Homeschool week review 1/31-2/5

This week we picked up school again after a loooonng break and let me just say and I'm positive that I speak for the girls too, it is SO nice to be back. For me, it's nice to have our routine back, but for them, they just thoroughly enjoy school time. I am very blessed to have children who love to learn and who get excited about having school. Each morning they get up and ask "Are we having school today?" and if it's a day that I have to work (which means we don't have school) they are really bummed. Now, I know they're only in Kindergarten and I'm really hoping their love of schooling continues for years and years to come. Even though they are only in Kindergarten, we do have a pretty rigorous school day including Math, Phonics,
Writing, Science, Social Studies and Bible each day. So, here's a quick recap of our week.

Math:
Monday- we reviewed even/odd. We initially learned about even and odd in the beginning of the school year and have done very little review of it (One thing that I do not like about this particular curriculum.) but I was suprised at how much they remembered.
Tuesday- We practiced writing our numbers 10-20, which was also a review for them.
Wednesday- Worked on completing patterns.
Saturday- We began learning to tell time. This was a brand new concept for the girls. They know how to read digital clocks, but have never learned to tell time on an analog clock. It went very, very smoothly. I'm amazed at how quickly they picked it up. They love to draw on the white board, so I let them make their own clocks and they "taught" me how to tell time! It was fun!!

Phonics:
Monday- We had a phonics eval scheduled for today. To say I was nervous about it was an understatement. Remember today was the first day back after a long break and I was scared they weren't going to remember all they had learned. But alas, I should not have been worried. They both aced it! 100% for both of them. Mommy was so proud! Looks like they really ARE learning something :)
Tuesday- Review day- which they were pretty bored with, so we read Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. Well actually, they read the majority of the book to me.
Wednesday- We introduced the letter X and reviewed sentence structure.
Saturday- We talked more about the letter X and I was explaining to them that X was usually found in the middle or end a word, not in the beginning. Well, of course Shaylie goes on to tell me that Xylophone starts with an X..LOL, she's too smart for me! We also did two phonics worksheets today. Both girls love worksheets and they're finally at the point where they can do independent work...and so I love worksheets too :)

Writing-
We introduced letter X and did several practice worksheets on the rest of the alphabet.

Science-
We began our weather unit. I won't go into daily details because each day built on the one before. We began the week learning about temperature. We made a large classroom thermometer out of posterboard and white/red ribbon. After we cut out the thermometer and wrote in our temperatures, we cut two slits in at each end. We attached the white ribbon to the end of the red and then threaded it through the slits, so now we red ribbon represent the alcohol and we can pull the ribbon up or down to change the temperature. It's great practice for learning to read a thermometer. If anyone wants pictures/instructions, let me know. I would be happy to email them to you. We learned about rain and on Wed. sat out a rain guage..and low and behold Thursday-Saturday God sent us some rain to measure. As of 10:00 this morning, we had 3.25 inches of rain. :) While learning about rain, we learned about evaporation and did an experiment. We measured one cup of water and left it sit out in the kitchen for 3 days. After the 3rd day, we remeasured the water and only had 2/3 cup left!! We were all surprised at just how much had evaporated. See- this is another reason I love homeschooling. I learn too!

Social Studies-
We began our unit on North Carolina. We've learned all about the history, location, flag, state bird, state seal, state motto, state flower, state tree and started talking about the NC zoo. We plan to take a trip to the zoo in March. The state motto of NC is "Esse quam videri" which means "To be rather than to seem". I love that!! Do you know what the state motto of your state is??

Bible-
As I've said before the Bible curriculum we're using right now focuses a lot on character development and uses scripture to back it up. Each lesson starts with a story, then asks two questions, and ends with a prayer. We really enjoy it and it sparks some great conversation. This week we've covered: love, contentment, confidence, and appreciation. Today's lesson started a conversation on unanswered prayers. And we really had an awesome discussion. It started with Nevaeh saying "God hears all of our prayers, right?" And I said "yes, each and every one". And she says "well then why doesn't he always give us what we ask for?" And I asked her what did she ask God for that she didn't get. And she says "well the other night I prayed that we would be able to get ice cream and we still couldn't get it". (back story: the girls weren't allowed to get ice cream this particular night because they had not been listening very well all day and that was their punishment) So I had to explain to her that God knows what is best for us and while he hears ALL of our prayers, sometimes we still don't get what we want, because God knows what we NEED, better than we know what we want. And that God wants and expects us to obey our parents. GREAT learning experience and she asked such a mature question! :) My baby is growing up.

We had a full week! But the absolute highlight of our week was a day trip to Greenville on Thursday to have dinner with new friends! We met up with the Saufley's and the Bost's and everyone had such a GREAT time. There were 6 adults and 8 kids and as Laura posted on Facebook, the good news is McAlister's is still standing! Seriously though, I'm so glad God has brought these wonderful people into our lives. I'm sure that was the first of many many great times to come.


Shaylie and Nevaeh with their new friend Madalyn!

When the kids are away....

...Mommy and Daddy will..do a whole lot of NOTHING! The girls have been in VA for the past six days and despite the fact that I've had the flu, Scott and I have been irresponsible and haven't done anything really. Seriously, minimal housework, minimal cooking, one load of laundry, laying around, watching tv, staying up late, sleeping in. We did enjoy a day trip to Wilmington last Friday, but that's been the extent of our week.

I am thankful that the girls weren't here to share my flu germs with me and hopefully they will all be cleared out by the time they get home tomorrow. I've enjoyed the quiet, uninterupted conversations Scott and I have been able to have. But oh my goodness, please bring back the purpose to my life. Those two sweet little girls are really my reason for waking up each day and when they aren't here I just don't know how to be me! And even though he won't admit it, I know Daddy misses his Sponge Bob partners too.

So Dear Mother Nature- please let the snow in Virginia come to a stop, so the VDOT workers can get the roads clear and we can get our girls back home safe and sound tomorrow!

We have a name!

Choosing a name for a homeschool is more difficult than choosing a name for a child! Geez! I didn't think we would EVER come up with a name. It's a difficult decision because it will follow your child throughout the rest of their life. They will use it when applying for colleges, for scholarships, for jobs, etc. So we wanted something solid. We also wanted it to mean something to us. Since the day we even remotely started considering homeschooling Robert Frost's poem The Road Not Taken has always resonated within me. We homeschool to give our children a better life. It's definitely not the easy road..and it's definitely not the popular road. But it's the road we've chosen and this road does make all the difference for us. So with the guidance of our good friend, Laura @ Our Three Birds, we've come up with Pathways Academy, which brings about the new title of my blog- Sacred Pathways.

Update...finally!!

Once again, I've fallen off the wagon. Neglected the blog. But I'm back! I will be posting an update at least once a week.

So what has been happening in the Bowen household? Nothing significant, just a lot of being BUSY! The girls are currently in Virginia spending a week with Nana and Granddaddy. While I miss them like CRAZY, I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on things around the house, hence updating the blog! They will be home on Thursday and I can't wait!! Since I've last posted, we of course have continued schooling. But with our Christmas break and knowing they were going to VA for a week, the past couple weeks we've just been reviewing what we've learned so far this year. Next week we will be picking up where we left off before Christmas and going full force 4 days a week! The break has been nice, but we are all itching to get going again.

Work at Baby Land has been booming! Something I meant to do at the beginning of the year was to keep track of how many births I have been part of this year. I just now remembered that I had planned to do that..and there is no way to go back and count, so I will just have to start from yesterday and continue on. I really do love my job, how many people can say that each day they go to work, they witness a miracle?! I can!! And somedays, multiple miracles!! I just love it. Being face to face with God's greatest gift each and everyday....no words for it.

I've also been helping out my mother in law at a Home Health Agency she works for. Their nurse is out on Maternity leave and I'm filling in until she returns. So yes, I've been quite busy to say the least...but what mother isn't!? It just goes with the territory.

My husband has also been quite the busy bee! His classes have resumed and are going well. He also launched Project Conversion on 1/1/11. If you don't know about Project Conversion, check it out!! It's an awesome journey he is on to teach us about the different faiths of the world. He has already been interviewed by The News and Observer in Raleigh and has been contacted by a reporter/producer for ABC News!!!

2011 has come in with a rush, but we are just basking in God's blessings! Expect another update within the week...seriously. I promise- there WILL be an update! :)

Six years ago today

Six years ago today, I woke up as Heather Miller for the last time.

Six years ago today, my Dad walked me down the aisle and I went from being Daddy's Little Girl to being your wife.

Six years ago today, I held back tears as you recited your vows to me.

Six years ago today, I didn't know how to love unselfishly.

Six years ago today, I married you the father of my beautiful daughter.

Six years ago today, we didn't know another little girl was on the way.

Six years ago today, we crashed in the hotel room after the wedding utterly exhausted, completely unaware of the sleepless nights to come.

Six years ago today, we stood before our family and friends smiling happily not knowing the difficult days ahead.

Six years ago today, I thought I could never be happier.

Six years ago today, I thought I loved you.
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Today, I look at you and I KNOW what love is.

Today, I realize the happiest days of my life are each day I spend with you and our children.

Today, I find myself thankful for the difficulties we've faced because it's made us stronger as a couple.

Today, I can say that a sleepless night with you is better than a night of perfect sleep without you.

Today, I'm eternally grateful for the children you've given me.

Today, I see all our marriage has taught me. How to love strongly, unselfishly and completely.

Today, I hold back tears as I write this and find myself consumed with my love for you.

Today, I know that I married the second best man in the world (next to my Dad).

Today, I am proud to be your wife.

To my sweet husband: I hope you know how much you mean to me. Each day that I wake up beside you is a great day. Words can't express how much your love means to me. The past six years have been eventful, both good and bad. We've endured more as a couple in six short years than most do in a lifetime. But in the end we still come out together, stronger than ever. You are absolutely the best husband I could ask for. You're my soul mate, the man of my dreams and my best friend. I know I don't say it nearly enough, but thank you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for the good days. Thank you for the hugs on the bad days. Thank you for our children. Thank you for the laughs. Thank you for being you. I love you and I'm proud of you.

Six years ago today I said "I do"..and today I say I would do it all over again.

Religion is one topic that my husband and I do not see eye to eye on. I am very much a Christian and he loves all faiths (including mine). He respects my decision to follow one particular faith and I respect his decision to be a spiritual nomad of sorts.

One thing we do agree on however is the fact that religious intolerance is something that must end. There is far too much hating and fighting going on in the world in the name of religion. In my faith, Jesus preached showing love to ALL, not just those who think like you.

It's a fact that most people fear things they don't understand. Most people in the world know very little about faiths other than their own, therefore they fear those faiths and the people who practice those faiths. Every single day people in this country are discriminated against based on their religion. One of the premises this country was based on was religious freedom and yet we try to deny US citizens this right each day.

In an attempt to increase the knowledge of different faiths, my husband has started Project Conversion. Learn more about it here. To summarize, beginning Jan. 1, 2011 he will be converting to a different religion each month and will practice that religion for 30 days before moving on to the next. He will be practicing as a new convert and will be broadcasting his journey along the way.

He has developed a KickStarter page for Project Conversion. You can view the page here Please help in his effort to make this a success.

Please share this with you friends. You can follow on Facebook here.

No matter which faith you belong to (or if you don't belong to one at all), come along for the journey! You just might learn something yourself

Update

I definitely think the weekend getaway (a 3-day Cruise to the Bahamas) did just the trick! I came back refreshed and ready to go! Schooling last week and this week has been awesome. My patience has been restored and the girls are just soaking up the information. Here is a quick recap of what we've been doing.

Math- Subtraction. The girls have done incredible. The curriculum we are using is basically just a work book from The Critical Thinking company. I have to do all the teaching and the worksheets just reinforce the information. We've used manipulative blocks, candy and our fingers and have mastered one digit subtraction. I'm so proud of them!! They both really enjoy Math and I'm glad. Math was always my favorite subject in school..my husband however despises it. We will be finishing up our one digit subtraction unit next week and will be moving on to graphs and fractions.

Reading/Phonics/Writing- Wow. That's all I can say about the progress we've made since July. I officially have two little readers in the house! They are just so proud of themselves. The A Beka reading/phonics curriculum is awesome! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is trying to teach their children to read. The girls have also been enjoying www.starfall.com. If you aren't familiar with it, it's an awesome website for beginning readers. Check it out!

Science- Last week we completed our Healthy Eating unit. We finished all 10 Lessons in Little D's Nutrition Expedition and the girls absolutely loooooved it! :) Little D the Five Food Group Dragon is actually still hanging on our living room wall. They don't to take him down. These lessons were great. The girls definitely have a better understanding of the five food groups and why they are important. I've heard the girls discussing healthy food choices too..so maybe just maybe we can get them to start eating better. Since we've finished a science unit, we are moving on to a Social Studies unit. We will be covering a unit on Thanksgiving during the month of November and I'm still getting it all worked out. More details to come...

I bought a book from Barnes and Noble a few months ago titled "What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know" and I really love this book. It breaks down each subject into what Kindergartners should know before going to first grade. I use it quite a bit. The past few weeks we've been reading stories from the Literature section. Some of the stories the girls were familiar with, but many of them were new. (Some of them were new to me). The girls seemed to enjoy hearing the stories, well all of them except for The Ugly Duckling which they BOTH fell asleep during..LOL

We've continued our Bible studies and the girls are still hearing devotions/stories about character development. They are also starting a children's missions group at church and we will be attending our first class tonight! Super excited about that!! :)

Shaylie's soccer season just ended and we've already signed her up for Spring soccer. She really liked it. Nevaeh will also be old enough to play in the spring. She is very happy about this. She wanted to play in the fall, but wasn't old enough.

Things are just moving right along. I'm sooo glad we've made the choice to homeschool. I thoroughly enjoy the girls being home with me. I love watching them learn.