September 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am

This is WACKY WEEK here at Blogger Friend School!  Everything is wacky fun!  This week YOU, the student, get to share something of your choice that is little “Wacky”!!!

Have you done something crazy in your homeschool?  Do you fingerpaint with your toes?  Do you let your children do your hair?  Do you wear your pajamas during homeschool?   Oh, the list is endless, but it’s up to you and how much fun you want to have.

To make it even “wackier” (not sure if it’s really a word, but hey, we don’t check spelling this week at BFS either!!!…..try and type some or all of your post sdrawkcab.  (backwards!)

!keew gnixaler dna nuf a siht ekaM

(…and forwards…Make this a fun and relaxing week!)



): !ENOLA NAC TAHT EVAEL ... !!! UOY EVOL !!! YADHTRIB YPPAH ... ypooH yaw eht yB

ikkiN ~ !sgnisselB ~ !yad taerg a evaH .): hcum os dloh ylno nac golb siht tub od ew sgniht ykcaw erom snot era erehT.)emitremmus eht ni neve seY(.tceffe emas eht teg ot sgol erif cirtcele esu ew os rebmevoN etal tuoba lit erif a rof hguone dloc ton sti tpecxe taht tuoba ykcaw gnihtoN .gniog erif yzoc a htiw ecalperif eht yb gnittis krow loohcs ruo od ot evol eW ... uoy rof hguone ykcaw dna driew t'nsi taht lla fI).daer ot evol eW( .skoob snoitnem enoemos yad yreve tniop emos ta esuaceb)FLE morf( ”skoob eht evol nerdlihc eht“ htiw reh teg yllausu I‘lanosrep‘ ti edam I dna lriGybaB tub syalp ylimaf elohw eht emag a stI.yad eht tuohguorht setouq eivom ta ohw tseb nac ohw ees ot ylurt sruoy dna lriGybaB neewteb raw gniog no eht osla si erehT.semitemos em sloof llits eh dna od I woN .taht od dluoc ypooH wonk t'ndid I esuaceb em ta gnihgual saw enoyreve dna‘!enola nac taht evael‘ gnilley syawla saw esruoc fo I .flesmih esuma ot dnuos ”yarps“ taht ekam ot denrael tsuj eh lleW .pots ot mih gnillet yltnatsnoc saw I dna elttil saw eh nehw renhserf ria yarps ot evol ot desu eH !eil oN .nac losorea na etatimi neve nac ypooH dna)senecs seivom gniod evol yeht(seciov selpoep rehto etatimi nac yehT.seitiliba cimim gnizama evah ohw ,eisooR dna ypooH , oud detnelat ruo ro )wonk ot tnaw t'nod uoy ,ksa t'nod( slaicremofni ”tcudorp emoh ta YID“ sih ffo gnikcarc namT sti rehtehW.esuoh ruo dnuora snaidemoc fo ytnelp evah ew ,uoy llet em teL .ti otni romuh emos dda nac uoy fi enoyreve rof retteb yad eht sekam ti tub krow loohcs ruo tuoba suoires era eW !emit eht lla ykcaw era ew woW

Now forward ...

Wow we are wacky all the time! We are serious about our school work but it makes the day better for everyone if you can add some humor into it. Let me tell you, we have plenty of comedians around our house.Whether its Tman cracking off his “DIY at home product” infomercials (don't ask, you don't want to know) or our talented duo , Hoopy and Roosie, who have amazing mimic abilities.They can imitate other peoples voices(they love doing movies scenes)and Hoopy can even imitate an aerosol can. No lie! He used to love to spray air freshner when he was little and I was constantly telling him to stop. Well he just learned to make that “spray” sound to amuse himself. I of course was always yelling ‘leave that can alone!‘and everyone was laughing at me because I didn't know Hoopy could do that. Now I do and he still fools me sometimes.There is also the on going war between BabyGirl and yours truly to see who can best who at movie quotes throughout the day.Its a game the whole family plays but BabyGirl and I made it ‘personal‘I usually get her with “the children love the books” (from ELF)because at some point every day someone mentions books. (We love to read.)If all that isn't weird and wacky enough for you ... We love to do our school work sitting by the fireplace with a cozy fire going. Nothing wacky about that except its not cold enough for a fire til about late November so we use electric fire logs to get the same effect.(Yes even in the summertime).There are tons more wacky things we do but this blog can only hold so much :). Have a great day! ~ Blessings! ~ Nikki

By the way Hoopy ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!! LOVE YOU !!! ... LEAVE THAT CAN ALONE! :)

Falling In Love With Jesus Giveaway @ PatsPlace

Pat is hosting a Falling In Love With Jesus giveaway. Be sure to check it out. There have been some great comments left in response to the giveaway. This giveaway ends October 7th so what are you waiting for?! Go ...

Here is a part of the comment I left. I wanted to share it in my post today because it just really describes how I feel about my walk with Jesus. Anyone else feel this way? ~ Blessings! ~ Nikki

... This may sound strange but this is a description of how I feel about my walk with Jesus. Imagine I am a child just learning to walk. I toddle ahead with Jesus holding my hand. Sometimes I fall and want to cry but I look up and He says "keep trying" and smiles at me. Then He helps me stand back up and keep going.We repeat this process a lot but He is ever patient and encouraging. How can we not love someone who loves us so?

2008 Fall Reading Challenge

Well I am finally getting around to posting my book list for the 2008 Fall Reading challenge hosted by Callapidder Days.

 

My Bible : Books Of I Peter - Revelation

Pride And Prejudice

The Englisher

The Brethren

Little house In Brookfield

Little Town At The Crossroads

The Covenant

The Betrayal

The Sacrifice

The Prodigal

The Revelation

Hop on over to Callapidder Days and join in. ~ Blessings! ~ Nikki

* BFS Assignment #103 It keeps going, and going, and going…. (Energizer) *

September 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 am

Memory Verse: 1 Timothy 4:15 (KJV)

Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.

Please try to learn our memory verse this week. We will be sharing a new verse every week and hope that you will store them in your hearts and find a special joy in His words.

Intro: It keeps going, and going, and going…. (Marketing credit: Energizer)

Housekeeping: that household mess, it keeps going and going and going. It’s a perpetual chore that we diligently need to keep going on to stay on top it. We all have different ways of keeping ourselves energized.

Assignment:

How do you keep energized so you can get it all done? bouncy music? treat it like a workout? Do you use a schedule?, a housekeeping binder system? luck of the draw system?.. or is this an area where you need encouragement? Do you need God’s help to keep order and beauty in your dwelling place? Take this week to tell us how You diligently keep going with your housekeeping chores.

Picture ideas: Show us some before and after pictures of a space you’ve been working on /show us your favourite tools / share a youtube of your favourite housekeeping music that keeps you energized

Share your favorite scripture in your post.

I enjoy listening to music while cleaning , especially if it is a heavy duty cleaning. Our summer cleaning schedule is different than our "school" version. During the summer I clean the kitchen and the kids clean the living room. It is a chore that we do every morning. Our goal is to keep the house company ready. Of course now that school is in session we needed a more detailed chore chart to get all the details covered that can pile up.Here is a list of our chores.These are every day chores. Of course we have the deep cleaning day on Fridays where we clean our rooms and stuff like that. The kids and I rotate these chores everyday.

Dining Room Chore

Clean dining room table. Put away clutter. Sweep wooden floor in dining room and kitchen floor.

Vacuuming Duty

Vacuum carpets in the living room and dining room. Sweep crumbs off coffee table in the living room so they can be vacuumed.("crumbs" seem to accumulate here throughout the day as the kids snack.)

Dish Duty

Check living room for dirty dishes. Unload dishwasher and put clean dishes in their proper place. Load dirty dishes into dishwasher and start. Wipe down kitchen counters.

Sweeping Duty

Sweep all wooden floors in the living room and hallway. Sweep the bathroom too.

Dusting Duty

Spray feather duster with furniture polish and clean lamps, bookshelves, fireplace and top of t.v. Dust wooden furniture with dust cloth and furniture polish.

I also find that allotting at least 5 minutes each day in each room helps keep things clean and decluttered. Spending 5 minutes in the bathroom after you brush your teeth in the morning can get the tub sprayed and cleaned and the toilets and counters too.

Picking up things as you walk through a room helps too.

Proverbs 31:27

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

I have found that some days I have a lot of idle time. I want to budget my time more efficiently so I can get more things accomplished. I want to get back to work on my handstitched quilt and do more baking and stuff.

You Are Invited ...

to the Autumn Poetry Party! All the details are posted at the top of my blog. Let loose with your creative side and join in the fun. Spread the word so others can join in too.

Here is a link to the Autumn Lapbook I posted about yesterday. It's not downloading on the HS Launch page so you can pick it up here at media fire.

Here are some other neat things going on in blog world. Be sure to check out this neat links.

Blogger Friend School - I am really enjoying this one. Join us and meet lots of new friends in the homeschool world.

Callapidder Days is hosting the 2008 Fall Reading Challenge. i'm getting my list ready so I'll be joining this one soon.

Check back later for my Blogger Friends School Post. Have a great day! ~ Nikki

The First Day OF Fall! Yeah!

 

It's finally here! Autumn! Don't you love it?           There is just something about it that makes me smile. Ok , there are lots of things about it that make me smile:) To celebrate this lovely season I created a lapbook for us to do  and I thought I would share it with everyone. You can download it here at my HSLaunch page. It is the Autumn Lapbook. I have another fun thing to add later today. It will combine two of my favorite things, poetry and Fall so be sure to keep tabs on the blog. Hopefully I will be able to post later today . If not then I will post it tonight. Well have a great first day of Autumn!

~ Nikki

* BFS Assignment #102 - Try it, You’ll Like It! *

September 15th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

Memory Verse:

Psalms 26:2

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.

Please try to learn our memory verse this week. We will be sharing a new verse every week and hope that you will store them in your hearts and find a special joy in His words.

Intro: Try it, you’ll like it! (Life Cereal)
When everyone else was afraid to try Life Cereal, they called on Mikey. Sometimes stepping out of our comfort zone is just too scary. Have you felt God gently (or maybe not so gently) nudging you to do something for someone else? You know that it needs to be done, but you keep putting it off because it is outside of your comfort zone? Well ladies, this week we are taking a step outside of our comfort zones.

Assignment: This week I want you to do something for someone else. Do you have a neighbor that needs you? Do you know an elderly person or single mom that could use you? What about the homeless? Pack even one single sack lunch and give it to someone in need. Do you know someone in blogland that is struggling right now and could use a note from you about how much you care? Pray about this. Let God put on your heart the perfect thing for you to do for another. Now, here is the kicker…I DO NOT want you to post about what you do. Whatever you choose to do is between you and God. Our rewards are in heaven, not here on earth, Mathew 6:1. I want you to post about how doing this “act” made you feel. Was stepping out of your comfort zone in this area as hard as you thought it might be? Could you see the gratefulness in their eyes? Hear it in their voice? Tell it from their typing? Do you think you might make doing things like this a more regular part of your time?  If this is an area that you are already active in, tell us how you feel this has impacted your life.

Picture ideas: Post a picture of your “Helping Hands”.  Let us see a picture of your hands, the hands that have honored God by being Christ like and serving others.

Share your favorite scripture in your post.

Wow! What an assignment! God knew I really needed this one. How quickly He showed me what I needed to do :) It hurts sometimes when He holds that "mirror" up to us doesn't it? I'm not sure if this assignment done as much for this other person as it did for me. How did it make me feel? Humble which is what our Lord prefers us to be.

Happy. This was an eye opening moment for me. I suppose I had closed my eyes to this situation and was just telling myself I could "see" what was going on. Now I have a new perspective and a new attitude about it which of course is less stress inducing.

Appreciative. I thank God for this assignment and His Grace that He extends to us so that we may show it to others.

Isaiah 57:15

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Prayer

My cousin Jamie had his Homegoing today. He now rests in the arms of the Lord he faithfully served. Please pray for his wife and children. ~ Blessings! ~ Nikki

BFS #101 - Plop, plop, Fizz, fizz; Oh, What a Relief It Is!

Memory Verse:  Psalms 55:22 - Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee; He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Intro:  Plop, plop, Fizz, fizz; Oh, What a Relief It Is! (Marketing Credit: Alka Seltzer)
Hello Ladies!  Last weeks assignment was so great, wasn’t it!  This week I thought since we all shared about our educational background and our feeling about homeschooling, the trials and tribulations, and how we got our start I thought we’d share about some of the burdens we’ve felt.

Assignment: This would be a good week to tell about your worst struggles with a lifestyle of homeschooling.  Tell about something you’ve struggled with and how God’s mercies gave us the strength to get past it.  Also, share any curriculum/homeschool methods that have been a relief to you, i.e., a particular Teacher’s Manual or Homeschooling method that’s been easier for your family.  Talk about how you felt when the burden was lifted and Oh, What a Relief it is!

Picture ideas: That never ending, hard to keep clean closet (shelves), the children doing school work you didn’t know if they would ever get a grasp on, your schedule or organizer with plans for the day

Share your favorite scripture and don’t forget the Memory Verse above.

WOW! My greatest burden with homeschooling? I guess I would have to say ...THE SCHEDULE. I thought we had to be detailed down to the minute. If we even slightly got off track I got upset.It drove me insane.I was afraid to step outside the bounds of the timetable I set for us. It was hard for me and especially for the kids. I prayed and prayed . I knew something had to give. Thankfully God showed me it was ...ME! (Can you believe it? ME!) Now I control the schedule... it doesn't control me. I still like to keep to a general plan but I don't mind one bit now to change it up.I mean , isn't that one of the reasons we homeschool?To be able to teach how and when we want or need to.We are definetly eclectic in our homeschool. I think that works best with our ages and learning styles. We enjoy the different ways of learning. Now we enjoy working at our own pace too. If we are done in 4 hours great , if it only takes 2 or if it takes 6 that's ok too.

Of course my favorite verse is Psalm 46:10 but this is the one we are memorizing in our school this week so I would like to share it with you.

Ecclesiastes 1:13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven:

I feel this year we truly need to put our whole hearts into searching and learning about God and His Creation.

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids. Things they had learned about and were fascinated with came alive for them during this filed trip to see Sue. ~ Nikki

Our First Day Of School

Today went well for us. We had a short day for our first day. We went over our goals for the year. We also did our Bible and some map work for our social studies unit. Tomorrow will be a full on day for us.Well , a storm is blowing in so I'm out of here for the night. Have a great one! ~ Nikki

Finally ...

I have been able to get some of my files off my old computer. I uploaded some printables I had made last year to my HS Launch page. There is a link on my right sidebar. It includes the Beattitudes copywork and some notebooking pages. I will upload some more over the weekend.I have enjoyed the BFS so much. I appreciate all the nice comments. I am still visiting BFS classmates blogs so if you don't have a return comment yet you will have soon.

We went to our county fair Tuesday night. The kids had a blast hanging out with some friends. Everyone placed at least once in the exhibits. Hoopy took 1st , Roosie took 2nd & 3rd, T-Man took 2nd, BabyGirl took 3rd and I took 2nd and 3rd. Yes indeed, my pickles took 3rd place. Not bad for a first timer.

Last night was my Brother's birthday. We went out to eat with our Parents and our Aunt. As I took him home last night we got to look at all the great cars that are in for the last Rod Run of the year. The lady that lives next to him had thrown out her wooden rocking chair because one of the dowels under the arm was broken so my Brother put it in my van and I brought it home. Toodles said he can replace the dowel. It is a beautiful rocker. I will try to post a picture of it and our fair projects next week. Things are getting kinda hectic around here with school starting on Monday. Well I'm off for a few minutes of reading. Have a great day! ~ Nikki

Blogger Friend School Assignment #100 Oh What A Feeling !

Assignment: Take time this week to write about YOU and your feelings of trials and triumphs with homeschooling.  Touch on when you first heard about the concept of home schooling and whether you tip-toed into the idea or just jumped in and never looked back.  Share your schooling as a child and how you compare it to what your goals are for your children.





I enjoyed school as a young child. My elementary school was small and was truly one of those places where everyone knew everyone else. There were no reasons to fear other classmates in those days. Discipline was taught at home and it carried over to the classroom. The worst things to happen at school were of course the dreaded cliques. We had three at our school. The rich kids, the poor kids and the real smart kids.Every once and a while a bully might appear but it never lasted long. Corporal punishment had a way of warming the backside and changing attitudes. The only time we had guns in the classroom was when we were required to take our TWRA Hunter's Safety Course. Sadly all that changed when I entered high school. Times had began to change and so had people. Guns at school and bomb threats were a common occurence. Still , what choice did we have. Home school was something you could do if you were sick but that was it as far as most people knew.

Fast forward to my oldest DD's kindergarten years. She was sick everyday at school.We had to pick her up early nearly every day. She developed asthma and most days would get violently ill because she couldn't breath. Her teacher (whom I had known since I was in first grade) said she was just too shy (yes she was a little shy but that was not the problem, she loved being with her friends) and it was a habit she developed so she could go home. Needless to say I had some choice words for her. Doctor visits were very common. We tried to isolate triggers for her asthma. Finally we pinpointed it. It was the "circle time" rug in her room. I asked that the rug be removed...no. I asked that she be switched to another class...no. Her doctor said, do something quick. At this time she was using an emergency inhaler and taking several breathing treatments a day. I went to her principal (who had been my second and third grade teacher) and told her I was withdrawing her for the rest of the school year and would homeschool her. Remember I knew you could do this for sick kids. She told me what a big mistake I was making. Of course this brought forth more choice words from me about how the system was failing my child.Same scenerio with her teacher when I went to pick her up from class that day. When she stopped going to public school her symptoms disappeared.After a while she was able to stop her breathing treatments and her inhaler use dropped.

I liked homeschooling her. She was a fast learner and we enjoyed the time we had together. By this time I had learned that we could homeschool just because we wanted to, so we did. When my oldest DS was old enough we began to homeschool him. By this time I had become a CHRISTian (PTL) and we were working on starting a school at our church. The following year we started our first year as Christian schoolers.We remained there for several years until I decided to return to homeschooling for the last part of the year due to my Momma's failing health (MS left her very ill for several months) and the time we lost at school due to caring for her.I didn't want the kids to have so many missed days show up on their permanent records. The following year we continued to homeschool because my oldest DD developed skin cancer. Doctor visits, surgeries and biopsies left her and us tired, worried and depressed and I felt being at home would be better for us. It was a great year for us school wise. So we decided just to stay home for a while. If God calls me to return to our church school I will. I help out now a needed.But for now we are content to be at home.We like being able to take our lessons outside and letting them become bigger than the books. We get excited about school supply sales and new books or unit studies. What I enjoy most is that we are close as a family.

At times it has not always been easy homeschooling. I have definetly learned the meaning of my favorite Bible verse , Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God...I know the fear of not feeling prepared or of the anger and irritation of a schedule shot down in flames.I know what it's like to feel inadequate and tired. But I also know that God is our Provider and He will meet all our needs.I tell my children that they can be whatever God wants them to be. I urge them to let Him be the guide for their life choices including their careers.I will give them the best education I can with God's help and He will handle the rest. ~ Nikki

Our Outdoor Classroom