The Formal Ball

Our wonderful friends planned a Formal Ball for families. We had a BALL!

Literature For Lunch-New Lunch Read Aloud-Kingdom's Dawn by Chuck Black

We are addicted to following Leinad! Here's the 2nd book in the series by Chuck Black.

Today's Joy-Hammy!

So these new chairs have created MANY opportunity for FUN! Here's Sarah today...just can't help herself! Hammy!

Dan The Lego Man

John has been sorting Dan's Legos into little bins over the past few days. This makes it much easier for Daniel to build! He's been really drawn to his Lego counter lately!

Typing With Sarah

Both kids are having fun with their typing program...here's Sarah in her jammies working on typing!

Literature For Lunch-New Lunch Read Aloud-Kingdom's Dawn by Chuck Black

My friend Christi suggested this series...I LIKE IT a lot! The writing is great and the story is REALLY developing by chapter 4! Looking forward to more Kingdom's Dawn by Chuck Black!

Homeschool Essentials-Plastic Page Protectors

What IS it about office supplies...don't you love them, too? All those packs of pens and pencils? Tape, glue and adhesives? Composition books? Binders? ...I love 3-ring binders! Maybe that is for another post...but I can't live without plastic page protectors! They are SO useful!

I bought a box of 100 of the matte, flimsy ones in a futile attempt to save a few dollars-and they ripped! Now I get the glossy, heavy weight and though they make the binder weigh more when it is full, it is SO worth it. If I'm going to bother to put something in a protector, that means I actually want to view it at some point in the future and have the page PROTECTED...these heavy-duty ones do the job!

How do we use them in our homeschool? I have a huge 3" binder for each kid's writing and I use these page protectors for those. Sarah started a recipe binder-need page protectors! I also use them in my crochet journal where I store patterns and notes about each project...now I'm starting a sewing journal, too. I keep a box of these along with several different sizes of binders so when I need a new topic, I can grab and go!

Literature For Lunch-New Lunch Read Aloud-Night of the Ninjas by Mary Pope Osborne

Daniel had chosen Magic Treehouse #1 "Dinosaurs Before Dark" by Mary Pope Osborne for our next read aloud but instead we read #5 "Night of the Ninjas"...we'll be done by tomorrow.

Dashing Daniel and His Interests

I've been thinking a lot about Daniel recently. I've been thinking about him turning 12 this coming March and thinking about his interests. I want to help him discover who God has made him to be. Sarah is very solid in her learning process and this is evident because of the numerous things she produces each week.  I've noticed that I have many pictures of Sarah doing all the hands-on things she likes to do, but not so many of Daniel. This is because many of Daniel's interests are "virtual"...they exist in his mind, there's no physical product to hold. How can I help him develop, explore and improve when much of what he's about is in his head?

Here are some things Daniel likes to do:
-play board games
-play card games
-read comics
-read books
-make movies with the camera
-play with Sarah
-play with Legos, especially a new set
-do puzzles
-draw
-use his imagination
-use Lego Builder online
-visit the LOLACHE Kids Forum
-type his Christmas wish list in Notepad
-use his powers of persuasion and negotiation

This last one made me think about getting him that Fallacy Detective book...I think he would REALLY like that...and it might spur him on to things he enjoys in that arena. Maybe he would enjoy debate? I've often thought he would be an excellent lawyer because of his persuasive negotiating and reasoning skills. I'm going to get the book and see what happens.

Sarah's Photography

Sarah is 8 and she took this picture. This effect is called "bokeh". I don't think Sarah knew that, she just snapped a picture...but it is beautiful, isn't it? I put the vignette and watermark on it.

Finished Rascal Today

We finished Rascal by Sterling North today. I'll never view raccoons the same way again! Daniel gets to choose the next book which we'll begin on Monday.