Curriculum Happy

I'm so excited to be planning our next school year out. I love this type of planning more than I can express (NERD!). So far, I have filled in the daily planner through January and I'm forcing myself to leave it be for goodness sakes for at least a few days. Anyway, this is what we are going to be using for this next school year. So happy to be mostly using what is familiar and looking forward to getting acquainted with what is new.

Tapestry of Grace for History, Geography, Church History, Worldview and Literature. This is will be our third year using TOG and I adore it. Paige will be joining Hailey and Reese this year but on her own level. I have found that TOG is a little much for kindergarten so my approach is to let Paige participate in as much as she wants to (she'll probably love the hands on stuff).

Writing Aids for writing (duh). This goes with TOG and I've been very impressed with it.

Spelling Power for (you guessed it) spelling. This will be our second year using it. Hailey looks forward to this lesson every day and so do I. It is so different from the spelling lists I grew up with (ugh). Looking forward to starting it with Reese next year (it is recommended for third grade and up).

Easy Grammar. This will be our first year with EG and Hailey and Reese will be using it. I've heard a lot of good things about this course and it is also recommended by TOG.

Math-U-See. Second year for both Hailey and Reese. Great program. Short DVD lessons by a real live math teacher (unlike me who has never been and never will be a math whiz).

Sing, Spell, Read and Write. This will be my fifth year teaching with this curriculum and I love it. Can not recommend it enough for a phonics program. So happy to be starting Paige's school career off with this fun program! Hailey and Reese both enjoyed it and I hope Paige will as well.

Apologia Science: Exploring Creation with Zoology 3. This is our third year and the girls and I both adore this extremely interesting series. It is SO well written and like no other textbook I ever had in school. Again, Paige will be included as her interests dictate.

Apologia: What We Believe. This course will be new to us and I am SO excited about it! Basically it is an apologetics course aimed at children between 6-14 years old. The goal is to teach children to discern the truth amongst the ideas they will be bombarded with during their lives. To see things the way that God sees them (as much as we can as people). Jason and I will be leading this lesson together. He will probably do the majority of the teaching if he would like. I can't wait to see what our entire family learns!

The three older girls will also be attending their second year of AWANA. We have been very impressed with this program and again could not recommend it enough! The girls have memorized SO much scripture and the AWANA leaders and program have done a good job reinforcing what we are teaching at home.

Well, that is it. School year 2011-2012 should be a great one around here. We are praying that God grows each member of our family throughout the year. There will be challenges for sure. We'll have our newest blessing joining the family in November, this is the first year I will be teaching three children, and there is always the family toddler to liven things up! But we are looking forward to what this school year brings.

Journey of the Ex-Slob

I am not a naturally organized person (I have my husband deceived but that's only because I look organized next to him haha). I was the kid who did her homework on the car ride to school and stayed up until the wee hours finishing up papers and digging those semi-crumpled papers out of her Trapper Keeper. As a young adult I lost my drivers license at least once a year until I was about 22 years old. I'd fall into work at 2 minutes till I was supposed to be there and half the time I'd be carrying my shoes or have my shirt on inside out (I usually ate breakfast and did my make up on my commute). When I was put in charge of the controlled drug records at work, I figured I'd probably end up destroying the entire company over some addition error.

When I became a mother at the age of 22, one of the things that God really impressed on me was that I needed to break my bad habits in order not to pass them on to my children (hopefully). So I've spent the last 9 years trying to become the organized person I would like my kids to be (hopefully). I'm definitely doing a lot better--I have a purse (!) and a wallet (!) and they hang on a peg (!).

Ultimately my efforts are to please the Lord. I truly believe that part of being a good steward of the things He has trusted us with is a.) being able to find them and b.) managing them (No, I am not talking about my kids! I know where they are except for that one morning 4+ years ago...old blog entry).

The newest step that I believe the Lord is leading us to take is a tighter daily schedule, more responsibility for the older three children, more structured sibling interaction, and myself being even more intentional about my time. Last year I felt like we had a good routine going but God definitely brought some areas to my attention that need to be tweaked a bit.

I bought a used copy of "Managers of their Homes" by the Maxwells and have been poring over that and praying for direction. This book is a total answer to prayer! I can not wait to get our new daily schedule together and see the results. One of the things the book pointed out was that we are stewards of the time God had given us. That really convicted me as I know there are ways I can certainly can improve the way I use time. I need to ask God how He wants me to use the time He has given me. "You may not have time to do everything but you have the time do everything God has called you to do." is often repeated during the book. Which is wonderful because I often fret about all the things I can't seem to get accomplished. If I seek His will on what I need to do, then I shouldn't feel like a failure when I don't get those other things done. And just maybe, with more self discipline and a schedule I will be find it possible to do more in a day than before (I hope!). And I feel the need to stop thinking of it as "My Time" and instead think of it as "the time He has blessed me with."

I guess this is all part of the journey of an ex-slob :)

Chicken Update

Would you believe that there are three chickens in that little 12"x12" nesting box? Never would I have guessed it were possible until I came across this little bit of bird brained-ness. Apparently all but one had to lay her egg right that moment.

Also, did you know that if a Rhode Island Red attacks you and you backhand it in self defense it keeps coming back for more? Never would guessed that one either. I had to smack this chicken-with-an-attitude more than a few times, pick it up and restrain it by the neck, and finally hold it upside down to break its crazy spell. Seriously! I was just kneeling down petting one of the other birds and this one just charged me and would not back off! I have worked with animals for years and with birds in particular, you do not back down from them or else they think they are boss. Dealt with geese, ducks, parakeets, parrots, cockatiels, and even a turkey and this little chicken was probably the most fiercest avian I've had to take down a notch in the pecking order!

Weird thing about that chicken--she'll nail anyone except for Penny. Pretty sure that Melody (the chicken) thinks that Penny is the top bird. Penny walks right up to Mel and picks her up and carries all over the yard. It only looks ghetto when Penny is wearing a diaper and no clothing.

Melody is dealing with some hormonal issues hence the sudden aggression. She has apparently gone "broody" which means she would like to hatch some eggs and be a teenage momma chicken. Sorry Mel, a'int gonna happen. We finally got her off the nest and back out with the flock after about 10 days of perpetual nest sitting. Her attitude has improved greatly but I still don't trust her.

Final note on the portion of my blog dedicated to living with backyard chickens: A new little opossum has been coming around our yard. A year ago I would have been enamored with him. Now, all I see is a varmint going after my chickens! I saw him out on the patio the other night so I grabbed the Maglite and a flyswatter and ran out the back door at full speed, hollering insults at him and his mother, etc. I almost caught that thing! I did not know they were so slow! No wonder you see so many dead in the road!

And that's The Chicken Update. Goodnight.