Well, I'm a little earlier posting for Christmas than I was for Thanksgiving. I guess that's progress! I would love to hear any traditions you and your family have during the Christmas season -- anything you do to celebrate the season.
We are using an advent wreath for the first time this year, and it's been great! It sits on our kitchen table. We light a candle every night before dinner, pray a prayer, and read a scripture. We leave the candles lit during dinner, which the boys (Boyd - 6, Randy - 4) love. I've found it's definitely helping me focus more on the amazing lengths God went to so he could come to us -- to make a way for us to know Him by sending His only Son to this world for us. What an amazing, wonderful God! It's also helping all of us focus more on how we can serve others during this season. We'll definitely make this a yearly tradition!
What about you? Any traditions or Christmas ideas you can share??
Toni
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Thanksgiving Thoughts
OK, so Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK, which means I may be a little late getting to this, but I'm hoping for a little grace since this is my first attempt at managing this blog.
I would love for y'all to post some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes (I'm still trying to decide what to take to my in-laws!) or your favorite Thanksgiving traditions in your house. Also, feel free to post anything you're particularly thankful for this year.
I found an activity I'm going to use with my boys (Boyd - 6, Randy - 4) this year. We will have a tree on a brown sheet of paper (the trunk and branches). Then, I'm going to cut out leaves in fall colors. The boys are going to write things they are thankful for on each leaf, and we're going to glue the leaves to the tree to make a Thanksgiving tree. (I also thought this idea would be cute if you had the body of a turkey and cut out "turkey feathers" for the kids to write on. Then, you could make a Thanksgiving turkey!)
How about you? Any ideas, recipes, or traditions you'd like to share?
Toni Cowan
I would love for y'all to post some of your favorite Thanksgiving recipes (I'm still trying to decide what to take to my in-laws!) or your favorite Thanksgiving traditions in your house. Also, feel free to post anything you're particularly thankful for this year.
I found an activity I'm going to use with my boys (Boyd - 6, Randy - 4) this year. We will have a tree on a brown sheet of paper (the trunk and branches). Then, I'm going to cut out leaves in fall colors. The boys are going to write things they are thankful for on each leaf, and we're going to glue the leaves to the tree to make a Thanksgiving tree. (I also thought this idea would be cute if you had the body of a turkey and cut out "turkey feathers" for the kids to write on. Then, you could make a Thanksgiving turkey!)
How about you? Any ideas, recipes, or traditions you'd like to share?
Toni Cowan
Sunday, November 7, 2010
I am not a blogger, but I am copying and pasting Savannah's newest blog entry (if you'd like to see the pics, you can click on her blog --to the right--My Little World).
We just spent the night at a museum! Friday morning we left the house heading for the McWane Science Center. Friday afternoon we stopped at A&W for a Root Beer Float. (It's a family tradition that when we pass through Meridian, we stop for a float.) Friday evening we got to the museum with the homeschool group. The museum provided our suppper, and then it was time for an Imax about ocean life. It had some beautiful places in it near the coast of Africa. It felt like we were RIGHT there!!
After that we did some exploring. Then between 8:00 and 9:00, we got to pet sting rays and sharks!!!! We saw lots of fish too, but of course you can't pet fish--they are too fast! (Although I did pet a python!) We ate homemade ice-cream that was done in 3 minutes, made with nitrogen instead of regular ice. We also got to pet and hold bearded dragons, snakes, a chinchilla and a another lizard type thing. We explored the huge museum (four floors in all), and were free to go where we wanted (the museum was closed to the public, so our group had the whole place to ourselves). There were all sorts of exhibits, I can't even begin to name them all. Soon after that, we had a snack at about 10:30-11:00. then we started getting ready for bed. By the time every one was dressed for bed and had their bedding set up, it was 12:00 and that was when the lights were to go out. The floor wasn't exactly comfortable, but my mom and dad had the air mattress that my aunt and uncle let them borrow.
On Saturday morning, we were waken up by a lady's booming loud voice saying "it is now 7:00 in the morning. Breakfast will begin being served at 7:30 please get up and bring your bedding down to breakfast with you". Dad loaded up our stuff into the truck while we were getting our clothes on. After breakfast most of the people left to go too the Birmingham Zoo. We stayed for a few hours after the museum opened back up. We got too see lots of things that we had not seen the night before. So, in total, we were in the museum for NINETEEN hours!!!! We finally got tired and made our way to the door...
P.S. we didn't even see the whole museum after being there 19 hours!!!
Here is the link to the museum if you'd like to check it out: McWane Science Center - Exhibits
If you check out her blog, she loves to receive comments;-)
Ang
We just spent the night at a museum! Friday morning we left the house heading for the McWane Science Center. Friday afternoon we stopped at A&W for a Root Beer Float. (It's a family tradition that when we pass through Meridian, we stop for a float.) Friday evening we got to the museum with the homeschool group. The museum provided our suppper, and then it was time for an Imax about ocean life. It had some beautiful places in it near the coast of Africa. It felt like we were RIGHT there!!
After that we did some exploring. Then between 8:00 and 9:00, we got to pet sting rays and sharks!!!! We saw lots of fish too, but of course you can't pet fish--they are too fast! (Although I did pet a python!) We ate homemade ice-cream that was done in 3 minutes, made with nitrogen instead of regular ice. We also got to pet and hold bearded dragons, snakes, a chinchilla and a another lizard type thing. We explored the huge museum (four floors in all), and were free to go where we wanted (the museum was closed to the public, so our group had the whole place to ourselves). There were all sorts of exhibits, I can't even begin to name them all. Soon after that, we had a snack at about 10:30-11:00. then we started getting ready for bed. By the time every one was dressed for bed and had their bedding set up, it was 12:00 and that was when the lights were to go out. The floor wasn't exactly comfortable, but my mom and dad had the air mattress that my aunt and uncle let them borrow.
On Saturday morning, we were waken up by a lady's booming loud voice saying "it is now 7:00 in the morning. Breakfast will begin being served at 7:30 please get up and bring your bedding down to breakfast with you". Dad loaded up our stuff into the truck while we were getting our clothes on. After breakfast most of the people left to go too the Birmingham Zoo. We stayed for a few hours after the museum opened back up. We got too see lots of things that we had not seen the night before. So, in total, we were in the museum for NINETEEN hours!!!! We finally got tired and made our way to the door...
P.S. we didn't even see the whole museum after being there 19 hours!!!
Here is the link to the museum if you'd like to check it out: McWane Science Center - Exhibits
If you check out her blog, she loves to receive comments;-)
Ang
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Our new whiteboard
For several years, I've been trying to find a white board that wasn't intrusive into our living area. (I'm not quite sure why that bothers me but it does). Our school room area is our dining room. Many of you know the fun of packing up your school room everyday to have lunch and supper...but that's for another day!
I found this blog about making a white board from an old picture frame. I thought that would be perfect! It won't be a beautiful piece of art but it also won't be an ugly white board in my living space either.
So, I talked Chad into going in our attic and pulling down a big picture frame I used to have hanging on the wall. I went to Hancock's and bought a $3 yard of fabric and came home and put this together. I'm excited to start using it! Not bad for a $3 white board.
I think I'd prefer the frame to be black but this works for now.
Here are the two blogs where I found the ideas.
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2009/03/picture-frame-dry-erase-board.html
http://secretstitchclub.blogspot.com/2009/01/make-your-own-project-board-tutorial.html
Jennifer Alford
I found this blog about making a white board from an old picture frame. I thought that would be perfect! It won't be a beautiful piece of art but it also won't be an ugly white board in my living space either.
So, I talked Chad into going in our attic and pulling down a big picture frame I used to have hanging on the wall. I went to Hancock's and bought a $3 yard of fabric and came home and put this together. I'm excited to start using it! Not bad for a $3 white board.
Here are the two blogs where I found the ideas.
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2009/03/picture-frame-dry-erase-board.html
http://secretstitchclub.blogspot.com/2009/01/make-your-own-project-board-tutorial.html
Jennifer Alford
Sunday, October 3, 2010
School Outdoors
Jennifer Crowe and the Crowe's Nest!!!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
That "New School" Attitude
I have a serious problem. I have some friends that understand this problem, but so many people I know think that I am just beyond hope. The problem started a long time ago when I was just a child--I am in LOVE with learning and with school in general. I love this time of year. I love the time of year when all of the stores have prominent displays of school supplies. Have you ever seen that old Staples commercial with the father going through the school supply aisle, joyously tossing supplies into his basket as the background music plays "It's the most wonderful time of the year. . . "? That is one of my favorite commercials. I just LOVE school!
However, this love is not something, sadly, that can be inherited by my children. Yes, they look forward to the new supplies, the new clothes, and yes, maybe for a moment, even the new books--for a moment. Here we are several weeks in to school and the duldrums of mundane school work have set in. I have worked hard to make the classroom look fresh and new with new posters, time lines, fresh new maps, sharpened pencils with our really cool new electric sharpener, encouraging Bible verses printed on brightly colored paper and hung everywhere, but it is the same old school.
Finally, last week, sitting at my desk and taking a nice deep breath after a particularly dull day, I realized something--we don't need any new pencils, visuals, curriculum, etc. What we need is a new attitude. Hmmmmm. . . .I am pondering this one for a while. How's my attitude? Tired, run-down, routine. Well, should I expect anything more from my children then? How can I change this attitude? What is it going to take to get back that love of learning? It was then that I realized that while I am trying to do the right things like read my Bible, start each day with prayer, plan our next day or week and prepare each night accordingly, what I am really doing is putting these important things on a list and making them. . . .routine. Yes, routine is a good thing when you want to make sure that things are getting done, but is it enjoyable? Is it fun? Are we really learning anything other than to do things on time? I have to be honest and say, "Not really." I have gone from loving learning to fulfilling routine.
So, we are taking the NEW ATTITUDE challenge in our classroom this week, and I would like to encourage those of you who read this to do the same. This week, I sat down with my girls and we talked about what would make our day more fun. Oddly enough, our ideas all lined up with something we had learned a long time ago--the fruits of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. We all agreed that our day would be so much more fun if we had those things in our day. So, we are challenging ourselves this week to change our attitudes to reflect love, joy, peace, etc. in every thing we do.
Like the song in the commercial said, this really is the most wonderful time of the year because we are embarking on yet another year of getting to educate our children (and they are getting to be educated) in the way our Heavenly Father has led us. What could give us more joy than that? Rather than just reading our Bibles to check that off the list, we are going to LOVE His Word and LOVE learning from Him. From these first two, we hope to gain peace in our day and to keep the peace with each other even when we have asked or answered the same question more than twice. Then, maybe, we will challenge ourselves again next week, and then the next, and then. . .who knows? That love for learning just may return after all! It's the most WON-der-ful time. . .of the year. . . .:-D
--Kimberly Lepone
However, this love is not something, sadly, that can be inherited by my children. Yes, they look forward to the new supplies, the new clothes, and yes, maybe for a moment, even the new books--for a moment. Here we are several weeks in to school and the duldrums of mundane school work have set in. I have worked hard to make the classroom look fresh and new with new posters, time lines, fresh new maps, sharpened pencils with our really cool new electric sharpener, encouraging Bible verses printed on brightly colored paper and hung everywhere, but it is the same old school.
Finally, last week, sitting at my desk and taking a nice deep breath after a particularly dull day, I realized something--we don't need any new pencils, visuals, curriculum, etc. What we need is a new attitude. Hmmmmm. . . .I am pondering this one for a while. How's my attitude? Tired, run-down, routine. Well, should I expect anything more from my children then? How can I change this attitude? What is it going to take to get back that love of learning? It was then that I realized that while I am trying to do the right things like read my Bible, start each day with prayer, plan our next day or week and prepare each night accordingly, what I am really doing is putting these important things on a list and making them. . . .routine. Yes, routine is a good thing when you want to make sure that things are getting done, but is it enjoyable? Is it fun? Are we really learning anything other than to do things on time? I have to be honest and say, "Not really." I have gone from loving learning to fulfilling routine.
So, we are taking the NEW ATTITUDE challenge in our classroom this week, and I would like to encourage those of you who read this to do the same. This week, I sat down with my girls and we talked about what would make our day more fun. Oddly enough, our ideas all lined up with something we had learned a long time ago--the fruits of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. We all agreed that our day would be so much more fun if we had those things in our day. So, we are challenging ourselves this week to change our attitudes to reflect love, joy, peace, etc. in every thing we do.
Like the song in the commercial said, this really is the most wonderful time of the year because we are embarking on yet another year of getting to educate our children (and they are getting to be educated) in the way our Heavenly Father has led us. What could give us more joy than that? Rather than just reading our Bibles to check that off the list, we are going to LOVE His Word and LOVE learning from Him. From these first two, we hope to gain peace in our day and to keep the peace with each other even when we have asked or answered the same question more than twice. Then, maybe, we will challenge ourselves again next week, and then the next, and then. . .who knows? That love for learning just may return after all! It's the most WON-der-ful time. . .of the year. . . .:-D
--Kimberly Lepone
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Welcome to our Reache Blog
This will be replacing our quarterly newsletter. This blog will be an avenue to post pictures, accomplishments, and fun things you have been doing in your homeschool adventures. Feel free to post anytime. If you are unsure about posting something, you can email us at cjhmanda@gmail.com for more info or help doing this.
You can share this blog with your family and friends to keep them updated on what our group has been doing. It will be like our own newspaper or magazine published for you to share.
You can share this blog with your family and friends to keep them updated on what our group has been doing. It will be like our own newspaper or magazine published for you to share.
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