Meet the Kinders....

It's the Not Back to school Blog hop this week... Meeting the Students!

Here are our little monkey's!

2011-2012

 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:6-9

KT:

Proverbs 13:20 He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who live him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

JT

Psalms 127:3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

This is my special Verse this season:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

I can't homeschool these kinders on my own. I can look like I have it all together, I can plan the whole year, have a pretty cool school room; 

But I can't do this without Jesus to help me EVERYDAY. 

....Begining this school year without my husband...again. There are days when I really think I can't do this anymore... But then I remember, that my hope and dependancy is not in Man.. but in Christ. And together we will take it Day by day.
(only 5 more months out of the 19  till he returns for good!)   =)

Do you have a verse for this school year? Please share it!

Thanks for stopping by, Have a Wonderful School Year! Whatever your hands find to do , do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10

 

Happy Birthday JT

My little man is 7!!!!!

He had a Puppy Beach Party =) I love that he still loves puppies. I love that he wanted to have his birthday at home, ( i gave him several choices) and that he loved having just his family. We decided a few years ago to stop doing large parties, and opted for family and a best friend or two as they got older to spend the day with them.
 I always felt like I was so busy that I wasnt able to fully see my children enjoy their special day. plus it did cost $$$$,  and stress... and... =)  I still go all out and decorate as if 30 people were coming. =) And birthdays are a BIG deal around here, but to us at this time in our life, there is something special to having our birthday babies all to ourselves. =) Daddy wasn't here this time, but he graciously woke up in the middle of the night his time to sing with us over the web cam. =) Thanks Daddy!!

Jt and his BEST friend =) They love each other.... She was so excited for his birthday, I think more excited for him, than he was! And he was excited! I overheard her in the morning downstairs as they were looking at all the surprise decorations I hung... she said " oh, Happy birthday brodder!!!" it was so genuine and sweet!

Jt cooked the entire birthday dinner!!! his specialty... Scrambled eggs, biscuits and bacon! He did awesome!

Papa and Gramma and Nino For the festivities!

Nino

Jt's surprise cake! =) I wanted to get a good laugh, and I did!

And Sir Henry- the cousin in the family!!! He had fun too!

The rest of my pictures were on my iphone, and i dont know how to take them off yet, But he had a wonderful birthday and recieved wonderful gifts!! So much thought in each, they were ALL his favorite! =)

Mama's Fall Reading List

So excited about my new books for this season! Wanted to share these with you as well.... Below are the descriptions for each title, and links.  I should also probably note that I am not paid for any of this, and it's my own personal pick over this seasons list... =)

The Mission Minded Child

So far This is a GREAT book! I LOOOOVE It! Ann Dunagan from the Harvest Ministries has a ton of FREE resources for your children, including a free one year day by day homeschool curriculum for the mission minded family.

The mission minded Child :

Taken from amazon description: David Livingstone, once said, "This generation can only reach this generation." But will we raise our children to effectively impact their generation for Jesus Christ?

The Mission-Minded Child is a practical book to encourage Christian parents and teachers placed in the strategic position of impacting the next generation. As a guide to world missions, The Mission-Minded Child is filled with facts, information and tools for teaching. It focuses on the "why" of missions—including our Biblical basis, historical heritage and the world’s need—and contains over 25 mini-missionary biographies, motivational mission stories, classic poems, hymns and hundreds of easy-to-use ideas.


The Mission-Minded Child will inspire teachers and parents to look for God’s potential in their child, "release" their little one to God for His purposes and "raise" their child to fulfill God’s specific mission. As a resource tool, this book will be referred to again and again.


About the Author


Ann Dunagan is a homeschooling mother of seven and an international minister alongside her husband, Jon Dunagan. In 1986, Jon & Ann Dunagan founded Harvest Ministry. Ann has personally ministered in over 25 countries throughout the world and she enjoys teaching children, speaking to women, and encouraging parents and teachers. The Dunagan family are based in Hood River, Oregon.

Keeping our Children's Hearts

So Far this is AMAZING!!!!!!! I have personally enjoyed Teri Maxwell's books, and her website. Homeschoolign with a meek and quiet spirit, was a wonderful book.

info from titus2.com : written for parents of young children to teenagers, this book shares the joys and outcomes of our vital priority--keeping our children's hearts. Rebellion and immorality are common among teens even within the Christian community. Does Scripture offer any path of hope for more than this for our children? What can parents do to direct their children toward godliness rather than worldliness? When does this process begin? What is the cost?

Steve and Teri Maxwell believe the key factors in raising children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) are whether or not the parents have their children's hearts and what they are doing with those hearts. Keeping Our Children's Hearts offers direction and encouragement on this critically important topic.

Managers of their Chores

This book Rocks!!! I love how easy it is to read, it teaches the Why's of chores, and how to teach it to your children in such a great and powerful way....

In the same way that Managers of Their Homes helped tens of thousands of moms "get it all done," Managers of Their Chores helps families conquer the chore battle. The book and included ChorePack system have the potential to revolutionize the way your family accomplishes chores. Whether you are chore challenged or a seasoned chore warrior, you will gain motivation and loads of practical advice on implementing a stress-free chore system.

While this book will not do your chores for you, it is an incredible tool that will allow you to create and maintain a successful chore system for your family. Help prepare your children -- from preschoolers to teens -- for life by teaching them to do chores.

A Biblical Home Education

Taken from amazon description: An immensely respected leader in today's homeschool movement, Dr. Ruth Beechick encourages families to center all aspects of their children's learning on God's Word in A Biblical Home Education.

Beechick begins by showing how the subjects of worldview, science, and history have been pulled apart from the Bible and how they can be sensibly reconnected. In the author's words, "Since the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, that anti-God teaching can lead only to foolishness."






Also included are chapters on thinking, reading, writing and study skills, learning methods, curriculum tips, and extensive teaching helps.

The Three R's

Taken from amazon description:Three resources in one READING, WRITING, and ARITHMETIC! Learn how to take the mystery out of teaching the early grades with this practical, down-to-earth guidebook from Ruth Beechick. The book is divided into three sections that are tabbed for easy reference. The READING section tells how and when to begin phonics, and how to develop comprehension skills. The LANGUAGE section shows how to develop written language skills naturally, in the same way children learn oral language. The ARITHMETIC section explains how to teach understanding of math concepts, and not just memorization of facts. Bonus: A removable 2-sided wall chart for phonics and arithmetic.

The Unschooling Unmanual

I bought this to see some thoughts or ideas on unschooling, i am not an unschooler but would like to hear their ideas on the topicl. =) so far it's okay... very basic. Should have purchased a John Holt book instead...  =)

Taken from amazon description:

Unschooling isn't a technique - it's living and learning naturally, lovingly, and respectfully together.

The Unschooling Unmanual features 11 essays by 8 writers:

What are you reading this season ?

 



Fall Days Unit Study

Fall in Germany is upon us, and so beautiful this time of year....

It's been a few weeks now since I have posted. We have been enjoying nature walks, and any outdoor nature fun when we can.. Something about fall makes you want to get out and enjoy nature... collect leaves, sticks, chestnuts, acorns... we just love it!

Maybe this fall is even more special to us because this is finally the season that Daddy is returning!

                                               

Here is what we have been up to...

Every season I like to change up the home decor.. it's a hobby and I enjoy it!  This is our entryway.... BORING

it's been bugging me for a little over a year, and I wanted something fresh, so here it is now...

I moved the coat hooks to the other wall, and covered the paneling to brigthen up the entry way... not to bad!! =-) Turquoise is my new favorite color lately....

And here is a little spot to put our nature finds!

and of course into the dining room some more turquoise!

In order to help our mornings run more smoothly we set out our bowls and breakfast cups and spoons for cereal in the morning on the table. This helps with the banging of cabinets and the kinders fighting over  what bowl they are going to use etc... all before mommy makes her way downstairs. It works awesome! .

see my cute turquoise birdies? =)

and of course hand made throw pillows

and my little collection of owls and wooden clocks in the school room.. ( i am scared to death of 'em)  what's with the cute owl thing???; cheri... still part of the I hate birds club!)

and a little "love" in the school room.....

Okay, so enough of the decor, wanna see what the kids have been up to? =)

Here is KT playing checkers with daddy online... she cracks me up the way she is sitting!

going for bike rides....

JT playing "paper route boy"

kids playing seek and find games in their Fun books together!

KT and I made some "pretties" from some plain headbands a few days ago.. we hot glued beads, and ribbon etc... she llllooves them~

Here, mommy being a bit crafty with the sewing machine... I added some fun to her hoodie sweatshirt, and matching headband to go with! sewed on some flowers and accents on the hood. (not so great pic of it)

we also made a woodland forest for their toys... we glued and glued... and came up with this little set up. a Broken flower pot of their house, wood chips, peat moss, faux mushrooms, pine cones... a perfect little forest...

Made the kids some crayon rolls for their art time. They love them. And it's great to just grab and go with their Fun books when we have to head out.

We visited our favorite Fall Festival.....

And of course they had to do the Corn Maze... Daddy always goes in... but we made do this time!

Our seed to Sunflower has finally opened up!!! This was BIG news! we started it as a little seed in the house several months ago.. and here is JT's.

He is so Proud!

A Catapillar in the fall? what? After some internet research we discovered he is a giant moth from England. =)

Great timing for his poem of the Catapillar by Christina Rosettie in his First language lessons memorization. =)

KT loving her Geosafari... and she is practicing her 3 letter words!

some fall books on our shelf for reading time...

I just got this book a few months ago. I am looking forward to reading these to the kinders. Have you read it? any thoughts?

speaking of nautre books, I  just got this in the mail the other day. I have heard nothing but great things, excited about using it with JT's reading time.

We also went on a Field trip with the homeschool group to Sunshine Pumpkin farm. It was a wonderful outing!

We learned all about the life cycle of the pumpkin, and looked for the differant stages out in the field... here are the flowers....

the beginings...

So fun!

It was located on a small German farm, so we visited many farm animals.. and the chickens were the hit of the day. KT loves catching them! JT not so much.. and mommy? NO THANKS! Here is KT with her sweet friend.....

we recently joined the homeschool Co-op for Game day. The kids get to play all kinds of games that they normaly need more than two or three players.. and they are having so much fun! It's a great break for them, and i love that they can run and play outside...It's hard to have one more thing outside the house during the week, but this is good for them.  Currently we are doing Tuesdays Co-op in the AM Wed nights Martial Arts, and Thursday AM mommy bible study at church.... so that's 3 days a week out and about... not including church on sunday and family week dinner. So we are staying busy this season! =)

KT and I have been working on her numbers, I found these great little crafy wooden leaves... a little workbox fun!

What have you been up to this fall? I would love to hear from you. Have a wonderful weekend,

here are some great links that have inspired me, crafts I plan on doing with the kinders etc...  this Fall Season:

pumpkin unit study

Pumpkin File Folder Game

yarn pumpkins

tree blocks

Glitter pumpkins
Autumn Bingo
Fall Tree Q-tip painting