As I was sorting through the pile of paperwork and handouts that came along with our chicks, I noticed a brochure called “Kids in the Kitchen” put out by the American Egg Board. One of the recipes caught my eye, so I asked Luke if he wanted to put it together. He was so tickled to be able to make this recipe, and we thought it turned out quite yummy, so I wanted to share it with you here. The recipe was originally intended to be put together in separate custard cups, but we just used a bigger pan and adjusted the cooking time a bit. Here is how we did it. Read the rest of this entry »

School is supposed to be dull. It’s supposed to be tedious. It’s usually not very interesting, and it’s certainly NOT supposed to be silly!

So what was the big idea yesterday, as we were studying shapes, to be bouncing around the living room shouting,

“CIRCLE!”

“SQUARE!”

“RECTANGLE!”

???

This was school??? Oh dear. Studying shapes and identifying them should probably be a bit more sedate, don’t you think?

And then on to our science lessons… We spend a lot of time studying the chicks that are in our front yard throughout the day. We noticed that one of them had a large lump on it’s neck, so we researched chicks and lumpy necks and learned that it’s not unusual, since the bird will sort of “pig out” on it’s food, to have a lump there. In fact, you can feel the food through the thin skin of the bird’s “crop”. Totally cool! And it’s been fun giving the chicks stuff to eat. Veggie scraps, crushed egg shells, and yellow squash that was past it’s prime. We’ve learned that chicks don’t seem interested in avocado shells or rejected onions. Who knew??? We’re also watching their big feathers grow in, and we got to see what the chicks thought of the garden snake that was dangled into their pen. (They didn’t really care. Doubt if they even knew what it was.)

The neighbors are fascinated with the goings on at our house. As the kids wait for the school bus, they look longingly at our kids already playing and learning. And when the neighbor kids get home from school they hurry over to our house to catch up on what’s been happening all day. I do feel guilty that we’re having such a good time here. After all, school isn’t supposed to be THIS much fun, is it?

Two days ago I made the trip to Ottawa, IL, to attend an open house at McNatt Learning Center. It was intriguing to see how the staff there can help people. I often get frustrated with my children when they exhibit behaviors that I assume are just discipline issues.  But what if some of their “issues” could be resolved?

We haven’t yet started any treatment with the McNatt Learning Center, but I would urge you to check it out if you have questions or concerns.  We’re on this journey together!

Last night we attended the sixth annual Arts Alive program at our church.  What a thrill to see my children get up on stage and present the poems they have worked so hard to learn.  I was so proud of them.

And again I’m reminded of why their success means so much to me.  It’s because I AM THE TEACHER!

Tonight we have our “Arts Alive” program at our church. This is our annual event where the homeschooled children in our church are able to get up on stage and do any variety of public speaking things. Each of the children in our family will be reciting a poem. Since I wanted everyone to be eager to practice their poems over and over, I offered an incentive. At the end of each recitation, the presenter received four M&M’s. You can imagine the excitement in our house this morning!

While we don’t want our children to need bribes in order to be cooperative, it is a wonderful tool to use occasionally when we need that extra burst of enthusiasm and energy.

What do you do when you need your kids to give you their best? Leave a comment and share your ideas!

We took the chicks outside to enjoy the sunshine and green grass today.  They think it’s really great!  The chicks are 5 days old today.

Being outside provides nice lighting for photography, so I took photos of the kids with the chicks.  Here are a few of those shots…..

Amelia and Mike are surprisingly gentle with the chicks.  Sometimes the chicks even fall asleep in their hands.

Here you can see their outdoor pen.  Hope you’ve enjoyed your little chickie tour!

Consider these contemporaries coming to life – Joshua and King Tut; Ruth and Helen of Troy; Daniel and Aesop; Socrates and Nehemiah; and John the Baptist and Cleopatra. Study the mystery of Creation, the Ice Age, Stonehenge, pyramids and more. Imagine hands-on activities and/or research projects for K-12th grades to accompany lively text along with pretests, quizzes, timeline work, mapping and reading lists. User-friendly, fun, and informative, many parents will learn right along with their students seeing history revealed in new and amazing ways.

Check it out!

Our May Day was so much fun, and the chicks provided great entertainment. One highlight was seeing how they would chase and peck at the pinpoint of a laser light. It was amazing how at even one day old they were so alert and capable of hunting things.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week I received an e-mail from a friend and it was so powerful I asked her if I could share it with you in this blog. I’ll also put my response to her after her note.

Hi Christie,

I know you are super super busy, but I just had to email you. As you know, I have been praying for months that God would give me an answer regarding my wanting to homeschool our children. It has been a struggle that I have been mulling over for a long time. Read the rest of this entry »

When I told Nathan that we were going over to Auntie Christie’s house today, he asked, “So, we have no school today?”

“Right,” I said, “No school today.”

But I was wrong! As the children were holding the baby chicks, I kept hearing “school” talk going on.

Little Mike said, “I smelled him.”

“What does he smell like?” asked his Mama.

“Lellow…and he’s got black eyes.”

“What color is his beak?”

“Um, red,” says Mike.

“Orange?” says Auntie Joyce.

“Pink?” says Mama.

“Um, orange,” says Mike.

Little Mike is too young to realize that while he’s holding a baby chick and talking to Mama, that he’s being homeschooled! He’s learning about another living creature (science) and he’s practicing his colors (math).

Isn’t homeschooling fun!?