Monday, August 27, 2007

bits~n~pieces

Oh my goodness, when will I find the time to blog?

I know I shouldn't say that, as I'm *sure* I will always find the time to blog - but right now, as we are just starting off with our new hs'ing schedule, I feel completely overwhelmed! Ok, not really overwhelmed, just super-busy (which is fine, it's *okay* to be busy).

So in a quick nutshell, here's some of what's up around here:

**Detroit Zoo on Saturday! We got rained on a few time, but other than that we had a nice time. It wasn't too hot, there were lots of animals out in plain site. The cons: we rented a stroller - NOT made for babies. Luckily, I had our baby carrier in the van, so we took turns carrying Elijah all day. We will soon be investing in a nice double stroller (again - our latest one is about kaput!!).

**We are still working on trees & bushes in Interlock. We are also working on Money, per Daddy's request. Isaac got some birthday money, so we are implementing our expectations for the kid's own money: #1. Tithe (give back to God) #2. Save (we're making our own Piggy Banks) #3. Spend Wisely (be smart, don't waste). Sometimes dh and I need to be reminded of these simple three lessons as well....

**I love notebooking!! I have printed out a bunch of notebooking pages and we are working our way through them one page, one topic, at a time. The kids are still leary but I look forward to seeing their pages improve in creativity, neatness and content.

**My schedule is actually working - ok, well, it's working when I get up on on time. When I don't, it's rushed and I feel tired and over-worked. So the OBVIOUS solution would be............drum roll please............GET UP WHEN THE ALARM GOES OFF!!
Wow, I'm brilliant.

**I'm implementing a "Focus Time" for Bible and memorization. This will be right after breakfast, while we are still all at the table. A great way to start our day together! I'm still working on what to actually include during this Focus Time- but for now we are starting with learning the books of the Bible. Learning the Books of the Bible with Song I actually have most of the Old Testament memorized - amazing!

**I need to re-do the kid's chore chart. It is fine, the chores are appropriate and fine - but the chart itself needs redone. It needs to be "pre-reading" friendly - for my pre-readers! So off I go to find some clip art of toilets, sinks, dishes, tables, laundry, toys, dollies, you-name-it!!

My mother is coming in tomorrow on the train - my kids are psyched! Ok, *I'm* psyched!! I'm sure we have a fun week ahead of us - I need to go stock up on coffee and flavored creamers......plus she is then taking Tali back on the train with her, for Tali's first "Mema & Papa Visit". Fun times!

I really want to do a week of "Look at my Day" - to talk about schedule, hs'ing, modest dress, chores, home, etc.....but I need to settle into my own schedule a bit more first. Then we'll see...

Luv to all~
God Bless
*Michigan Momma*

5 comments:

Shari said...

You may be interested in checking out www.explorerbiblestudy.org. Click on Home School and register. You can then download any or all age group lessons for the week. They start you with Week 1 (Genesis)and you can download their lessons every week. It may be something to look into.

Thirdtimemomma said...

Hey Mama! You've been busy! Way to go on your HSing. :) I had a lot of luck googling words like "make bed clipart" to find cute pic's for our habit chart (chores basically)

Anonymous said...

Hey M-M,

Sounds like things are trotting right along at your house! :) This is the year of the schedule at our house too.

Thanks for posting the books of the bible song....I have searched and searched for that!

How is the weightloss going?

~Annemarie

Kelly said...

Although it is a big initial investment, you might try getting a premium double stroller off of eBay. Several of my friends have gotten a Peg Perego, which was still less than half price, even with shipping. Those last forever! If you're anticipating more children, it is cheaper to buy the nice (used) one, than to keep replacing them with the cheaper models.

Thirdtimemomma said...

Hey MI Mama!
How's school?