And the name is…

January 5, 2009 by 3 Comments

Our two oldest girls are involved in the Book It program this year for the first time.  They kept their sticker charts up to date the first month, placing one sticker on the chart for each book read.  They were motivated and excited to get a pizza prize at the end of the month once they read their required number of books.  Well, I went to fill out their certificates and on the back of each one it said to write in the child’s name, homeschool educator’s name, and the name of the homeschool.  Name of the homeschool?

Well, let me just say, we tried to come up with something quickly since the girls were waiting for their pizza prize, but it actually took us a week before we thought of the right name.  And the name is… Joyful Heart Academy!  The name, truly, should not have been that difficult to come up with.  I already had developed early childhood/preschool curriculum as my oldest child reached each stage.  The curriculum is also aptly named – Joyful Heart Learning (for 2’s), Joyful Heart Bible and Rhyme (for 3’s), and Joyful Heart Character (for 4’s).

Why ‘Joyful Heart’?  No, the name wasn’t chosen because our home is so full of joy each day (although it should be) =)  However, we do desire our children to know Christ and His Truth, to cherish His Word, to be salt and light in this generation, and to have their hope and anchor firmly planted in Christ.  The joy comes in knowing the Lord and following His commands.  Here are just two of many verses that reflect this in Scripture…

Psalm 19:7-8
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,  making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life.
You will fill me with joy in Your presence,
with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

Here are also a few Scripture based prayers for our children, no matter where they are schooled…

Colossians 1:9b-14
…we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Filed Under: The Joy of Children, The Joy of God's Word, The Joy of Homeschool, Why We Homeschool

Through the Eyes of My Kids

January 5, 2009 by 1 Comment

Over at the Heart of the Matter, last week’s meme was to ask your kids what they like and dislike about homeschooling.  I thought this might be fun to do (and I was a tad curious), so I asked my 6 1/2 year old, almost 5 year old, and my just turned 3 year old about their likes and dislikes.  Here are their responses – homeschooling through their eyes…

6 1/2 year old  (first grade)
LIKES:  “being with my mama, science experiments, and the Living Long Ago book” (The ‘mama’ part melted my heart.)
DISLIKES: “my math workbook – I like BJU better.”

almost 5 year old  (Pre K)
LIKES: “experiments and my math workbook!”  (She hasn’t even started her workbook yet =)  We just recently ordered it and she is anxious to begin.)
DISLIKES:  “calendar, because it is long”

our just turned 3 year old
LIKES:  “playing with trains… uh, there’s more about it… and doing a puzzle  (pause) playing with something in my bin… uh, there’s more… looking at that (points to the globe and I ask him what ‘that’ is) the world… (long pause as he looks up)  I like do everything!” 
DISLIKES:  He seemed to have a lot to say about his likes, so then I asked him, “What don’t you like to do?”  And, if you know him at all, his matter of fact response fits him well… “food I don’t try.”

our 11 month old
LIKES:  If she could, I think she might say that she most enjoys interacting with all her older siblings =)
DISLIKES:  The kids thought she might say that she doesn’t like taking a morning nap while everyone else is doing school.  =)

science Likes
Filed Under: The Joy of Children, The Joy of Family, The Joy of Homeschool

Our 2008-2009 Curriculum

September 27, 2008 by 9 Comments

So, what have we been using this year for our homeschool journey?

Bible and Devotions (with the oldest 3 kids)

  1. Listening to the Bible on CD using the Word and Song Bible
  2. Worship songs – from Chris Tomlin CD’s to Cedermont Kids to breaking out in our own songs periodically
  3. AWANA Bible Memory – We currently have a Puggle, Cubbie, and a Spark!
  4. ABC Bible Memory Verses: Hiding God’s Word in Little Hearts by Susan Hunt – one a week, in ABC order
  5. Learning the Ten Commandments using the Bible and Hand Commands
  6. Learning the catechism and how to apply it using Susan and Richie Hunt’s book Big Truths for Little Kids: Teaching Your Children to Live for God

 

Reading and Language Arts

our first grader…

  1. Readers:  Sonlight Readers 1  (with additional leveled readers from Abeka which we are borrowing from a friend, Pathway readers which use a lot of sight words and have very sweet stories that my daughter enjoys, and any other readers we find that are appropriate for her =) )
  2. Explode the Code books 3 and 4 for phonics
  3. Spelling from Sonlight Language Arts 1
  4. Reading and spelling words from a high frequency word list
  5. Copywork – the ABC Bible memory verse for each week
  6. Draw Write Now book 1
  7. Handwriting Skills Simplified for Grade 1
  8. Grammar – Daily Language Review
  9. Writing Folder

our Pre Kindergartner…
I’m using parts of my 4’s curriculum with my 4 year old for LA.   She already knows all of her letters and sounds and has started reading some of the BOB books, predictable readers, and decodable words.  She is learning her sight words, word families, rhyme, letter formations, etc.  She can also work on activities in the literacy tubs. She also loves to write in her writing notebook and comes up with some cute 1-2 sentence stories!  (We will be staritng Explode the Code 1 and Horizons Math K with her in January.)

our toddler…
For my 2 1/2 year old, I am trying to set time aside to read aloud just to
him. I have Before Five in a Row for him, but so far I am just reading the
stories to him as he chooses them.   I also have a special  ‘school bin’
with hands on activities just for him during school time.  This poor little guy is missing out on most of the 2’s curriculum that his sisters used, but he is still getting some one on one with mommy and is learning God’s Word through his Joyful Heart Memory Verses!

 

Math

  1. Horizons 1 Math (We used BJU last year and she did well with it.  However, it didn’t focus as much on math facts and skip counting by 3’s. 4’s. etc. at the K level, so when we switched to Horizons, we were a little behind in those areas.  She is on par with everything else so far =) )
  2. Math flashcards and hands on activities for practicing addition facts.  Here is a link to several easy ideas we have been implementing.  (Counting and Simple Addition)
  3. BJU math workbook 1 (on her own for fun and to coordinate with the math homeschool class that she is taking)
  4. Calendar Binders (We’ve added tally marks and money for our first grader.)
  5. Mind Benders
  6. Math tubs

Science

Sonlight K Science (The kids LOVE the Discover and Do DVD!)

History and Read Alouds

  1. Sonlight Core K (ages 5-7)  We have been using the Core K history selections and read alouds.  The girls have loved the read aloud choices so far.  They have especially enjoyed The Boxcar Children and My Father’s Dragon.  We did a lapbook to coordinate with My Father’s Dragon and it went really well.  They liked it so much that we are going to try to do another one with our Johnny Appleseed book this week. www.homeschoolshare.com .has tons of free printable lapbooks which makes this so much easier to attempt!
  2. YWAM publications – The girls also enjoy listening to us read aloud the YWAM Christian Heroes Then and Now books and often listen on their own to the YWAM Heroes for Young Readers CD.

 

Art

  1. From time to time, painting just for fun!
  2. Crafts related to the seasons or holidays
  3. Art Appreciation – Come Look With Me series

 

Extracurricular Activities

  1. AWANA (oldest 3 kids)
  2. Gymnastics (oldest two girls)
  3. Homeschool group (one day a week for our first grader)  She has a full day of classes!  She is taking ballet, math, physical education, art, music, science, and storybook cooking!
Filed Under: Curriculum We Use, The Joy of Homeschool

Multiple Choice Test

September 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Quick, a multiple choice test!

When things don’t go the way you want them to, do you…

a) throw up your hands and say, “I can’t do this!”?
b) keep moving forward, inch by inch, making modifications and adjustments as needed in order to reach your goal?
c) cry out to the Lord for help?
d) all of the above?

If you answered choice ‘d’, then maybe you can relate.

We are on day 31 of our first grade and preschool homeschool journey this year. (Well, actually day 42 now that I am getting around to posting this. LOL!) Yeah!  While it is exciting to think that we are this far into the school year already, I must admit that the beginning weeks of our school year have been very challenging for me.

I used to teach kindergarten in a public school.  There were fairly set times and a distinct order to our day. I could post a schedule on the board and kids would know what was coming next.  In general, kids thrive on routine -knowing what is coming next and what is expected.  I thrive in an environment like that as well.   So, here in our homeschool, I have organized a daily routine and order for what we are to do when, but  in a household of 4 precious children, ranging in age from 6 years to 7 months, we can’t always have a set routine.  There are some uncommon first grade ‘interruptions’ that my oldest has to deal with – such as stopping while mommy has to discipline a younger sibling or taking a break as mommy goes to change a diaper or calms her baby sister.   So, what if we take a quick break every now and then or I ask her to continue working by herself on something?  Or, what happens when it says in my plans that we are to do read aloud next, but the baby is crying and there is no reasonable way anyone can actually listen and comprehend what is happening in the story – let alone mommy be able to read?  Does it really matter if we switch the read aloud time with say, some phonics seatwork while I can comfort my baby girl?   It is these daily times of adjusting to the needs of each child and taking in consideration of what is best for all of us that are challenging for me.   I want to cherish the time with the youngest children AND do school well (and keep an orderly house, etc, etc.)    So, in order to do that, flexibility has had to become my new motto!

And, in all honesty, these challenging times are also the times when the enemy whispers thoughts of  ‘You can’t do this.  You’re just playing school.  When are you going to send her to a REAL school?’

I have to remember that, no matter how crazy some days feel, my first grader IS learning.   She is just learning in a different environment.  And that is OKAY!

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone. My hope comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation.  He is my fortress.
I will not be shaken.  My salvation and my honor depend on God.
He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people.
Pour out your hearts to Him.  For God is our refuge.
(Psalm 62:5-8)

My hope is in my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  My strength comes from Him.

Filed Under: Mom's Heart, The Joy of God's Word, The Joy of Homeschool

OUR Summer Olympics 2008

August 23, 2008 by 2 Comments

With the start of the Olympics, our children have stayed up late to watch all of the Opening Ceremonies, watched at least a half hour of Olympic coverage every night, read factual books about China, watched a video about life in China, and have even been listening to us read about Eric Liddell (a famous Olympian and missionary to China).  However, we just HAD to participate in our own Olympics to make the experience come alive!

DSC_1991 (2)

So, look out world!  We have some record breaking Olympians on our hands, right in our own backyard– well at least when it comes to pillowcase hops, spoon and ball races, water relays, and Beanie Baby balancing =)

~~~~~

The night before, we had each chosen a country to represent.  We located these on our globe and colored a flag to wave in our Opening Ceremonies.
We wore another flag from our respective countries on our back as well.(Yes, even the baby.)

DSC_1969 (2) country flags

We colored in our Olympic coloring book before breakfast.  Then, at our ‘breakfast of champions’, Daddy read some facts about the torch, colors of the Olympics rings, the medals, reason for the games, etc.

We worked on our memory verse throughout the day…

Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Here are some of our events..

Spoon and Ball Race
DSC_2015 (2)
Hurdles
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Balance Beam
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Water Relay
DSC_2058 (2)
Pillow Case Hopping
DSC_2023 (2)

At the end, everyone was awarded a gold medal for participating with joyful hearts, helping others, being encouragers, doing their best, trying to learn their Bible memory, etc.

And to round out the full experience of the games, we even ate Chinese food for dinner using chopsticks =)   A fun day for all!

Here are some more fun links to another family’s  Olympics…
The Fairy Olympics
Preschool Olympics – Throwing and Catching
Backwards Olympics

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Filed Under: The Joy of Children, The Joy of Family, The Joy of Homeschool
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