Ahh...Autumn

I know that I have posted before about the fact that Autumn is my favorite season, but I just HAVE to say it again! ;-)

Saturday Morning Snuggles

Eric and the kids had fun this morning just snuggling together on the couch. What a great time to rest, relax, and reflect on how good God is to us!

Early American History

The girls really like their new History curriculum! Since Becca is just starting 2nd Grade, and Christy is just starting 4th Grade, I chose an Early American History Program that can be used with both of them at the same time. The curriculum is literature-based, and covers approximately the last 1,000 years of American History. Right now, we are learning about when the Vikings came to explore North America (Greenland). The book we are reading describes the events from the perspective of a young boy, Leif, who sailed across the ocean with his father, Erik the Red. The book is written and illustrated in a way that is captivating to children, and entertaining for grown-ups also! ;-)

The study guide also gives tips for helping to incorporate character development into the lessons. We have been learning the "Principle of Individuality" which describes how God designed us all to be unique, and has a special plan for our lives. It is good to remember that we are not all the same, and God's will for me may not be the same as it is for another person.

Here is a picture of the girls with the book, the study guide, and pictures from the story that they colored this morning:

Encouragement

My wonderful husband wanted to give me some extra encouragement as I started our new homeschool year, so he bought me these beautiful flowers! He knows that I love fresh flowers (any kind), and it really does help me to feel refreshed every time that I look at them! Homeschooling is certainly my personal calling, and God blesses us every day with exactly what we need when we need it, but it is always nice to have a generous husband who supports me and provides for me all that I could ever need (or want)! I thank God every day for giving me such a loving husband and great children so that we can learn together about all of God's magnificent creation!

Spring Cleaning in the Fall

Since we are starting school on September 7th, I decided that this week would be a good week to get the house really organized and clean. I started on the kids' rooms, since they were in the worst shape. It took a couple of days, but now almost everything is back in order. All the game pieces and puzzle pieces have been found, the playsets have been reunited with their people and animals, and just about all the missing toys have been found. The books are all vertical again, and set up in a way so that the Titles can be easily seen. The "real" clothes have been separated from the dress-up clothes, and put in their proper places. We boxed some items up to give away, and we also threw away broken or otherwise useless toys. It feels so good to get this type of cleaning done! I know that it will help with everyone's attitudes, especially when we get cooped up for months at a time during the Winter.

Here is the girls' room. They did help, so I can't take ALL the credit! ;-)






Here is the boys' room, although Daniel will not be sleeping in here until we get a bunk bed or trundle bed:

The North Shore

We had a great time up in Duluth with Papa and Karma! I took a lot of pictures, so this post will be mostly just pictures. I don't have much time to write, since I am in the middle of making dinner, and we have to leave for R.U. Kids' Club in less than an hour!

Homeschool Supplies

Thanks to a very generous contribution from some loving family members (you know who you are;-), we were able to purchase everything that our hearts desired for the 2010-2011 Crafton Homeschool year! This should be the best year yet, and we have so many fun activities planned!



Christy's core curriculum will be online this year with Monarch: http://www.aophomeschooling.com/monarch/overview.php

Becca's core curriculum will continue to be Christian Light Education:
http://www.clp.org/christian_light_education

However, we will supplement both girls' core curriculum with God's Design for Science: http://www.answersingenesis.org

Also, we will be teaching History and Geography to both girls at the same time with Beautiful Feet Books: http://www.bfbooks.com

Health, Phy. Ed., and Art will also be taught simultaneously to both girls, thus saving us some time.

Here are some of Sam's school supplies for this upcoming year. We chose activities from My Father's World: http://www.mfwbooks.com/toddler_presch.htm and Christian Light Education.