Sowing Precious Seeds

Long time, no post

2011-09-08T17:52:00.003-04:00

Wow, I can hardly believe it's been a year and a half (well, more) since I have posted. Sorry about that. Anyway, I am not going to go into detail of what we have been up to....too long. Long story short, after we moved to Georgia, we moved back to South Carloina 2 months later. We moved back to Georgia last month. What fun the army is!!! LOL

Well, now we are here, school has started and we have been busy, busy busy. I have also started back in my crafting, mainly paper crafting, not so much scrapbooking though, although I do have to get back into that. Anyway, I started another blog for that, and when it is ready i will post it here.

On to school. Well, Natalie is now in 5th grade, and Emily is finishing up K and going to go right into 1st.

What Natalie is doing:
Bible Truths (with Emily) - BJU
English - BJU
Reading - BJU
Spelling - BJU
Handwriting - copy out of the Bible
History - Time Travelers
Geography - Expedition Earth/ Galloping the Globe
Science - Considering God's Creation

What Emily is doing:
Reading Made Easy and Workbook for K
BJU Core for 1st
History - Time Travelers
Geography - Expedition Earth / Galloping the Globe
Science - Considering God's Creation

Oh yea....I totally revamped the way we are doing the workboxes this year. I will get that post together soon to share.

Well, that is it for now. Thanks for stopping by :)

Georgia Trip – Family “Vacation”

2010-01-24T00:09:00.001-05:00

Well, Mark has been in Georgia for 2 weeks now and still hasn’t gotten assigned to a unit. He found out yesterday that they will not be going to their units until Monday! He was upset, because they gave him basically a three day. He didn’t even work yesterday, just went in for them to tell him that! So, he called me yesterday morning and we talked about the girls and I coming down to stay with him for the weekend (since he cannot go 150 miles away from post). He said yes, I was excited, and the girls and I were on the road by that afternoon. When we got here the girls were so happy because they got 2 surprises (they didn’t know we were going to see daddy, but Natalie had her hunches!)

The girls made crowns on Thursday and they just had to wear them on the way down. It didn’t last though; they were off before we got there. It was only a three hour drive so they had their marker boards, leapfrog letters and a movie. We also listened to Little House on the Prairie cd for a while, they really enjoy that story.

Almost there!

Finally made it! and you can tell by the picture, they were excited! We met at the parking lot to the hotel he was staying in.

And now, for their 2^nd surprise:

Yup, we decided to keep the ~~annoying~~ dog! The girls were super happy!

Walking the dog….Noni was happy to see them too.

So, before we got there Mark made arrangements to go to the temporary lodging on post, which is way better than off post. He didn’t get to stay there during his 2 weeks by himself because they didn’t have any rooms available, but since we were coming he wanted to find something cheap, so he tried again, and lo and behold, they had a room available. It was cheaper than what he has been staying in, and we are glad for that. When I came by myself we staying in a hotel that had a kitchenette, but it wasn’t anything compared to this:

I packed for three days but was prepared to leave the next day (didn’t know what DH wanted). But when we got here he wanted us to stay the whole weekend and leave on Monday, which was alright with me, because I was prepared for that! I also was prepared to not eat out, as I packed our dinnerware and planned on buying some microwavable dinners when I got here, but……

When I saw this kitchen, I was surprised….then….I opened the cupboards…

Oh my, was I surprised and excited. They had pots and pans, plates, cups, silverware…All I could do was thank the Lord for providing. He is so great in knowing exactly what we need! I went to the Commissary and bought food for the next 3 days (well, 4 for options). Mark loved having a “home cooked” meal.

My workspace…I brought down with me Ruth, the lesson book that I have to create 3 crafts for. What an amazing story, I am amazed every time I read it, and I am so excited to create a craft (or find on the internet…whichever comes first…lol). So that is what I am working on, and this blog, it really takes a while for me to write blogs, I figure once I get a handle on it, it might go a little faster, or so I hope! I actually wrote this post yesterday, but I was using Word 2007 and it wouldn’t post my pictures and I couldn’t figure it out, so I changed to Windows Live Writer and tweeked the post a little!

Anyway, here are some other pictures.

One of the sights and sounds I miss at home is watching the girls climb all over daddy with laughs and giggles. I love them so much.

Playing on the playground, at the hotel.

Emily really missed Noni. She is so excited that we get to keep her, and I am happy that she is happy…I may not like the dog, but Emily’s (and Natalie’s) happiness is much more important than my dislike for the dog, she will grow on me, I know it!

A Change

2010-01-12T00:57:00.001-05:00

Well, Mark has left for Fort Stewart, Georgia on Sunday. It took him 3 ½ hours to drive down there. He has signed in already and tomorrow he will be in-processing. Today he went to look at some trailer parks. He didn't like anything he saw. It was only the first day, so we are not giving up! The girls and I miss him so much and I know he is already homesick! Today wasn't as a productive day as I anticipated. I planned a full day of school with lots of activities but things just kept popping up. Plus, Mark has been calling all day, which I was ok with. We did get English done with Natalie, two full lessons, which I am very proud of, what a trooper. Tomorrow will be her unit test and then on to another unit. Emily and I got to do another lesson in Reading Made Easy. She thoroughly enjoys it. She was so excited when she got all the letter sounds right. She is such a sweet girl! Natalie and Emily played with legos and play doh after that. They love those things and I love that it keeps them busy and their mind occupied to notice the change in our lives. I was supposed to start packing up the house and getting things ready to move, but I really felt no motivation today. Needless to say, today was a prayer-filled day for me!

I have a lot of things to think about…..one of them being homeschool. When we move down to Georgia it will be Georgia laws now, so I need to do some research on that. Not really sure what to expect, but I have a friend who homeschooled in Georgia who is going to be my source of information…hahaha, she doesn't know it yet though.lol… I was also thinking about deployment, no we have not gotten any orders but they are a taunting feeling in the back of our minds. In those times of thought and doubts I just quote my favorite verse, my life verse…."TRUST in the Lord with ALL thine heart", I need to constantly remind myself that He is in control, not me. Give it to GOD and DON'T take it back. "Lean not unto thine own understandings. In all thy ways acknowledge HIM and He shall direct thy paths" Praise God for His guidance. He takes care of us in our time of need; we just need to trust him, in the bad, unknown times, and in the good and happy times. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Criminal Justice Academy Field Trip

2009-11-24T08:50:00.001-05:00

Last week we went on a field trip to the Criminal Justice Academy.

Our tour started with a trip to the driving range where we learned about how they learn to drive in various conditions.' We even got to witness them “catching” a bad guy!

Next stop was to the shooting range, we didn’t get to go down for safety reasons but we heard lots of shooting. The only picture I got:

The we headed off to the ‘Hall of Fame’ where our tour guy handed us over to another tour guide for the hall of fame. I took loads of pictures so here is only a “few”.

Re-enlisted…indefinitely

2009-11-13T19:50:00.001-05:00

Well, we have decided to re-enlist to the army, this time indefinitely only because Mark was past his 10 year mark. So, on to a new adventure in our lives. He has orders to Fort Stewart, GA, but we are unsure if the girls and I are going with him only because he might be getting deployed in the next 6 months or so. The girls and I would love to be in SC if he does deploy, but we shall see what comes up. We have to make a decision in the next month or sooner, whether to sell our house and go with him, rent our house out and go with him, or the girls and I stay here while he goes to GA, but he will have to find housing. Decisions, decisions, but we are trying to let the Lord lead us. It is hard when you want to know what to do now instead of trusting in Him to take care of us.

Here are some shots of his re-enlistment ceremony. Our pastor and his wife was there along with a couple from church (although he couldn’t stay because he had a meeting).

Family Shot:

Getting sworn in:

Presenting me with a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’

An Army tradition:

Our Friends:

Nature Walk

2009-11-13T16:31:00.001-05:00

Last week a friend invited us to go on a nature walk in her woods. Natalie was very happy about this but Emily was just ready to go back (she isn’t a fan of walking!). Anyway, here are a couple pictures of our adventure.

We saw Holly:

We saw Fern:

We saw a Holly Tree:

We saw bees:

We picked peppers and ate some raspberries:

2009-09-16T23:17:00.000-04:00

Alot has happened since the last time I posted. My in-laws came for a surprise visit and stayed for 3 weeks!!!!! (talk about a surprise...I won't go into it!)

We went to Fort Sumter...

We went to Charlotte, NC...

Emily turned 5...

Emily had her first birthday party....a tea party.....

Basically that was our 4 weeks in a nutshell. I will post more tomorrow...I am tired and I still have a cake to make.....

Week 3 ~ Homeschool

2009-08-24T07:58:00.000-04:00

So, hooray for me...I got this whole week planned, I am so excited! A very big accomplishment for myself. Here is what's in our workboxes for this week:

Natalie:

1. Character Lapbook - Truthfulness

2. BJU Engligh Lessons 7 - 10 and chapter test

3. Computer time

4. Math U See Lessons 6 - 10

5. Learn to Crochet - Slipknot, chain stitch, slip stitch and single crochet

6. Little House in the Big Woods Lapbook - Chapters 1-5

7. Handwritting excercises

8. Working with Emily with number recognition (with mommys help)

9. Proverbs 31:10-31 memorization

10. play time

11. practice music "Go and Give and Pray"

12. Christopher Columbus Unit Study and Lapbook

Emily:

1. Christ Centered Curriculum - Lessons 1-5

2. Computer time - starfall, word world, sprout

3. Math U See Lessons 6-12

4. video

5. Learn to Crochet (we will see how this goes)

6. Little House in the Big Woods Lapbook - Chapters 1-5

7. Handwriting practice

8. Number Recognition with activities from childcareland.com

9. ABC order with magnets, foam letters, cards etc...

10. play

11. Coloring page

12. Christopher Columbus Unit Study and Lapbook

Hopefully, things will go well, I will post when I can.

Blessings,
Aurelia

New Workbox Numbers

2009-08-10T21:41:00.001-04:00

Here are the new workbox numbers that I created. I got the idea from here . I love scrapbooking so this wasn't that big of a challenge for me, plus my girls love their new numbers!

Close up of Natalie's:

Close up of Emily's:

Planning another school year

2009-08-07T13:02:00.000-04:00

This year I can honestly say I am ready for! I have been planning and organizing and setting up for this year. Although I still have more to do, I can say that I am about 80% ready! Which is alot for me....I am a major procrastinator!!!

So, this is what I have planned for Natalie:

Math: Math U See, Alpha (yes, she is behind in math, but we will get there!)
English: BJU 3
Science: Rod and Staff and Unit studies (lapbooks)
History & Geography: Abeka 3 and unit studies (Lapbooks)
Music: BJU 3
Health: Abeka 3
Spanish (lapbook)
Five in a Row Volume 1 (lapbooks)
Character Journal

For Emily:
Math: Math U See primer
Sight words
Bug Buddies lessons from Danielle's Place
History unit studies with Natalie
character journal with Natalie
Five in a Row lapbooks with Natalie
Spanish with Natalie
Music with Natalie

I am sure I will add more throughout the year, but that I what I have planned so far. We are still doing workboxes and I already purchased Emily's workbox system. I plan on filling all 12 but do not expect her to finish them all in a day. She likes to be in the homeschool room with us and I figured I can sneak some learning in their while she thinks it is fun! Natalie's workboxes are getting redone. I am making new numbers for hers and new ones for Emily. I am not done with those yet, hopefully that will get done today!

I am also redoing the homeschool room. Finished picture will come later, but so far I have gotten the girls' desk painted and decorated.

Emily's Desk:

Natalie's Desk:

This is a side view of thier desks. I took it from my phone, so sorry for the poor quality! I found the stickers at Dollar Tree and I made the "clocking in/out" cards for my girls. On the upper left of Natalie's and upper right of Emily's desk are hooks that will be installed by my hubby soon for their library bags and aprons.

Closer look of Emily's Desk:

Closer Look at Natalie's Desk:

Hopefully I will be finishing up the homeschool room today or tomorrow to have a relaxing Sunday before we start school on Monday.......hopefully!

Blessing,
Aurelia

catching up....

2009-06-29T23:16:00.000-04:00

Hey, a little bit of catching up. We haven't actually had a chance to do any math due to a very, unusual, busy summer. We have been pretty much non stop since summer began! Not that I am complaining or anything! We have been having loads of fun with friends and keeping busy at home that we haven't even had a chance to think about anything else.

So the first two weeks were filled with watching friends kiddos and having friends over at the house playing. Two weeks ago (19th and 20th) my husband and I went to a homeschool convention. We came away with boxes of free stuff and a renewed heart and spirit about homeschooling. We loved the keynote speaker Jeff Myers (www.passingthebaton.com). Mark liked him so much that we bought all of his cd's! I have listened to 6 of them so far (there are 11!) Very inspirational!

I also have been busy with VBS! www.blythewoodbaptist.org I have been put in charge of crafts this year and I am so excited. There is a lot to prepare for though, I didn't realize how much there is to it. I have planned crafts before but not for 60+ kids! I am very excited though, I have about 95% of the shopping done and about 60% with the prep work done. I am glad to have the help of a great friend from church, though. I also am helping my friend with decorating. She is doing a really good job of it and I am excited to see how it will turn out. She is a very creative person!

On Friday we went to pick blueberries with friends. The girls had a great time picking them, but it got hot real quick. We came away with a gallon of blueberries...we did really well!

Well, that is all of my updates for now, no pictures this time as my memory card is on my desk and I am in my room not really wanting to get up. :o)

♥In Christ
~Aurelia~

What we have been up to...

2009-06-12T19:41:00.000-04:00

Since the last time I have been on here I started the workbox system, and it has worked great. Natalie gets all of her boxes done in great time. However, I do have to work with her on the quality of work she has been handing in. I also have to work on getting more things for her to do as I have only been putting in there busy work. So, for next year, my goal is to make that happen.

For this summer, though, is going to be spent getting Natalie better acquainted with her basic math facts. She has been struggling with those and still counts on her fingers. My goal for next year is for her not to have to use her fingers but to rely on her memory.

Emily has learned her upper and lower case alphabet. I am very proud of that accomplishment, but I am excited to say that she also learned the letter sounds, and most of the numbers 0-9. What my goal is to continue to read to her and work on her numbers. I would like for her to recognize a couple of sight words and know all of her numbers by the start of this school year.

This summer I plan to keep busy with lots of fun activities and craft for my girls. Also, I plan on going on play dates with some friends at least 2 times a week. I will try to post what we are doing, but I am not really good at this, but I do want to try. So, my goal for blogging is to become a better blogger!!!

So, until next time (which I am hoping will be soon)...Have an AWESOME summer!

Aurelia ♥

Sue Patrick's Workbox System

2009-03-20T10:13:00.000-04:00

After much consideration, "planning", talking with my husband and prayer I have decided to purchase "help" for me get on track. Well, what a blessing I received! I searched a couple of blogs and they were recommending this Workbox System. I thought it was going to be too much for me, especially purchasing 12 clear shoe box bins. But I did it and I am so glad I did. Although we haven't started it yet, I have it up and ready (well, almost, still have to get a couple of components together, but it is ready for her to use) and Natalie will use it today. I am really excited and I know she will be excited also. Mainly because she can see what she has to do for the day and she can feel accomplished for finishing all her boxes. I will post those pictures later, but for now, what I have is:
Natalie's Desk Set up:
To the left of her desk are her workboxes. She has 12 of them, but I did not use all 12 today.
On her desk is her schedule strip, help cards, vocabulary box, pencil drawer, and a tray for her finished work. Anything that is put underneath her desk is just there because I put it there, don't pay any attention to that mess!!!

So, basically for the workbox system each child will get 12 plastic bins. For each bin you will put in one assignment or workbook or whatever it may be for that lesson. On the bins are numbers that will correspond to her schedule strip and work with mom cards or other activity cards.

Here you will see a close up of bin number 6 (oops, outta order) on the top right is a "work with mom card" basically self explanitory, when this card is on the bins, then I will be working with her.

Here are two bins with an activity card on them. The one on the right tells her that it is time for a snack, and I have included that snack (hers and her sisters, in the bin)
On the left is one that tells her that she can play for 30 minutes.

Here is her schedule strips. The numbers are velcroed and she takes them off as she works on each bin. I am going to put another velcro dot on each bin probably on the number so she can match the numbers to the bins.

These are her help cards. She only gets 3 per day. And this will help minimize the need to always ask me how to spell a word instead of sounding it out.

This tray will be for her finished workbooks or other paper work.

I definitely recommend this to any one who can use it. And will happily answer any questions you have, but I do suggest you purchase her book or ebook to read.

Here are a few blogs that have inspired me to get started.
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/LeslieNelsen/662628/
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/walkingbytheway/667481/
http://1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com/

Blessings,
Aureila

Mindful Monday!

2009-03-09T14:11:00.000-04:00

Mondays are normally tough for me. I am trying to get myself in the routine of going to bed early and waking up early. My goal is to be up with my husband and see him off to work, then get some early stuff done before the girls wake up. Today wasn't that day! AAAAHHHH, I slept in way to late. But good news, we are halfway done with school today so we will, hopefully, be on time to "Bible Club" today. So far she has completed Bible, Language Arts and she is working on History and Geography. She has yet to do Science and Math. Which we might just do one and leave the rest for tomorrow!

Our schedule for the week:
Today:
Neighborhood Bible Study
Homeschool Meeting

Tuesday:
Edventure Museum

Wednesday:
Prayer Meeting
Children's Bible Club

Thursday:
catch up day

Friday:
Graduation Service

Saturday:
Family day

Well, I am off now, have a wonderful day!

♥Aurelia♥

♥Welcome to Sowing Precious Seeds Homeschool Academy♥

2009-03-05T20:50:00.001-05:00

I am so excited about homeschooling my girls that I thought I would blog about our "adventures", also, I have lots of family scattered in the USA, so this is for them so they can see how we are doing. So, welcome. I hope to have loads of updates and pictures showcasing what we are doing in school and in our normal everyday lives! I hope you enjoy reading as much I will enjoy writing. ♥