Homeschooling for His Glory

Isn't it nice when your children eat vegetables and actually like them. My kids have never been big vegetable eaters, but they do it some of them. Zach eats almost everything and actually loves brocolli, lettuce, corn, peas and tomatoes. Joho only loves tomatoes, corn and peas. Today, we finally got Zach to try asparagus (we tried before and he would not), and wonders of wonders he likes it. I always consider it a blessing when one of my children likes a vegetable. Here is a recipe that Zach reeeeeeeeeeeeally loves. So much so that one time we had guests over, and one of the guests happened to finish the last piece of it, while zach (who is a slow eater) was still eating. When he was done, he went looking for another piece, and pouff, there weren't any. We had a crying child on our hand, and promised to make some more very soon. Here it is: Oven Fried Eggplant Enjoy! Have a great day, Joelle

I have been quite impressed with my 3,5 year old, as has anyone who's met him. I know it is all God's grace and I thank him for it. I hardly do any school with him yet. He can read at grade 1 level. Here he is in action reading Cap for Sale , one of his favorite stories. Here we are playing scrabble Junior: He has been able to do 100 pieces puzzles since he was 3. Puzzles are actually one of his favorite things to do. Another 100 pieces one, and without help (he's done it a few times now) Here he is with an I Spy matching games He lves the I Spy stuff as well. Suffice to say our house is full of puzzles . . . He can write his name (Johann) He can count to 15 with understanding the correspondence, he can add, somewhat, like 2+2, and 1+1 and 3+3. He knows all his shapes and colors He is also very agile with scissors He can use the computer without assistance He loves building with legos (i mean the small ones). Now to be honest there are things he cannot do: He is still in di

I like to say that we have an extension of the Toronto Public Library at our house. Here is what we are reading these days. Informational  books G ravity is a Mystery, The Sun our Nearest Star, What Makes Day and Night, The Sun is Always Shining Everywhere, What Happens to a Hamburger, Air is All Around you   all from Let's Read-and-Find-out-Science Series. We have been working on a space lapbook which is taking ages to come to life (thanks to mama who has not prepared the pockets for the it yet) Good Enough to Eat: A Kid's guide to Food and Nutrition by Lizzy Rockwell A Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller Picture Books Runaway Bunny  by Margaret Wise Brown, about a bunny who tries to run away from his mother only for her to always find him. My 3. 5 loved it so much the first time we borrowed it,  he picked it up himself the last time we went to the library. Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown In the Snow by Sharon Phillips Deslow Goognight Train by June Sobel Baby T

An integral part of homeschooling is working on our children's character. What a challenge! A character trait that we have been working on at our house ,for the past few weeks, has been diligence. I do not know about anybody else, but here complaining is a standard attitude, especially when it comes to school, work or practice. And of course, that kind of attitude is not pleasing to God and frankly can become rather irritating. The "but why?", "Again!", "But it is going to take so long!", "But I want to play", "But this is too hard", "But I did not play!" (after having played for 1 hour or 2), or just the frowning and grumbling, all of these are speaking loudly about the heart attitude. Attitude do not just come up out of the blue, they are fed by what our minds think and what our hearts believe. That is why, in addressing attitudes, we need to search into what our children believe and think, and address it byworking hard 

Sunday was Zach's end of year violin recital. That was his second recital since he started at the end of February, but it was his first playing recital. What proud parents were we! Practice has not been easy, not because he struggles,  but because of the whole attitude about effort. But here we are, with progress to show. Praise the Lord. The practice before Waiting for it to all start And there he is, serious and all, and not at all nervous. And a group class picture: Refreshments after: Have a great day, Joelle

Last week I was very surprised to discover that I had received a blog award. It came from Elaine at  Commotion from the Ocean of Life. I consider it an honor and really appreciates it. This reward comes with some rules and here they are: 1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. 2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. Now here are my newly discovered great blogs: Belinda's Note Lifestyle Homeschooling Going against the grain Simply lapbook Homeschooling6 Home is where the heart is Generation cedar At Home with Jesus Trying 2 walk wisely The van Niekerk's - Our Home Schooling Journey A Day in the Life Copperswife Our life as homeschoolers From Cabin to Camelot Our family Life Raising for Godly men Have a great day, Joelle

Here in TO we have been enjoying very nice sunny days; a real preview of summer. My monkey at his best; a change from the sofa . . . And on our way home: Have a great day, Joelle

Since the beginning of the year, we have been trying to keep a homeschooling schedule. I am not the very schedule discipline girl, but my husband is, so that in itself sometimes can be problematic. Furthermore, I have read many times that kids work better when under a schedule; especially the resistant ones. So, I have been working on that aspect of our homeschooling. Here is what i have been using recently: Wake up Breakfast (the kids get to play a bit while I make breakfast) Kids set the table (they take turn between breakfast and dinner, and every week they exchange) Violin practice Break (30 minutes) School (English, Math and Spelling on alternating days with  Reading, Math, and Handwritting Free time I try to keep the routine fluid, that is, there is no set time. It just has to be done in that order. Zach tends to be a slow eater, so sometimes, English ( First Language Lesson s) gets done while he is finishing his breakfast (I usually skips the writting part) The week gets interru

My boys have been on a construction and building streak these days. Here they are in action: Have a great day, Joelle

That was a brownie batter! Someone was resisting going to sleep . . . Have a great day, Joelle

On Monday, our homeschool group had a fieldtrip to an aerospace museum. The kids had lots of fun watching the display of planes, trying one out, having a little scavenger hunt and flying the gliders they received. Have a great day, Joelle

I was inspired a few days ago reading a post on homeschooling from the heart on facebook, to do more nature walks as a way of teaching science in a very informal way, especially for the kindergarden years. So there I went, in the nearby path to our playground where there is lots to see, clipboard and pencils in hands. We had a great time, closely looking at the budding trees, the logs all over the places, the sreams of water flowing down the creeks, the squirrels, we even located a duck having a nice nap on a rock. We definitely need to do more of that on a regular basis.    And of course, a stop at the playground was unavoidable . . .     Have a great day, Joelle