Raising Real Men

Being that I am a girl, raised by a single mom with only a sister, I knew nothing about boys.

And I am blessed to be the mother of two of them.

They are loud.

And rowdy. 

And they can't sit still for anything.

And I love it.

Homeschool Mother's Journal 09/30/11

Today is my first entry for the Homeschool Mother's Journal. I hope to go back and add the past few Fridays in so I have a complete record of the year.

In my life this week…
Mimi came to visit. It was a quick visit centered around taekwondo testing.
 
In our homeschool this week…
We've been struggling with structure and getting things done on time. I am still working through our schedule and tweaking it a bit.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
taekwondo testing
orthodontics appointment

My favorite thing this week was…
Watching my mom's reactions to how well my boys are reading now.

What’s working/not working for us…
Farm Boy is doing much better with his independent work. Still tweaking math curriculum and making sure there I'm not over-scheduling the workboxes.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Carlito C. Caterpiller's MathHouse Games

We are always looking for math games around here. I have two very oral kinetic learners who love, love, love to play! So of course I said "yes!" to reviewing a product for math games. And my goodness, isn't he just so cute??

Carlito C. Caterpiller's MathHouse Games is a set of full-color cards of 40 math games. The games introduce math abstractly through fun hands-on activities. In Carlito C. Caterpiller's MathHouse Games, there are three stages to understanding math:

• Stage 1: Quantity
• Stage 2: Numeration
• Stage 3: Operations

TOS Review: Games for Competitors Tri-Cross

Created by a family and based out of Atlanta, Tri-Cross, a Classic Game of Strategy for the 21st Century, is like nothing else (we totally agree there!) It is challenging and gets increasingly harder as desired for more challenging play. The creator describes Tri-Cross as a mix between Stratego, Chess and Checkers.

Because Farm Boy loves chess and checkers so much, I felt he would love Tri-Cross too. It was a bit challenging though as it is recommended for ages 10 and up.

Earning several awards, I think Tri-Cross is destined to a household favorite - it is here!!

REVIEW: Visionary Womanhood Gatherings (and a GIVEAWAY!)

Twenty years ago I didn’t even realize what I didn’t know. Visionary Womanhood Gatherings (p. 22)

When I met my husband I was not even a glimpse of the woman I am today. My life plan had me graduating college (though I had no idea in what), moving to the big city (I thought Atlanta,) becoming an independent employee (again who knows in what kind of job!) and living up the simple life, advancing in my career and not being dependent on a man. I did not have any plans for marriage. Or kids. 


And then I met him. 

Ginny Owens CD Winner

 I am still loving this CD so much! It wakes us up every morning as we have it set for our alarm. What a wonderful way to wake up (instead of loud, laughing DJs!!) 

And the winner is .......

TOS Review: Before Five in a Row

I first became familiar with Five in a Row when my oldest was just a wee one. I was attending a MOPS group and one of my closest friends was planning to homeschool. I was fascinated by the concept of homeschooling but at the time had no idea I could since my oldest had special needs. (But THAT is another story!)

REVIEW: Ginny Owens "Get In, I'm Driving!" (And a Giveaway!)

Ginny Owens has been one of my favorite artists for the last ten years. Her music helped me through the most trying time in my life. One song in particular still wraps God's arms around me whenever I hear it. And now, after five years, she has come out with her ninth album! I was so excited to hear it was being released and that I was going to have a chance to review it!!

TOS Review: Wise Alec Civilize This!

We are total history buffs in this house. We also love a good game. So when I saw Wise Alec™ Civilize This! by Griddly Games in the TOS Homeschool Crew cue, I was totally excited. I headed over to check it out and got even more excited!! I just knew this would make a great Fun Friday activity in our house.