science everyday

• The children are currently engrossed in this book:

• eagerly listen as I read  Jack’s Insects

• and think that Exploring Creation with Zoology 3 is by far the most interesting of the Apologia Elementary series (though we said the same of the other books in the series in the past.)

I’m glad I get the privilege of learning with the kids.

love matters

I rejoiced as I got up this morning knowing that God is still sitting on the throne. He is in control.

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

The LORD of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.  Psalm 46:10-11

As I crept away from all the post-election discussions, I am reminded of the greatest commandment- the ONE our Savior left us with. LOVE.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…  1John 4:18

Without love, I am nothing.

This article- Honoring the Lesser King has given a resounding voice to what’s in my heart.

I pray that we could all emanate His love and radiate Light at a time like this.

divine connection

When we leave the house, on any given day, we always pray in the vehicle. One thing that the children and I always ask for is divine connection- that God would send people in our path that we could minister to, or just be a blessing to. Because of that, little occurrences that look like coincidence or simple meeting become meaningful. Even a casual conversation is an opportunity to be a light, to reflect Love. Every smile counts. But it never seizes to amaze me how oftentimes, it is us who really feel blessed in those divine connections that God send our way.

Today, I decided to take the kids to the art and craft store to bless them with new art supplies. There was just one person at a particular isle- an elderly lady, and though she looked very preoccupied, I came up to her and started a conversation. Actually, I just wanted to ask her a knitting question. We ended up chatting for a while. She talked about her childhood in Ireland, living in war-torn London, and how she makes all kinds of wonderful things for her grandkids and great grandkids. She spoke kind words about my kids (who were so well-behaved while we chatted) and talked about her own, too. She said she just loves children- she was a governess way back then. This sweet lady, she’s forty years my senior, yet we were able to talk about things in common. In the end, she gave me her phone number with a corresponding invitation for us to come over so she could help me get started with good ol’ knitting. She said she would also be making something for the kids.

I was really blessed by our conversation, and I made sure to tell her before she left that God sent her in our path today. She smiled. As she walked away, my five-year-old pulled me and whispered that when she becomes a mommy, she’s going to love all the children of the world too.

just venting

I’ve read enough of the concerns, anxieties, and even panic over the current economic situations. I wish there is something I could say that is meant to encourage, but not a word.

Today instead, I would like to turn our eyes on our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world: Haiti… believers in China and North Korea… extreme poverty in pockets of Third World countries… children who are turned into prostitution not by choice. To name just a few. Could our situation be as bad? Is it nearly as bad?

Every morning, I wake up grateful. Thankful that we live in this free country, with all the conveniences and benefits that other peopleS would never get (or only dream) to experience, yet we here in North America take for granted.

I am not tired of the economic situation; not aggravated by the government. But I am exasperated by how we take matters into our hands and fret, instead of trusting the One who is forever in control. I am angry today. In tears that I haven’t seen His face in the way we talk about the NOW and the TOMORROW.

I am not tuning myself off the opinions of the world. No, not necessarily the news. It is the resulting worries, the WHAT IFs, the “what’s going to happen to us?” all around me that I want to tune off.

We live in a country that God has blessed the most, and yet we are the most AFRAID.

SHINE, MY JESUS, SHINE.

said a 3-year-old

At the breakfast table this morning:

“When I’m a teenager, I’m going to…”

“Where do people live at night? Like Miss N__, does she live at dance (class?)”

“Mommy, why do our neighbors like Halloween? They don’t know Halloween is bad?”

“I’m gonna drink the smoothie now so I can have hash browns for dessert.”

“You know mommy, Flo’s kitchen is better than Chinese (restaurants.)”

After breakfast, she asked me, in English accent, if I wanted her autograph. “How do you spell your name?”

“F-L-O,” I said.

“Okay. How do you write F? I know how to do the L, and the O.”

I showed her F, then she proceeded. She handed me the paper. It reads: O L F. Pretty good for a three-year-old, don’t you think?

Have a blessed day, everyone. Hope your day is surrounded by things and people that make you smile:)

while i’m not blogging…

I have told the two younger girls numerous times in the past that we DON’T BOTHER THE BABY when he’s sleeping. It never worked. So on a blank cardstock I drew two baby faces: one wide awake and smiling, the other- sleeping. Under the first drawing I wrote in bold letters: P L A Y. On the other one: DON’T BOTHER. I think they finally got the rule. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed.

After the kids return from sleepover yesterday, I realized how important keeping the routines are for them. They thrive in certain restrictions, and I need to be vigilant about that. Kids will be kids, but we have the power to bring out the best in them. Today, we are snuggling more, reading more books together, transitioning them to good old routine.

Before I could click the Publish button, the five-year-old came running to tell me that Lyrica flooded the bathroom. (How did she quickly figure out who did it? Hmmm.) I calmly unlatched the baby who was happily nourishing himself to see what it was about. The three-year-old “forgot” to turn off the diaper spray/mini shower attached to the toilet and it flooded the whole bathroom. Argh. Five plush towels later and the floor is dry again. I am so grateful for washing machines. Once again, Zurielle is the hewo.

nature study?

Mother said, “It’s time for a nature walk. Take the camera.“

They walked around the yard and stopped to watch a bug. One took a picture of the creature.

They observed the bug some more, then walked around again. The little ones picked and observed some leaves.

They all then went inside and flipped through the insect guide. One looked at the picture in the camera, then interpreted it on a clean paper. “It definitely is a paper wasp.”

Another girl was quite satisfied with her leaf page.

On days like this when all we have got to work with is the backyard, this is nature study at its best:)

Joy of Homemaking

photo credit jrodrigues

It was another beautiful, cool morning, much like yesterday. You could hear the familiar serenity… and the sound of the Beatles, as the children sang along.  The aroma of freshly baked muffins lingered as I hung the clothes outside, and I couldn’t help but stop for a moment. Days like today cause me to remember what blessing it is to keep home.

It is going to be another busy day. Full of mess, dirty hands, dishes to wash, floor that would need cleaning a few times, mouths to feed and lessons to learn. But what joy… to watch the children’s happy faces as they create with homemade playdough… to play with a little baby who just learned to smile a lot… to wear an apron that has marks of labor all over it… to fill a picnic basket with watermelon, salad, cornbread and cloth napkins, and take the kids to a quick play at the park.

What joy.

So I took time today. In this busy day. To remind others like me. To encourage the weary. There is so much joy… much more than the sweat, the challenges and even the frustrations of keeping home.

There is nothing extraordinary about today. Just a grateful heart.

tie my mei tai

we are loving our new mei tai.

we, meaning husband, me, the baby… and big sister.

see what I mean?

for homeschool planning sake

It’s that time of the year again, so I want to share with you one of our favorite homeschool tools: Homeschool Tracker.

It is a homeschool planning and record keeping software that would allow you to manage, copy and reassign or reschedule assignments. It is useful for recording field trips, attendance, readings and daily journals. You will love the printable reports.

A feature I like about it is the Reading Log where I can enter not just the books we are currently or finished reading, but also the ones we plan to read- which is helpful especially with requesting books from the library. You assign a date; otherwise it defaults to today’s, but you could always edit it. This is an excellent place to record titles that you couldn’t tackle at the moment, or the book recommendations that you need to save for another timetable or study.

The Assignment area is what we use Homeschool Tracker the most for. This is where you would plug in everything that each child need to do for the week. You could be as general or as detailed as you like, utilizing the Subject, Activity and Resource drop-downs, and the blank fields for page/lesson/chapter and for Directions. You check the assignments as they are completed.

I could go on and on, but I suggest for you to just check it out, see the pros and cons, to see if this would suit your needs. And why not? The download is totally FREE, unless you opt for the upgrade. Honestly, the Basic FREE VERSION is ample enough. Here is a helpful review (or this ) if you decide to explore more.

I am working from scratch again this year with scheduling, but for part of last year, we used Tapestry of Grace, and Homeschool Tracker worked perfectly alongside it. I would say it would do well with the other curricula out there as well.

If you are a homeschooler, what kind of planner and record keeping system do you use?