very excited about the new workbooks she is using this year.  Today she came to me and showed me that she had finished her Numbers workbook.  I couldn't believe it!  She had been doing it during her playtime.  She was actually doing school when she could have been playing with her many toys.  I told her how proud I was of her and she said  "Thanks mama, I love my books.  Will you buy me more?"   I told her I would buy her any books she wanted. 

This little story made me think about us being zealous in our learning.  Do we hide away and study our Bibles?  Are we ready to learn more and more about His Word?   Do we get excited to study His teachings?  I want to know all I can about my Lord.  I am going to begin to study His Word more faithfully!

Summer Fun

This past weekend we had a great time.  My husband's company had a 60th year celebration in Lancaster, Ohio.  They had so many things for the kids to do!  They had a blast!  It was nice to be able to go and just have fun without worrying about any expenses, as this was a totally free event :)  Thank you Kokosing Construction!!!  Happy Anniversary!!!! 

I need to get back to blogging :)

Our summer was very busy busy busy, but now we are back on schedule!   I love routines!  I love following schedules and being productive.  The children are doing well so far.  They are enjoying their new books and school supplies.

We have all six kiddos in school this year full time.  Hope is doing Kindergarten work. Joshy's in second grade.  Ryan is in his first year of Jr High and Meg is in her first year of high school.  Amanda has skipped her sophomore year and headed right to her Junior year.  Robert is a Senior now, but is also taking some college courses.  I can't believe this is our 13th year home schooling.  It just doesn't seem possible.  Time sure has flown by!

 I am going to share our homeschool room with you all now :) 

What a wonderful weekend!

We had a great weekend.  On Friday we had the opportunity to go to the Creation Museum.  I highly suggest, if you are able to go there, to take your family there.  It is well worth the money!!!  My six year old son Joshy was so amazed by it all.  He asked so many questions.  He also told us everything he knew about each exhibit.  I was so thrilled to hear him talk about each Bible story he knew.  Our 3 year old would chime in also, when she knew about a story that we were looking at.   Our other 4 kiddos just took everything in.  They were reading and listening to each exhibit.  They came home with a renewed outlook on how to minister to other young people. 



On Friday evening, we got to see Tim Hawkins.  He is a Christian comedian that was doing his comedy routine at the Cincinatti Homeschool Convention.  We laughed so hard, our cheeks were sore  :)

On Saturday, we visited the Exhibit Hall at the convention.  Then on Saturday evening we had the honor of seeing the Duggar Family.  They are so real and honest.  We also had the opportunity to visit with Jim Bob Duggar after the program.  He was very kind and took time to meet and talk with each of our children.  Mike and I were able to get a picture with him also.    

Megan was excited to get her picture with Jinger Duggar.  Megan enjoys watching their show so much.

We were going to stay 2 nights down south, but the little ones (and big ones lol)  were missing their beds and we all voted to head home.  Sunday we just rested and yesterday we went out to a wonderful lunch together as a family.  It was a great weekend.  God blessed us in many ways!!!!

Getting ready to leave....

Last night I made an itinerary for our trip to the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention.  We will be leaving on Friday morning.  The kids are just full of excitement.  Along with the convention, we will be going to the Creation Museum in Kentucky, the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science, and possibly the Dayton Air Force Museum.  At the convention, we will be seeing Tim Hawkins and the Duggar Family.  I believe it will be a great time of learning and exploration :)  Our teens will be attending a few seminars focussed for young people.  I am praying they receive a blessing from everything they hear. 

Today I will be making a list of everything we need to pack up tomorrow.  I am a list maker.  I love organization!!!  It is so much easier to do what needs to be done if things are organized. My youngest 2 children are just like mama.  They love to have everything organized.  They thrive on a schedule, which makes me very happy :) 

My prayer for the next few days is that we all stay well and that we have a safe trip.  Please pray for us as we travel. 

Good Morning.... Thank God it is Friday and Spring break is here :)

We have been so busy lately.  I am looking forward to having a week off, although next week, I will be packing for our trip to Cincinatti.  My kids are counting the days until we leave.  They are so excited to see Tim Hawkins and the Duggar family.  We will also be visiting the Dayton Air Force Museum and possibly the Creation Museum.  I am going to enjoy watching them all learn while they have fun. 

I have a few ideas to share with you all today.  One is our Morning Board. 

You can adapt it to what you want to teach your child/ren

I also want to share some websites with you.  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/storytime/index.asp  Each month they add a new book to their online storytime.  My kids love it.    Another website that is great for homeschoolers is http://www.thehomeschoolchannel.tv/  I encourage you to check it out :)

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Good morning all

It has been a very busy time for our family.  We have been doing so much that I haven't had a lot of time for blogging. 

God is leading our family in directions we never thought he would, but we are glad to follow His plan.  We would appreciate prayers for us as we follow God's calling. 

Fruit of the Spirit Lapbooks

We are really enjoying making lapbooks for different subjects.  Today we started working on a Fruit of the Spirit Lapbook.  I got online yesterday looking for things to work in our lapbooks and we found everything we needed at Homeschool Creations.  I love this site :)  Check it out!!! She has so much for homeschooler and parents who love to do things with their kiddos.

Got very sad news this morning :(

A family who we know through my husbands job just got news that their 18 month old daughter has RETTS Syndrome :(  I went online to see what this disorder was and it just broke my heart.

What is Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome is a neurological and developmental disorder that mostly occurs in females.  Infants with Rett syndrome seem to grow and develop normally at first, but then stop developing and even lose skills and abilities.

 

I can not tell you how blessed I feel to have 6 healhty children.  I thank God everyday for them. 

 

Please join us in prayer for this family. 

Lapbooks

We have been having a lot of fun learning the last couple of weeks.  The little ones are really enjoying making lapbooks. I had never done one with the kids until about 2 weeks ago.  I am going to post a website to show you all what a lapbook is and how easy it is to make one.  They are a great learning tool.

http://homeschoolcreations.com/lapbooks.html

Here are a few pictures of our Solar System lapbooks.  We also did ones on weather and the seasons :)

Oh be careful little eyes what you see, Oh be careful little ears what you hear, Oh be careful little mouth what you say....

Recently, I have been really careful with what I allow my children to hear, say, and see.  My husband and I have always been cautious when it came to what our children watch on tv or the music they listen to, but lately I have become even more aware of the little things that we say, hear, and see.   We made a list of hurtful words we are not allowed to use, we only watch shows that are educational or inspirational, and the music in our home has to be uplifting (most of it is worship music).   In Proverbs 4:23 it says "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."   We need to guard what enters our mind and hearts.  If we are constantly letting wrong things enter our minds and hearts that is what will come out. 

It warms my heart when my 3 year old hears something that an older sibling says, and she tells them "that is not nice, or that is on our list of words not to say"   She is guarding her heart at a young age!  The older sibling is always quick to apologize and that  puts a smile on my face.  They know and understand that what she is telling them is right and that they need to change their habits.  Most of the time we say and do things out of habit.  It is hard to change, but with God's help and our willingness to allow Him to change us, it will happen.  We also have to be willing to allow others to respectfully remind us that we are falling into old habits. 

I pray that each of my children will learn to guard their hearts.  I pray that even as adults, they will chose to allow God to work in them and through them. 

Getting back to basics

In todays world of electronics and technology, it is easy to lose sight of the simple basic things of life.  When was the last time you sat down and played a board game with your family, or read a book together?  I think technology has its good points, but it also is very distracting.  I can remember one evening while eating dinner, I looked up and saw something very upsetting.  My oldest son was surfing the web on his iTouch,  my oldest daughter was texting her friends, and the other kids were just staring at them wanting just a moment of their attention.  That is when one rule was born in our home, NO ELECTRONICS AT THE DINNER TABLE.   I think it is important to talk with each other during at least one meal a day.  Ask one another how they are doing and feeling.  Conversation is very important to families.  I believe that without it, the family will eventually fall apart.  They will not know each other like they should. 

It breaks my heart to see no real interaction between parents and children, or sisters and brothers.  The family is the most important tool God uses to make an impact in this world.  I know that is why Satan attacks families so much.  He knows how powerful a family, who prays together and serves God together,  is.   We need to limit our use of the internet, television, video games, and cell phones.  We need to spend more time developing our relationship with God.  We need to use our time wisely.  I want to implore you to put aside everything that distracts you from your family for just an hour a day and spend that time getting to know your children and spouse better!

Finally on the mend????

We have been sick for a week now; coughs, fevers, and other cold symptoms.  I think we are finally getting better.  Fevers are pretty much gone, except for Hope this morning.  She had a slight fever but it went away quickly after taking a half a dose of ibuprofen.  The coughs have been very annoying.  Keeping us up at night and making our muscles in our chests ache.  We could use a vacation !!!!!  

We decided to go ahead and do school today.  This week we will be doing some special projects.  The teens will be learning all about being good stewards with their money and they will be learning to make out a budget and how to pay bills.  We will also be doing an experiment at the end of this month, where they will be doing the families' grocery shopping for me :)  I found some really neat tools to teach budgeting.  The website is http://www.moneyinstructor.com/  

Please pray for us to continue to heal from this horrible flu bug.  I am praying for each family we know, so they may not have to get this bug. 

Joshy's Birthday Video Age 6 :)

Busy busy busy.....

Well things are finally slowing down at our home, but now we have the flu :(  We are taking our vitamins and eating well, so hopefully we will be over this quickly. 

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years.  Loved spending time with loved ones.  On January 1st our baby boy turned 6.  Joshy had a wonderful day.  He chose a football theme for his party.  We had a good time decorating and he had a great time enjoying it all. 

Joshy with his OSU Buckeye Cake :)



I am making a video for him today and will upload it as soon as I am finished :)