Thursday, November 8, 2007

Thursday's Things...

The past couple of days
having been busy with home educating,
home blessing, church gathering,
outside playing, Christmas dress sewing,
dentist visiting, and more. ;o)
It has been a blessing to spend
quality time with the children.

Our adventures in home education
have been rich this week.
We have been enjoying what we're learning very much!
We have, also, been blessed by reading
in the book of John this week.
It has taken us almost all week
to get through the first chapter
but what a blessing it has been.
We have, also, been able to read
our "Summer with the Moody's" more
and are drawing near to the end,
already anticipating the next book. ;o)

I thought I'd share a few photos
from the last two days.
The children have really enjoyed their learning.

The lil' girls have been motivated
to get a 'preschool type' coloring/workbook
off the colorbook shelf to work on together...

Mostly dot-to-dots but Beth has delighted
in helping Carolynne recognize her alphabet more. ;o)

Today, after dot-to-dotting, I worked with them.
Carolynne enjoyed working on colors and line drawing
while Beth enjoyed copying her letter 'B'...



Here was Carolynne, gladly showing her hard work...



Beth and I, also, read a poem together
(Carolynne listened in as she colored).
We read a poem about a fuzzy caterpillar
and then she drew her own picture
of a caterpillar and a butterfly
(though she wasn't interested in posing with it, as Caro was)...



Will and I have continued reading

about George Washington,
which we have enjoyed SO much,
though Will was already more knowledgable about him
than I have ever been.
Will LOVES history!
We have, also, been reading our Burgess Bird Book
and our Handbook for Nature Study,
which has been a delight!
We talked about blue birds and robins today
and learned a lot about them,
including that they are cousins.
Yesterday we finished talking about

the different sparrows.
We got to watch one this afternoon
as it was treating itself to supper...

Birds are so fun to watch!

Will has been diligent in taking the initiative
in doing his copywork in language and math each day,
which has been a blessing...


He has, also, been faithful in practicing piano
and is enjoying it very much...



Ally has been eagerly working, too.
She has been practicing/playing piano and violin
and working diligently in her academics
(including worldview, history, literature, and science).
When checking in on her yesterday,
I found her working on her advanced chemistry...


When checking in on her this afternoon,
she was working on... you guessed it...

advanced chemistry...

She even took it with us, this evening, to the dentist!
She is thoroughly enjoying it.
She cracked me up earlier this week...
She mentioned how she didn't really care for her math
and claimed it was more like logic.
I was aiming to give her something a little more relaxed
for math this year so she could focus on her other subjects
so I went with a book called Mathematical Quilts
and a book about the history of math.
I thought with the Mathematical Quilts
we might use it for more than math,
perhaps, um, quilting? It was a thought. ;o)
Well, Ally, proceeded to make a request,
respectfully, and backed it up with logic.
She asked if, instead, of her current math
would I be willing to get her
Teaching Textbooks' Pre-Calculus! lol
She proceeded, logically, by stating
the pre-cal would help her in advanced chemistry.
I could not help but chuckle from being delighted
with her eagerness to learn more.
This will be presented to Daddy,
which, I'm sure he will chuckle in delight, as well.
We'll see what happens, though. ;o)


With being busy with teaching, reading aloud,
housekeeping, home improvement projects
(like fixing the pencil sharpener in the wall,
taking the pot rack down from the ceiling, etc...),
and among other things,
I haven't been able to accomplish as much with sewing
as I had initially planned but I have made some progress...

Slowly but surely. ;o)


This evening, after our dentist appointment,
we stopped into our local fabric store
(other than the local supercenter).
They are having a sale this weekend
with Butterick and McCall's patterns at 99cents,
so we picked up a few.

Before I go, I wanted to share this...
On the way home,
I was taught a lesson on mercy from 5 yr old Beth...
She was the only one to see the dentist tonight
so she was the only one to pick a prize from the drawer.
On the way home, Carolynne insisted
(in an aggressive 3 year old way)
that she wanted the toy.
Beth had just gotten the toy and wanted it,
at least for a little while before she handed it over.
Carolynne was quite persistent and loud
(as I was driving down the road, mind you).
I declared to Carolynne that she needed to
stop whining and to be understanding to
let Beth play with it peacefully for a while,
then she would share.
Carolynne proceeded to declare she wanted it now
(in her 3 year old way).
I, again, spoke and told Carolynne, firmly,
that she may NOT have it
and she may NOT ask for it, again.
Yes, I admit, I was less tolerant
and a bit annoyed.
It was quiet, then, for a little while.
Then I heard a little commotion
and discovered that Beth
had given her toy to Carolynne, after all.
I appreciated her kindness
and willingness to share
but, in the flesh, was still bothered
that Carolynne had gotten her way
and instructed Carolynne
that she needed to give the toy back.
Then Beth spoke up and sweetly said,
"Mommy... It's okay with me if Carolynne has it.
I just want to make God happy."
It was quiet, again, and my heart was touched
(and convicted).
Here I was 'sticking to my guns'
(which isn't, neccesarily, a bad thing at times),
convinced that Carolynne should not have it
because she was whining and pushing her way.
And the truth is... she really didn't "deserve" that toy
but Beth wanted to show mercy and kindness
to the one that she loved
and was willing to sacrifice for her.
My heart was moved by her willingness.
It was a precious reminder and example
of love, kindness, and mercy
And I was, of course, reminded of how Jesus Christ
showed his mercy and grace toward us
by leaving Heaven and all its glory,
to come to Earth, to willingly sacrifice Himself for me
(and for you),
even though I didn't deserve it
and how He offers His salvation freely.


"For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
~ John 3:16

"But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us,"
~ Ephesians 2:4

"In whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace;"
~ Ephesians 1:7

"Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"
~ Romans 3:24


13 comments:

Mrs. Taft said...

What a beautiful reminder of God's mercy. You are blessed to have such sweet and lovely girls!

Pam--in America said...

If only we could all be more like little children. What wonderful qualities all of your children showed this week. Thank you for sharing!

Unknown said...

Well, you all make homeschooling look fun! And, I'm sure God is VERY happy! :-D

Karen said...

Out of the mouths of babes.....such a great comparison, Christina.
I admire Ally for her diligence in her work, and seeing and asking for something that would help her in her studies. Such a blessing.
Have a great week-end!

Anonymous said...

It's so good when our children give of themselves like Aly's chemistry;
and Will's history,and Beth's work books & sharing;of course Carolyne's coloring. They have a good mama,and the Lord is smiling{:
I Miss & Love ya's
Mom

Tina said...

This post just brought tears to my eyes... God surely doesn't give us what we deserve, does He? It causes me to marvel and praise Him even more! Thank you so much for sharing that.

And just thought I would put a plug in for Teaching Textbooks.... We just started using them and my son LOVES it!! It has been such a blessing for us. It is expensive, but to me it was worth it.

But I was a little confused. I bought the big textbook and answer key, but we haven't needed them. You can do it all on the computer with the cd roms. You can check your answers right away and then check the solution if you get it wrong.

Tracy said...

Thank you, Christina, for sharing the girls' car episode with us. It was a great reminder to love our neighbors as ourselves, as well as thinking about the mercy that Christ bestows on us!

Sis. Julie said...

I truly enjoy reading about your days with your children. What a blessing it is to have children that are so eager to learn isn't it? I had two of them but their interests were in different areas. It still made my heart rejoice to hear them say they wanted to learn something in addition to what they were already learning in order to enhance or help them in another area they were already studying.

Amy ~ (Life's Small Treasures) said...

What great kids you have! I love the pictures of them working/playing together to sweet. I wish I would have been a bit more like Ally and enjoy science. Now I love it, but in school give me History or Math those were my favorites.

Wow you all have gotten a ton accomplished this week, and it looks like everyone had fun doing it.

OH and Carolynne looks exactly like your husband especially her eyes.

Have a great weekend
~Amy

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful heart your little Beth has. My children are always extending so much grace and mercy, especially to mom. Oh, and I totally love the fuzzy caterpillar drawing.

Here is a great free printable to make a George Washington lapbook you might enjoy doing. http://www.homeschoolhelperonline.com/
lapbooks/george_washington.htm

Have a blessed weekend!

HsKubes said...

Mrs. T ~ It was a beautiful reminder. Thank you. ;o)

Pam ~ Yes, if only we could be. Thank you, also. ;o)

Ginny ~ Thank you. I can honestly say that homeschooling IS fun. ;o) We love it!

Karen ~ Yes, "out of the mouth of babes..."
Thank you. I was blessed by Ally's request. ;o)

Mommy ~ Thank you. We sure love and miss you, too!

Tina ~ Yes, He surely doesn't give us what we deserve and He surely does give us more than we do deserve. What a wonderful Saviour He is!
Thank you for your thoughts on Teaching Textbooks. We have, actually, used it before for Algebra 2 but took a break for a year. Ally loves their teaching style.
What a blessing that it is working for y'all so well!

Tracy ~ Your very welcome. Beth's response sure blessed my heart and the Holy Spirit really used it.

Julie ~ Thank you. Yes, it is such a blessing that the children are eager to learn. That is one of our main goals in home educating... helping them develop a love for learning. What a blessing it is to see the fruit of our labours. ;o)

Amy ~ Thank you. ;o)
I would have loved to be different in my academics, too, when growing up... but, unfortuneately, I wasn't. Probably one of the reasons I love home educating so much. I just love to learn right along with them! It's exciting!
It has been a great blessing to get so much accomplished this week. I am so thankful the Lord was guiding. ;o)
And, thank you, for what you said about Carolynne. I think she looks just like Daddy, too. ;o) And I thought the same thing when I looked at the picture of her showing her paper. ;o)

Debhmom3 ~ What a blessing it must be to have your children excercise mercy and grace! It sure blesses my heart to see! ;o)
I thought Beth's drawing was so cute, too. Her caterpillar, I thought, was just adorable.
Thank you for the link to the lapbook helpfuls. I appreciate those. ;o)


~ Christina

Grafted Branch said...

I'm so moved by the story of mercy you shared. Out of the mouths of babes...

Unknown said...

Precious account of Caro and Beth!

I just love it when my kids teach me something in teh spiritual realm!

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