Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Wordless Wednesday: April 15th, 2015 (w/linky)- Hannah is 5 Years Old!

Hannah is 5 years old! Already! Last year I asked:

How did that happen??

And now another year has passed? Where has the time gone?!?

My little girl has grown so big.

Birth

1 Year Old

2 Years Old

3 Years Old

4 Years old

And now she is 5!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

We started a tradition when Tabitha turned 5, that we continued with Amelia and now with Hannah. We get to go to Chuck E. Cheese!

We actually had to go to Chuck E. Cheese a couple of days early because daddy was working on her birthday. Here is a look at her special day.

Special Breakfast

Present Time

Birthday Spankings

Can't forget the cake!

After daddy left for work, she opened the presents from her sisters.

Looking forward to seeing your Wordless (or not so wordless) Wednesday posts this week.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up- April 14, 2015

Welcome to Tuesday's Giveaway Link Up with your hosts Karen @ Tots and Me, Emily @ Emily Reviews, and Shelly @ The Attic Girl.

So glad you could join us as we share our giveaways on Tuesday's Giveaway Link Ups.

Our co-host this week is Danelle @ Our Wolves Den.

This link up will be posted Monday at 7 PM est. and run all week long! Make sure you stop in as often as you can to list your latest giveaways.

Here is how to use the Giveaway Link Up

1. Post your reviews and/or giveaways, as many as you have, be sure to add the end date (family friendly please)

2. Help spread the word about the giveaway link up by grabbing our button, Tweeting or posting on Facebook. (Not mandatory- but it helps get more exposure to your giveaways as well!)

3. Take a moment to enter any giveaway that strikes an interest to you!

If you would like to follow the hostesses, we will gladly follow you back! Simply leave us a message to do so.

Featured Giveaways

Kid's Meteorologist in the Making Bundle Ends 4/19

Thank you for linking up with Karen @ Tots and Me, Emily @ Emily Reviews and Shelly @ The Attic Girl along with Danelle @ Our Wolves Den.

Sunday Photo Round Up- Three Week's Worth (Oops)

Time to share my photos from the last 3 weeks! Let's start with Scavenger Hunt Sunday, shall we.

March 29th
On the Floor, Addiction, Salty, Pride, Me

On the Floor

Addiction

Salty

Pride

April 5th

Season, Next to Me, My Morning, Pastel, Photographer's Choice

Season

Next to Me

My Morning

Pastel

Photographer's Choice

April 12th

Monday, Peace, Letters, Yellow, What I'm Listening To

Monday

Peace

Letters

Yellow

What I'm Listening To

Photo A Day Round Up

I am participating in a few different photo-a-day challenges this year. The photos are being shared daily on Instagram, but I thought it would be nice to include a collage of them here on my blog as well. Here are my collages showing the pictures from April 1 through April 12.

The first one is the Photo A Day Challenge from Fat Mum Slim.

The second one is The Bethadilly Challenge (this is where the Scavenger Hunt Sunday prompts have come from so far this year).

The third challenge is the Capturing Live, Laughter, and Love challenge.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Real Life Homeschool: What Do the Children Have to Say

Welcome to Day 4 and 5 of the Real Life Homeschool Blog Hop with the Schoolhouse Review Crew! The plan was to share interviews with the children yesterday and today. However, yesterday we had unexpected company, so I didn't get a chance to post before leaving for Chuck E. Cheese.
I asked some other homeschool moms what they thought would be some fun questions to ask the children. I had a wonderful response and wasn't able to use all of the questions. Here is what the children had to say. I had to include Hannah and Harold, but be warned, some answers are a bit...well...unique.
Interview with Tabitha (age 8):
What is your favorite thing about homeschooling?
That we don't have to start as early, because I don't usually get enough sleep.
What is your least favorite thing about homeschooling?
Workboxes.
Why?
Because they are boring.
How would you like me to make them more fun?
At the end of workbox number 4 we could have a craft that goes with the lesson of the Bible notebooks.
Our schedule just changed recently, what do you like about this new schedule?
It helps me get a little more sleep because we get to bed earlier. Cause we wake up earlier and the earlier we get up, the tireder we'll be at night.
What did you like about the old schedule?
That we could start our workboxes in the afternoon and not have too much stress.
What is your favorite thing to do when it is not lesson time?
Play video games.
Do you have a favorite video game?
Yes, Super Mario 64.
What do you think you are learning while you do this?
That video games are awesome. Dad makes it look so easy, but Bowser is really hard to defeat.
What would our day look like if you planned it?
We'd wake up at 8:30, we'd come downstairs after getting dressed. Get our socks and shoes on. Eat breakfast. Clean off the table. Sit down at the table for school.
School time:
Pray Pledge of Allegiance Pledge to the Bible Pass out a quick snack Read a story This is the Day B-I-B-L-E Read our Bible story Do a craft Do workboxes with crafts in them. Watch our show.
What is your favorite subject?
Logic of English,
Why is it your favorite subject?
Because I like learning new words and what they mean.
What is your least favorite subject?
There's nothing much that I don't like. Math is what I don't like the most. I like math, but not as much as all the others.
What do you think they do in public school?
I think they do a lot of writing. I think they have to buy lunch sometimes if they forget theirs. Sometimes in their lessons I think they do something with science and math. I'm glad that we're homeschooled because I don't want to get up that early.
Why do you think we homeschool?
Because at public school people don't really trust in God. And because you don't want us too stressed and there's a lot of writing and if we have to write we won't have much time to spend with you during the day.
Interview with Amelia (age 6 1/2):
What is your favorite thing about homeschooling?
That we get off schedule sometimes and we get to teach them.
What is your least favorite thing about homeschooling?
That we have to do math.
Our schedule just changed recently, what do you like about this new schedule?
Nothing yet. I still have to get used to it.
What did you like about the old schedule?
We didn't have to be in the living room.
What is your favorite thing to do when it is not lesson time?
Play Super Mario 64.
What do you think you are learning while you do this?
Nothing.
What would our day look like if you planned it?
Wake up at 10. Play games then eat breakfast. Then we will do one thing for school, Books of the Bible. Then we would watch a show. Then eat lunch. Then we have to wait for dinner. Then we eat dinner. Then we watch Once Upon a Time. Then we brush teeth. Have Bible Time. And go to bed.
What is your favorite subject?
Science
Why is it your favorite subject?
No reason, it's just my favorite.
What is your least favorite subject?
Math
What do you think they do in public school?
Sit down and do math all day.
Why do you think we homeschool?
Because its too much math at public school.
Interview with Hannah (age 5):
What is your favorite thing about homeschooling?
Snack
What is your least favorite thing about homeschooling?
Calendar when it takes too long.
Our schedule just changed recently, what do you like about this new schedule?
Great great
What did you like about the old schedule?
Both of them great.
What is your favorite thing to do when it is not lesson time?
Play games which is Paper Mario 64
What do you think you are learning while you do this?
Learning how to read.
What would our day look like if you planned it?
Eat breakfast. Clean off the table. Play games. Watch a show. Bible time. Eat lunch. Do a craft. Brush hair at night time.
Are we going to have school time?
No, only Bible Time
What is your favorite subject?
Coloring and learning to read,.
Why is it your favorite subject?
Just so I can read a whole book.
What is your least favorite subject?
Calendar
What do you think they do in public school?
Color a picture just like a said. Learn about Jesus. Eat sometimes there.
Why do you think we homeschool?
Because we don't have a school.
Interview with Harold (age 3):
What is your favorite thing at lesson time?
Eat doggy treats. Color coloring sheets. Eat doggy treats
What do you like to do when we aren't having lesson time?
Play with dinosaurs.
Do you like to learn?
Uh huh!
What do you like to learn the best?
Doggy treats.
What do you think they do in public preschool?
Do the abc song. Play. Eat doggy treats. Have mommy time.

I hope you have enjoyed taking a look into how homeschooling works in our household.

Discover real life in other homeschools with the Schoolhouse Review Crew bloggers! Join the blog hop to read more!

Here are a some of my fellow Crew Mates to get you started.

You can click on the banner above to check out a list of all the blogs participating.

Life at Rossmont
A Stable Beginning
Happy Little Homemaker
Joyful Hearts and Faces
Day by Day in Our World
Mama's Coffee Shop
Delightful Learning
Double O Farms
Tales of a Homeschool Family
Home Sweet Life
A Rup Life
Indy Homeschool
The Open Window-An Autism Blog
Creative Madness Mama
Hopkins Homeschool
Our Journey
Crystal Starr
A Little This ... A Little That
For the Display of His Splendor

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Throwback Thursday Blog-Style #42: April 9, 2015

Welcome back to...

I know, I know, Throwback Thursday seems to be all about sharing pictures from the past, great memories that mean something to you, that you would like to share with others. At least that is how it appears to me. Throwback Thursday wasn't something I was participating in, and then I came up with an idea.

I thought it would be great fun and a help to my blog to share old content, but not just any old content. Each week I will share an old blog post from a previous year, any year, BUT it has to be from the current week (for example, something I've posted around April 9th, from any previous year) I will go in, edit the post if needed, add a pinnable image if I don't already have one, and share it on Facebook.

Would you like to join in? You do not need to edit your past post in any way, you don't need to create a pinnable image, though it couldn't hurt, in fact it will help your blog traffic to add quality pinnable images to your posts.

Just go into your archives, choose a favorite post from this current week from any previous year, and link it up below.

I will be pinning posts to my appropriate Pinterest boards and will be randomly selecting a Featured Throwback Thursday post to share next week. Just a note, I will be sharing a picture from your post if you are selected as the featured post, but I will link back to your post. I will ALWAYS give credit and link back. By linking up you are giving me permission to use your picture in the post.

Here is my Throwback Thursday post:

Originally posted April 5th, 20142
Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen: Banana Pancakes

Here is this week's randomly selected

Featured Throwback Thursday:

Leah from As We Walk Along the Road shared

Why Should You Attend a Homeschool Convention

To participate, link up below. It would be great if you could visit several of the other posts that have linked up. Stop by, comment, and pin images so we can help each other.

If you would like to help spread the news:

Happy Throwback Thursday!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Real Life Homeschool: Co-op Fun

Welcome to Day 3 of the Real Life Homeschool Blog Hop with the Schoolhouse Review Crew! During the past two days we have looked at our current schedule and what happens when we stray from it. I have to say, I love the flexibility of homeschooling. One thing I forgot to mention was that our schedule is for 4 days out of the week. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday we have lesson time (usually). However, on Wednesdays we go to co-op.
Co-op is held at a local Christian camp (the one that the children go to in the summer). We meet for 1 day a week, from 9-12:30. Each month is a different session and the children have different classes, but there is always a gym session, which is great because P.E. is a requirement here in Pennsylvania.
The older children meet in the Alpine Center and then break into their classes. There are 3 groups: K-3, 4-7, and 8-12. They have 2 classes, gym, and snack. Then there is preschool for younger children.

For preschool we head down the hill to Dove.

They usually have play time, story time, and craft time. Additionally, they also get a snack (each family takes a turn bringing snack).

Starting in March, one of the classes for all the groups is always a Theater class. A couple of years ago, the K-3 group did Aesop's Fables, and last year we did a play called Every Day Heroes. This year we are doing Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Tabitha is going to play the older Snow White.

Amelia is playing the dwarf, Sneezy. She loves the idea of sneezing every time we turn around.

As I said, they also get a gym time. The have fun playing games such as Octopus Tag, Blob Tag, Freeze Tag, Steal the Bacon, and Relay Races. We also get out the parachute on occasion and do exercises.