Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up- September 14

A good, but busy week is coming to an end.  We are hoping to go on a trip to a local zoo on Friday.  I will post some pics next week.  :-)

In my life/homeschool this week: This week, some of the things the kiddos have been learning about include minerals (all), ocean currents (kiddo #2),

important events in aviation history (kiddo #1), ungulates (kiddos #3 and 4), astronomy (kiddo #1), algebra (kiddos 1 and 2),

early American history (all), etc., etc., etc!  Add this to music lessons, Italian class, sewing class, classes at church, IEW class and Civil Air Patrol, and it adds up to one busy week!  Next week, chemistry class, an online theology class and finance will added to the mix.  Yegads!  ;-)  And, hubby and I have been canning more fresh veggies and fruit every night! 

Have I mentioned I'm tired?  lol. 
:-) 

My blog posts this week:
Monday- our busy and productive weekend


Tuesday- my recipe linkup (this week I shared about canning fresh corn)

Wednesday- photos of our great school week so far (games, activities, etc.)

Thursday- my thankful Thursday post (9/11 remembrance and some more fun photos)

What I'm reading this week: Read?  Who has had time to read this week? :-) When not teaching the kiddos or canning into the night, we tried to get some sleep.  I need to get back into my reading.  I miss it.

What I'm praying for: the families of 9/11 victims, our military and their families, the families of those lost this week in the horrible attacks on our embassies, those sick or suffering, unemployed.... the list goes on....  :-(

Photo or quote to share:  "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats

"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built upon the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must taught to think. Whereas if the child is left to himself, he will think more and better, if less slowly. Let him come and go freely, let him touch real things and combine his impressions for himself, instead of sitting indoors at a little round table while a sweet-voiced teacher suggest that he build a stone wall with his wooden blocks, or make a rainbow out of strips of colored paper, or plant straw trees in flower pots. Such teaching fills the mind with artificial associations that must be got rid of before the child can develop independent ideas out of actual experiences." - Anne Sullivan

"I learned most, not from those who taught me but from those who talked with me." - St. Augustine

"I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." - Albert Einstein

enjoying the cooler weather that has come at last!

Linking up with Create with Joy, Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up



Thankful Thursday- September 13

How could I start a thankful post this week without remembering the events of 9/11?  We have so much to be thankful for-- the sacrifices of so many to try to save people they didn't even know, whether it be the emergency personnel who climbed into those burning buildings or our military personnel who put their lives on the line every single day for our freedoms. 

Freedom.  Something that many have taken for granted, but is so valuable, so precious that much blood has been shed to preserve it.  Let us never, ever forget; the loss of life, the sacrifice, the courage, the bravery, the values and principles upon which this nation was founded.

I am also grateful for a wonderful week of schooling with my kids.  How privileged I am to be learning with them and from them and spend such quality time together.  I was blessed to be able to find some fun learning games that really "clicked"

and do some fun hands-on science experiments like this one demonstrating wind currents in the ocean

and enjoying home-baked delicacies  :-)

What are you thankful for this week? 

Linking up today with Red Oak Lane, Raising Mighty Arrows, NOBH and A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

Wordless Wednesday- September 12

Ok, again it will be almost wordless, lol.  :-)  Yesterday was a slam-dunk of a homeschooling day.  You who homeschool know how good it feels when you have a day like that.  The pictures below show our vitamin/mineral booklets, telling time bingo and playing outside.  I didn't get photos of the Algebra videos, Oceanography powerpoint, historical reading or Italian class, but they went really well, too.  What a blessing! Yay!   :-)

Happy Wednesday, all! Linking up today with Judy H-J's Thoughts, Mama to 4 Blessings, Create with Joy , Living Well Wednesdays, NOBH, Favorite Things and Modest Mom

Try a New Recipe Tuesday- September 11

It is time again for our weekly linkup!  I look forward each week to all of the delicious recipes that will be shared.  Of course, this is also a day to never, ever forget.  Let us all take a moment of our time today to remember and reflect, not only the horrific events of this day that forever changed our lives, but those who lost their lives and the heroic sacrifices of those who tried in vain to save countless others.

Ok, back to our happy recipe share!  :-)

We have been doing lot of canning here.  This past weekend, my husband and I found a local farm that picks their corn about 3-4 times a day (so it is VERY fresh).  We bought a bushel (50 ears) and are having fun canning them.  Ok, I guess we're canning geeks, because we are really enjoying all of our canning.  So far, we have done carrots, corn, peas and peaches.  :-)

Here is the "recipe" for our corn canning:

start with ears of corn

remove corn (this can be very tricky.  We find it is much easier when we find ripe and mature corn)

load it into clean and sanitized jars

fill with boiling water and place lid and ring on jar

place into pressure canner for 55 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure

and enjoy fresh corn for many months to come!  :-)

Linking up with the Gathering Spot, Kids in the Kitchen, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Mighty Arrows, Addicted to Recipes, Homemaking Wednesdays, Living Well Wednesday, NOBH, Judy H-J's Thoughts, Wisdom Wednesday , Favorite Things and Modest Mom

Make Life Meaningful Monday- September 10

What a good weekend!  My husband hasn't had an entire weekend off in about a year, so that in itself makes it a good weekend, but we did get much accomplished.  :-)

Kiddo #4 helped daddy make Taco Salad

He and Kiddo #1 cleaned out the shed and we loaded a car full of bicycles, toys and other items that have been outgrown to bring over to church for the upcoming flea market.

We also headed to a local farm and picked up some delicious peaches and corn for canning.  We canned carrots on Saturday evening and continued with the peaches and corn on Sunday.  I'm glad hubby enjoys the canning as much as I do.  We keep coming up with more foods that we want to try. 
:-)

Kiddo #1 helped make more shelves to store all of our canned goodies.

Kiddos 3 and 4 had fun with one of their train layouts while Kiddo 2 enjoyed football and baseball.

A wonderful weekend to recharge and get ready for another week of work and homeschool.

Hope your weekend was great, as well!

Linking up with On, in and around Mondays and Inspire Me Monday in addition to Wisdom Wednesday, Living Well Wednesday, Mom's Monday Mingle and Monday Mingle and Modest Mom

Homeschool Mother's Journal/Weekly Wrap-Up- September 7

First week of school done (well, 3 days anyway, lol!)  :-)

It is always hectic to come home over Labor Day weekend and then, in a matter of days, to try to get everything together and organized to start school on Wednesday, but we did it. 

Monday was a rainy and dreary Labor Day here, but we were still able to barbecue and enjoy the day.  On Tuesday, my son and I were asked to help with a very sad funeral at our church for a baby.  It profoundly affected me.  I wrote a bit more about it here.  On a happier note, you will also see in that post that we got to can some peas!  Yay!  :-)  We're adding that to our corn and carrots.

I hosted my weekly recipe linkup on Tuesday.  Come over and see some of the delicious ones that were shared.

We started back with our schoolwork on Wednesday and took lots of photos of the kiddos doing some of their work.  It was the subject of my Wordless Wednesday post which you could see here.

My favorite resources this week have to be a wonderful airplane study I found at Hands of a  Child for Kiddo #1 and a game called "Noun Town" that Kiddos #3 and 4 got to play on Friday.  I found this for free at filefolderfun.com.  I had it printed at a local copy store, so the quality is really good and I will definitely have it laminated before it gets too well used.  :-)

For sure one of my favorite things can be seen in the photo below.  Kiddos 3 and 4 finished their morning work before their older brothers and they worked together quietly and cooperatively to get an awesome train track built.  It isn't just the creativity of the track and layout that pleased me, but how well they play together and wisely use their time.  I told them that those are some of the best life lessons they could have learned today.

What I'm reading: no more marathon readings sessions like at the beach :-(, but I am trying to keep up with my reading groups.

What I'm praying for: those who are ill, suffering, or who have had a death in their families, those who are unemployed, our military, our nation, my family....

A quote or photo to share: 
"Academies that are founded at public expense are instituted not so much to cultivate men's natural abilities as to restrain them."-- Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)

"All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education."
– Sir Walter Scott

Linking up with Create with Joy, Homeschool Mother's Journal, Weekly Wrap-Up and Favorite Resources.

Thankful Thursday- September 6

I am so late in getting this post done, but I still wanted to do it, because it has been such a wonderful experience these past months thinking of the so many things for which I have to be grateful.

We were back into the full swing of homeschool today, thus there wasn't any real free time to put together a post.  But, that is definitely something to add to my gratitude list.  I have the incredible blessing to be able to educate my children in a way that benefits them best.  I can choose curriculum according to their needs, abilities and interests.

I am also grateful for being able to can fresh vegetables.  It has been a fun learning experience and I know we will enjoy delicious farm fresh veggies during the winter.  I bought some peas yesterday and the kiddos were happy to help.  It was really fun (especially when they would shoot out like mini bullets and fly through the air).  :-)

Most importantly this week, I am grateful for the precious gift of my children.  You see, Kiddo #1 and I were asked to help out with a funeral on Tuesday.  It was for a 3-day old baby boy.  To say it was heartwrenching would be an understatement.  The mother's sobs ripped open my heart.  But her incredible courage and faith, being there only days after an emergency c-section was an inspiration, as was her husband who held her up, both physically and emotionally.  I told her those things as she hugged me thank you at the end of the service. 

The sermon seemed to come from the mouth of the Lord Himself.  I pray that it gave the family some comfort and peace.  I have never heard more beautiful and appropriate words at a funeral.

So, even though this post is quite late, it is still written with the same sentiment and gratitude, just from a slightly overwhelmed, not quite unpacked from vacation homeschooling mama who is looking forward to settling back down into the routine.  :-)

Linking up today with Red Oak Lane, Raising Mighty Arrows, NOBH and A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings