Christmas Performances 2013

This Year David was part of the kids Christmas Choir at our church for their annual Christmas Musical. The title was "Out of the Box Christmas" and as you can see from the pictures there were cowboys, pirates and super heros. It was lots of fun.
Samara was our little Angel in the church Preschool Pageant and Angeline was a Narator. During rehearsal she wouldn't say her lines so we were all a little nervous but come pageant day I was feeling confident that she would come through. She did a good job with her memorization "Outside of Bethlehem some shepherds were watching their sheep at night. An Angel appeared to the shepherds and the Glory of the Lord shone around them. The shepherds were afraid!" Samara doesn't care to be up from and centre so we didn't get much singing out of her. Instead she picked her nose nervously.... bless her!

Snow Day 2013

The kids were begging to play in the snow yesterday but we only had a dusting. Today it snowed some more so I just couldn't say no again. They so badly wanted to build a snow man and thankfully the snow cooperated. I have been avoiding going outside lately with the cold weather we have been having so it was actually really nice just to spend some time in our winter wonderland backyard. Another great reason for homeschooling... every snow day is a snow day!

Samara's 3rd Birthday (Part 2)

I blogged some pictures from Samara's party a few weeks ago but on Sunday was her actual birthday and so I wanted to add a few more. For her Birthday breakfast she got a special number 3 pancake (Daddy got a "31") and I also made another smaller version of her Dora cake.

Our Baby is 16 months old...

Rebekah is 16 months old today! I was adding a few things to the envelope at the back of her baby book today so we all had a look through it. A picture of the kids at Christmas last year came up and Jonathan made the comment that "it seems like just yesterday." Yesterday they were all in their 2013 Christmas outfits, a good indicator that another year has gone by indeed. Here are a few pictures of her in her Christmas dress, taken yesterday.



Rebekah is doing well. Her newest cute moment (there are many) was this morning. "Ta Da!" was her excited announcement. She really loves music... dancing, singing and clapping. She is Mama's girl in more ways then one. She looks like me (except I have dark hair and eyes) and she also likes to make sure I am close by. We are hoping to transition her to her Sunday School class in the new year and maybe even get a babysitter now and again! She is lots of fun. We love her so much!

Samara's Dora Fiesta

On Sunday we were able to celebrate Samara's 3rd Birthday with a "Dora Fiesta." Samara wore her new Dora shirt, we coloured Dora pictures, ate Dora cake on Dora plates and wiped our mouths on Dora napkins. We also played "Pin the Tail on Swiper" and watched a Dora episode.
It was FUN! Thanks to Samara's friends who were able to celebrate with us!
Samara's actual birthday takes place in another 2 weeks but we wanted to celebrate before the craziness of December begins.
Samara is so sweet. We love her! We soak up her hugs and kisses. We are always amazed at the new things she is able to do. She recently started drawing people and has taken more of an interest in letters. I think she will be spelling her name shortly. She is very artistic! Love you Samara! Have a wonderful time being 3!

Introducing...

Our Super Man, Little Red Ridding Hood, Fairy Princess and Strawberry...

English Language Arts 2 (Term 1)

English Language Arts is are biggest subject. It requires the most time and it produces the most paper! We are continuing to use  the Sing, Spell, Read and Write Curriculum which we are continuing to enjoy. It is colourful, and offers a lot of variety to keep things interesting. I went through the pile and tried to list everything that we have covered this term. It also has a "Writing Connection" section which gives ideas for journaling and sometimes we come up with our own topics. Journaling is not David's favourite thing to do but he is coming along quite well with his writing and finds it easier to write longer entries then when he first started journaling in August.

SSRW also has stories for reading and comprehension. David participated in his first reading club this summer and read 2 Geronimo Stilton Chapter Books. He is independently reading so he does this throughout the day with whatever might catch his interest. He also likes to read to his sisters.

Manuscript Writing
Short a, Short e, Short i, Short o, Short u, Silent e, c=s words, ay, y=I, ge gi and gy, y=e
Sentence Scramble
Syllables
Compound Words
Root Words
Twin Consonants
Cloze
Suffixes
Verb Usage
Proof Reading
Word Clues
Rhryming
Matching (Word to Picture, Subject to Predicate)
Two Vowel Words
Literature Puzzle, Cross Words, Word Search
don't and doesn't, went and gone, came and come, did and done
Word Meanings, Word Association
Alphabetical Order
Sentence Structure, Complete and Incomplete Sentences, Subject and Predicate

Christian Foundations 2 (Term 1)

David started out first term using the same curriculum from last year for Christian Studies because we really enjoy it. After a few weeks I decided to take a break from it because I found he is learning so much just from the activities he attends. Studying God's word is a wonderful thing but we definitely don't want to overwhelm him with it!

This year David is attending BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) with his Grandpa on Monday nights. I recommend this to ALL parents who are wanting a more in depth Bible Study for themselves and their kids. It is a 2 hour program and the teachers are excellent. David has a really fun time.
During the week David completes 6 days of BSF homework. He also memorized a verse. These are NOT your typical Sunday School memory verses.
This year in BSF they are studying the book of Matthew. Here is the memory verse David learned for lesson 6.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

David also attends Sunday School at our church. I really like the program they are using as well. He has 4 days of Bible Study homework. This is a themed study where they have been learning about Honor. He also memorizes a verse each week for Sunday School. This year he is working towards earning his second pin in a 9 year memory verse program. During Sunday School they have also begun practising for their Christmas performance. David is part of the choir so he is learning to sing as part of a group. He enjoys practising at home with the music CD.

For Bible Reading David has The Adventure Bible and The Adventure Bible Devotional. He also enjoys reading his Action Bible (which is the stories of the Bible in Comic Strip). He has memorized the names of the 66 books of the bible in order. Last week his Opa was telling a friend that David knew the Bible Books in order so the friend asked David "What comes after Ezekiel?"... David-"DANIEL!" He has also learned this term how to find the book, chapter and verse he is looking for.

As a family we enjoy watching "What's in the Bible with Buck Denver."



This year we sponsored a compassion child. Her name is Sabrina and we often pray for her before dinner. David decided it would also be good to pray for Dixon who is one of the Compassion Children our Church All Star Kids sponsor, they raise enough money during 1 week Vacation Bible School to provide for 2 sponsor kids all year long. David recently filled a shoebox for Samaritans Purse (this has been part of our Christmas traditions for many years now) then on Sunday he came home with another box so he went with me to fill it yesterday. These have been good opportunities to learn that not everyone has the same abundance we so often take for granted.

Mathematics 2 (Term 1)

Summer always goes by in a hurry. This is our 3rd year homeschooling and the school year now seems to pass just as quickly. Here I am beginning my reports for Term 1.

Math is David's favorite subject. He finds it easy and quick. It is the easiest subject for me to teach. We are continuing to use "Math U See" curriculum which I love! There is a DVD for each lesson which we watch together. If David needs more instruction we go over it further on our white board but this is seldom the case. There are also lots of online resources on the Math U See website. Each week we cover 1 lesson which consists of 12 worksheets and 1 test. There are also unit tests and each week also reviews the previous weeks so that it all stays fresh.

David is currently working on lesson 8 and will have completed 10 lessons by the end of term 1. These lessons cover the following:
1. Place Value
2. Sequencing; Word Problem Tips
3. Inequalities
4. Rounding to 10 and Estimation
5. Multiple-Digit Addition
6. Skip Counting by 2
7. Addition with Regrouping (Carrying)
8. Skip Count by 10
9. Skip Count by 5; 5 cents=1 Nickel
10. Money: Decimal Point and Dollars
Many of these lessons we covered in kindergarten and Grade 1 so they were review. David caught on to the new lessons easily. Estimation and Regrouping were both completely new to him. David does well on his tests. He completes them without help which allows him to feel confident and allows me to know if there is anything we need to work on. He often gets all the answers correct. He sometimes gets one answer wrong and the most he has gotten wrong on a test is 2. This is where we see his perfectionist side come out! He really doesn't like to make a mistake. He is learning to check his work.

A+ from Mom
Good Job David!

Rebekah's 1st Year

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly baby photo books are the perfect way to preserve your baby's precious moments.

I just finished and ordered Rebekah's Baby Book. I've used Shutterfly before and I have been happy with them. Because life is busy with 4 I worked on Rebekah's book online, one month at a time. I would recommend this method to all busy Moms. You can journal while it's fresh in your mind and if you dedicate one page per month it is easy to just add your favourite pictures at the end of each month. Here it is for anyone who wants to view it online. I should have the hard copy in my hot little hands in a few weeks time. "The days are long but the years are short."

Pumpkin Picking

This year we tried the AppleBarn Pumpkin Patch in Abbotsford for the first time. We have been 2 or 3 times to the one in Steveston. We enjoyed it and it was nice to experience a different farm. Highlights compared to Steveston are the petting zoo, giant bouncy mat (although it was out of order) and Pony Rides (if you want to pay extra). Our kids were pretty leery about touching the animals so we ruled out Pony Rides this time. Don't get sucked in about the "Zip Line"... it is just a glorified playground pulley). A plus is the store where you can buy fresh apples and fresh apple juice (called apple cider). Downside is it was expensive... the pumpkins cost more too. But it was a really fun family day, great weather and not too crowded.