Homeschooling thus far

So, this year I made a bit of a change by dedicating a whole day to doing electives.  These are, by far, more enjoyed by my kidos AND ME, than doing 'regular' schoolwork.  Since I have put them on the back burner the last few years, these just weren't getting enough attention.
Hey, a teacher has to enjoy herself teaching too!!!

So, I renamed Wednesdays as "Yahoo Wednesdays"--my children get a hoot out of it, thinking it is NOT REALLY SCHOOL.  HA!!! Love this learning style.  Just my speed.

So, we've been studying the earth and rocks/minerals for science so far and LOVING it.  We are truly learning it while we read about it by hands on learning.

So where else to learn about rocks but by scavenging the beach for them?

We went to to the beach last week (well, its really a lake but they call it a beach.)

Here are some pics.  They had a blast!  TOTAL BLAST!

Why oh why, did I not pack at least towels-of course my kids would not get THAT wet.  HA!!!

Today, we have been enjoying learning about the rocks even more by doing streak tests for them and finding out what minerals they have hidden.

As for the little boys that I dedicate on these Yahoo Wednesdays to teach more in depth...we are on the letter C of the alphabet.  That means baking COOKIES for the letter C today :)  Chocolate Chip Cookies, of course.

This pregnancy, I think I'll be gaining ALOT of poundage!!! yikes.

God bless,
Mary @ Cheerios

Hello fall!

I love the changing of seasons....esp. Fall.  Those chilly mornings turn beautifully warm and sunny.  Perfect for outdoors and breathing in all the fresh air possible.  that means for great sleeping, great eating and great exercise!

Here's a pic of my kids last week that loved the first cold morning of the season...seems we are doing this annually!  Becoming quite the tradition.

This also means I have to stock up on hot cocoa!  I have gotten some my kidos to like hot tea but most still request hot cocoa and since I have kept saying its not cold enough...well, now it is!!! :)  Better go out and buy some!

I just found this one from 2 yrs ago.... I know that I took one last year but can't find it!  I love how little my (gasp!) almost 4 yr old looks in this one!  So cute---as cute as my lil Lady looks in the one above!!! 

Kids are teasing, running around and going nuts while I'm on the computer (I know...surprise surprise! haaa)

God bless,
mary

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Isn't this so cool? 

My 6 yr old son made the monstrance and made a pic of the host be able to open up.  Inside he put a pic of Jesus!  Great Job buddy!!!

Did you know that Eucharist in Greek means THANKSGIVING? :)

And...now a funny one.....haaaa haaa! LOL!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family from all of us!

God bless,

M

Taaa Daaaa --- Pumpkin!!!





Fall Time!

Time for Apples!

Time for Running!

Time for Biking!

Time for Playgrounds!

Time for being a cute 2 yr old boy who just has to have one shoe and sock OFF and his pants off too. 

Only cutie 2yr olds can pull this off!!!

Time for big brothers showing little brothers where to ride bikes!

Time for speeding by in a bike, finally confident enough to use last year's Christmas gift!

Time for using a jump rope the way any little boy would use one, right?

Time for tying it to his little sisters' bike and pretending she is his horse!

And, now, it's time for me to go!

God bless,

Mary

A Fall Poem and Coloring

Come, Little Leaves

By: George Cooper

Come, little leaves,
Said the wind one day;

Come to the meadows

With me and play.

Put on your dresses

Of red and gold;

For summer is past,

And the days grow cold.

Soon as the leaves

Heard the wind's loud call,

Down they came fluttering,

One and all.

Over the meadows

They danced and flew,

All singing the soft

Little songs they knew.

Dancing and flying,

The leaves went along,

Til Winter called them
To end their sweet song.

Soon, fast asleep

In their earthy beds,

The snow lay a coverlet

O'er their heads.

We're reading and trying so hard to memorize this poem this week as we are trying our hardest to believe that we are entering into this great season of Fall~!  It has been tough to believe since it is going to be in the high 80's today and most of the week!!! :)
 
Tons (and I mean tons!) of acorns have been falling in our backyard.  The kids keep yelling "Chicken Little!" if they hear them starting to fall, or if they hit our deck or even if they get hit by them!  They are not small, by any means, and have even brought some of my kids to tears by the shear force of them falling from trees up 100+feet high above.
 
I have joked about them calling them "acron grenades" b/c they surely sound like it as they hit the roof of our house and sometimes have even woken me up during the night by the sound of them!
Here are some acorn coloring pages I've printed out to be colored:
 
HERE
 
and HERE
 
and I couldn't resist THIS one!!!
 
Happy Fall!
 
God bless,
Mary
 
 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have to throw this picture out to my blogging pals. It is just so cute and funny!!!:
We're working on having an

"ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE"

today!

To God, we are so very thankful!

God bless,
Mary

Computer update

Hello all...Hope I have not lost some faithful readers of my blog!!!

Update is...computer is totally really completely dead and the somewhat nice people finally believed us that it is really completely totally dead. So, now I am waiting for a NEW computer to arrive sometime this upcoming week.

What would YOU do if your computer unexpectedly crashed and died...and you were without one for 3 weeks or more?

I'll tell you what I did:
Had some type of flip out, then went into denial, then went into some type of 'detox' off my computer, then acceptance, and now the wait for a new one.

There has been so much going on and so much I missed and wanted to blog about. So be it.

But one thing is certain: Our lives are so wrapped up in these electronics, it is crazy. I pray that I can be wrapped up in Jesus ever more.

Not sure when I can blog again...hopefully soon!

Oh, I love good deals and went to a toy tag sale where I got ALL the Christmas presents for my kidos! How excited am I!!! I thank God my kids do not watch all the junk on TV-they are still okay with gifts not in their boxes-they are so sweet and so grateful. Thank You God for them and thank You for giving me the gift of responsibility of teaching them such things. All things for Your praise, for Your glory!

God bless,
Mary

Falling into fall

I love to see my kids hard at work. I
mean, real hardworking things like...raking leaves.
Somehow the mix of the smell of pumpkin muffins and the sight and sounds of crunching leaves are sweet to my heart right now.

Fall is here to stay, for a little bit.
Rejoice in God's blessing!

God bless,
Mary

Apple Pickin'

We went apple picking last week as I mentioned in another post. Here are some pics:

We had so much fun, but the best fun was b/c our Pop Pop was there with us!!!!

God bless,
Mary