My Simple Woman's Daybook 10/19/2009

Outside my window...Dark and windy. Jon had to leave early and I couldn't get back to sleep.

I am thinking...so last week I wasn't ready for baby to come. I'm ready now!

I am hearing...coffee brewing...mmm.

I am thankful for...great friends and family who check in with me during this season of my life.

From our lesson plans...Autumn unit study I got free through The Old Schoolhouse Store. We've been drawing lots of pumpkins around here. Lots of games and reading as usual.

From the kitchen...baking and cooking this week...
Apple Almond Bread
Sweet Potato Bread
High Fiber Oatmeal Banana Waffles
Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Nachos Supreme
Grilled Brats, macaroni salad
Mini Meatloafs

I am going...
Monday - gym, baseball practice
Tuesday - Dr.'s Appt., errands, baseball game
Wednesday- baseball game
Thursday - Ignite, gym
Friday - nowhere
Saturday - church
Sunday - nowhere

I am reading... Day After Night.

I am hoping...that I can just be at peace and live in this moment even though it seems like so much anticipation for upcoming baby, house, etc. God, help me live for you in this moment!

Around the house...picking out countertops, garage doors, etc for new house. Finally time to pack the bag for the hospital and get the cradle and car seat from friends. Working on Christmas gifts.

Pregnancy pic...40 weeks on Saturday!



Here's the last 4 months...



Join us every monday here.

Our Homeschool Journal 10/5 - 10/9

We took a break from unit studies to get some more time spent on reading and math skills. As always I try to come up with fun ways to teach skills current to the boys' learning so that they don't even know it's "school".

To help Kaden with his addition and subtraction, in addition to printing numbers, he wrote the numbers from 1 to 30 on individual index cards. We laid them out in order and did counting by twos, fives, and tens. (He got to jump to each index card as he counted it). We counted backwards from 30 a few times, and then he had to do it without looking. I find that "challenges" are a good way to motivate him. I say, "Try to count backwards from 20 before I finish loading the dishwasher", etc. Not only have I given him a challenge, I get housework done too! Getting comfortable with the order of numbers helps him with addition and subtraction equations. Will even joined in on the counting forwards and backwards.




For reading we have been doing thinking games like I'll say, "I'm thinking of something that barks and rhymes with log", etc. Kaden guesses and then gets to give me one. For Will I say, "I'm thinking of something that starts with "B", and he guesses all the words he can think of that start with that sound, etc. We have fun going back and forth with these type of thinking games.

The boys have a favorite that we always come back to. I hide index cards around the room with relevant words, letters, colors, shapes (whatever they need to work on!) around the room. They have to find them and tell me what's on the card. Kaden is currently working on sight words. Will has graduated from colors to letters!

We got a Haloween drawing book that shows step-by-step instructions of how to draw little monsters and things with just shapes and lines. The boys have been having fun with this.

My Simple Woman's Daybook 10/12/2009

Outside my window...Drizzly and cold. Um, where did Fall go? It seems like Winter already!

I am thinking...I am the wierdest pregnant woman. I was up all night with contractions and was freaking out because I'm not ready for the baby to come yet. I have too many things I still need to do first, so no early baby please.

I am thankful for...Jon being home!

From our lesson plans...Autumn unit study I got free through The Old Schoolhouse Store. Lots of games and reading as usual.

From the kitchen...baking and cooking this week...
Monday - leftovers
Tuesday - breakfast casserole, homeade rolls
Wednesday - out
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - paninis, salad
Saturday - steaks, cheesy potatoes, green beans
Sunday - tuna patties
banana muffins

I am going...
Monday - gym, baseball game
Tuesday - Dr.'s Appt., gym, baseball game
Wednesday- nowhere
Thursday - gym
Friday - nowhere
Saturday - nowhere
Sunday - family BD party

I am reading... Nothing . . . can't focus on anything right now . . . I need good reading suggestions!

I am hoping...that the building of our house goes smoothly - or at least I can not freak out so much when little hiccups come along the way!

Around the house...ordering dumpster, rock, wood burning stove, jacuzzi tub, etc. for new house.

Here's the progress on our house so far...course by the end of today it will look way different, the framers are so fast!



Join us every monday here.

My Simple Woman's Daybook 10/5/2009

Outside my window...Fall is here! I love it!

I am thinking...I feel great this morning!

I am thankful for...a good night's sleep.

From our lesson plans...we'll be doing some Fall crafts along with our reading, math and writing.

From the kitchen...baking and cooking this week...
Chicken Chili
Veggie Tortilla Pizzas
Spinach Lasagna
Butternut Squash Soup
Breakfast Casserole
Pumpkin Muffins
Homeade Rolls
Homeade Bread

I am going...
Monday - gym, baseball practice
Tuesday - Dr.'s Appt., gym, baseball game
Wednesday- baseball game
Thursday - gym, baseball game
Friday - nowhere
Saturday - church
Sunday - family BD party

I am reading... Loving Your Kids is Not Enough, Dark Pursuit

I am hoping...that this baby doesn't decide to come before Jon gets done with this job in Louisiana. I can't believe my due date is two weeks from Saturday! Am I ready??

Around the house...starting some Christmas gifts, getting caught up in Quick Books for the family business.

Join us every monday here.

Our Homeschool Journal 9/21 - 9/25/09

We had another great week of learning in the Simms' household!

This week in our cooperation study we focused more on cooperating as a family unit.

Our verse was Galations 6:10, So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are the household of the faith.

We read books about family trees, and drew our own.





We talked about each immediate family members' special job in the family and what would happen if we didn't cooperate together to do what our jobs are. We drew pictures to depict those duties.

Kaden drew us doing chores and Daddy working.



We talked about what made our family special and things we like to do together and drew pictures about it.

Kaden drew us playing games and doing jump rope together.

Will drew us at the beach.



From our Games For Learning book we did:

Road Block (Write words in a path. They can keep driving their car until they come to a word/letter they can't do on their own (roadblock). After helping them with it, they start at the beginning of the road again and continue until they can get all the way to the end of the road.)



Plane Messenger (Kaden made this up, and it works great for reading, spelling and handwriting! We write messages to each other and send the plane back and forth. Kaden has to read what I've written him, learn to spell things he wants to say, and practice writing all without having to just sit through a bunch of boring excercises.) Of course the little stinker likes to have fun with it and wrote "you are bad" and "you pig", but all in fun.





Will likes to work with legos for learning colors, counting and fun!

My Simple Woman's Daybook 9/28/2009


Outside my window...my new house! :-)


I am thinking...boys sure are wild!


I am thankful for...great family and friends. For those of you who think I have it all together with all that is going on in my life right now, I really don't. And if it seems like it, it's only because of awesome people in my life helping and supporting me.


From our lesson plans...wrapping up our cooperation unit study. Current favorite learning games - word plane (Kaden made this up), roadblock.


From the kitchen...baking and cooking this week...

Banana muffins
Amish friendship bread
Succatash
Black bean nachos supreme
Curried Chicken
Roasted red pepper hummus


I am going...

Monday - gym, dinner at parents
Tuesday - pick out windows and rock, Dr.'s appt, gym, baseball game (Ali is watching the boys for me!)
Wednesday- nowhere
Thursday - Ignite, gym
Friday - nowhere
Saturday - church
Sunday - nowhere


I am reading... Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, bible study God's Love Alive in You by Kay Arthur that I'm doing with my accountability partner.


I am hoping...things go smoothly with the construction of the house.


Around the house...organizing the office/craft room (I can't wait til we move, it's driving me crazy!)


Picture thought I'm sharing...I can't believe we're going to have a baby in about 4 weeks! Starting to get excited about the little bundle, even though it doesn't seem like it should be here already.






Join us every monday here.

Our Homeschool Journal September 14 - 18


My little guys and I have had fun doing our cooperation unit study. I felt led to do a study based on this after praying for my boys to really learn to get along and love each other. It started with finding a book called 101 Activities for Siblings Who Squabble. Then I found a great unit that Konos had on cooperation, and I just built a unit around those things. I've also used Team Challenges by Kris Bordessa and The Siblings Busy Book by Lisa Hanson in my unit.


We say the definition for cooperation every morning - "Cooperation is working well together".


Our verse has been: Romans 12:4-8 about how we each have a special function and have to learn to work together.


We've read stories about siblings in the Bible and talked about how they did/did not cooperate.


I did a keyword search at the library and checked out lots of fiction books on brothers and siblings and we read them and talked about how they did or didn't cooperate. We took this further and let the boys act out the good and bad ways the kids were in the books.

The boys got tied together and had to cooperate to do certain chores together.















We played cooperative games where there was no winner like treasure hunt.


We sang songs in rounds - Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Frere Jacques.


We told a story together each taking a part and adding on as it got to our turn.


We drew a picture of a monster together. Taking turns adding a part until it was complete.







The boys did cooperative tasks together like making a sandwich and we talked about how they could work together and cooperate.


Besides our unit we are doing games from Games for Learning. Number Bow has been a current favorite. (Roll dice, whatever they add up to you get to color that number in the number bow until it is all filled up.) Kaden has almost mastered his addition from games from these books, and he doesn't even think it's learning.






Will is working on number and letter recognition, and we are playing the Memory game many times a day.


At Ignite our Homeschool Co-op Will is doing:


Magic School Bus Science
Art
Playground and Learning Games



Kaden is doing:

Art
Science
P.E.


That is what we've been learning lately. Thanks for sharing in Our Life is School adventures!