What, NO Valentine's Day?

I proposed not doing Valentine's on Thursday.  You would have thought that I said no more candy (we are about to get braces in the family, so not far from it).

We had some things that came up early in the week that just made it difficult time and cost wise to pull it all together.  They still did Valentine's for mommy, even though I said let us do it on Saturday.  You see, the weather has been yucky, mommy got a migraine (which makes me fuzzy), and we went to a specialist for my eldest daughter.  I always hate going to this specialist, but this could be our next to last time.

So let's postpone Valentine's because mommy hasn't had time to get things organized.  The tears started welling up.  I just thought that it would be better on Saturday than a Thursday afternoon/evening.

Well, a special meal planned for hubby with a chocolate theme (thanks Paula Deen) and some crafts and cooking goodies with the girls.  I am decorating the main area and have Little Women and Emma to watch with the girls.  Daddy is going to make cupcakes (bought the mix for .25 at Walmart today).  Got all we needed on the clearance aisles, so saved money.  I have a couple of crafts and we may work on little ones (turning 10 by end of month) birthday stuff.

Hope you all were blessed with a lovely Valentine's Day.

Mama Fry

What's New?!!!!!

It has been a while since I wrote on my blog.  Trying to get hubby to help me with some nuances, but he is busy helping teach and with a workload that has increased 150%.

We are still using Trail Guide to Learning Paths of Exploration.  We are studying Jamestown but we are a little behind with the schedule.  I plan to condense and pair down what there is for the first 3 weeks of the unit.  We have been reading the books though, so I don't feel so guilty.

We have been working on everything from Math, English, Bible, Writing, Geography, etc.  I am trying to prepare them for the Stanford Assessment Test (SAT).  I am working on getting them caught up on what I believe I have not taught them in the last year and a half.  Believe me, I do not feel very guilty about this.  They just weren't getting it last year so I did not push too hard.  They seem to be grasping it much better and I am using some tools that seem to be helping.

I don't have lots of wall space in the basement classroom, therefore keeping info up for them to "see" is difficult.  I figured out a way to get around that.  You know those project boards?  I am using them as a subject board.  Each one is set up with anchor charts, info posters, etc. about that subject. (Maybe I will try to load up some pictures.)  I bring them out when we are ready to learn about that subject.  Along with that, the girls are doing ISNs (Interactive Student Notebooks). I know this seems a lot like what is done in public school, but I am seeing such progress, I don't care.  They are learning, and what makes this so different than "notebooks" and "lapbooks".

To keep up with what we are doing, I am doing it with them, but mine has a few extra notes for teaching. This has been a great year.  We have not had it easy with schedules changing or extra things being thrown at us.

I am still adding, taking away, and changing things up - BEING FLEXIBLE.

Keeping God our main focus has been very helpful.  I feel the girls are really showing character growth.  I am trying to focus on SEEKING God's wisdom.

Praying for wisdom and guidance.