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210 Lovely Square Feet, and Curriculum!

Along with the beginning of a new school year comes a new set of books to be organized, lesson plans to be made, art projects to be chosen, etc, etc. Those who homeschool, especially with the more "hands-on" types of curriculum, know how much work, preperation, sweat and love goes into this process. I'm pretty excited right now as we are currently undergoing renovations to make a school room in our new house. We've been here 18 months already, but we had more pressing issues to contend with, such as putting a new roof on the house and changing the furnace. Alas, now that we are sure our house will not flood (via the roof at the very least), and that we will have sufficient heat in the winter, the school room is numero uno on our priority list. 210 whole lovely square feet of space, devoted solely to academic pursuits! *ahh*. Only a teacher/mom can truly appreciate what this means. In a nutshell, more organization, which means less mess, and less stress. Anyway, I will try to get some before and after pictures up here once our project is complete. Wish me luck (not that I believe in luck). The overall appearance of your house ALWAYS gets worse before it gets better when renos are involved.
            On a similar note, I have had many people ask me about what my curriculum choices for the upcoming year will be, so I decided to post the list for all to see. Here goes:

Art: Barry Stubbing Series.
Bible: Christian Light Education.
French: Ecoutez Parlez.
Geography: A Child's Geography & Galloping the Globe.
Gym: Local homeschooling gym class.
Health: Abeka health.
History: The Mystery of History.
Language: Christian Light Education.
Math: Christian Light Education.
Reading: Christian Light Education.
Science: Apologia Zoology 1 and Astronomy.

Add in a ton of "twaddle-free" books, lapbooking, library visits, field trips, swimming lessons and other athletic endeavours of the like and we have ourselves a pretty well rounded out school year :)

Discovering the Rock of Ages

We are already past the midway point of our five day VBS! I am a leader in the grades 5-8 group, and it is amazing how fast the time flies when you are busy singing, playing, watching skits, hearing missionary stories and introducing little ones to Jesus; The Rock of Ages. I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of this. I had been feeling a little off lately, and I think this experience may have been just what I needed. It feels great to be a part of something bigger, working with others who love the Lord, and have a burden for the lost. It's amazing how God can use situations like this to refresh the souls of those involved. What a blessing it is to find that while I give of my time and talents for local children, it is making a difference in my own heart and life. The children and the volunteers are blessed. I have been leaving there everyday feeling encouraged and hopeful. God is good!

Fireworks, Family and a Super Size Washing Machine.

How fast did this past week fly by?! Magic Man had a show in Wawa on Canada Day, so we drove up there early that morning. I had never been that far west before and what a day for it! On the day that Canadians celebrate what a great country we are priviledged to live in, we took in some of the magnificent sights our area has to showcase. As we travelled along the higway that runs parallel to Lake Superior we were in awe (once again) of the sheer beauty of creation. Rocky cliffs gazing down on a flurry of whitecaps, sandy shorelines calling my name. An abundance of greenery as far as the eye could see, gentle flowing creeks, bridges and blossoms. Oh, how I wish we had more time to explore! But alas, it was not to be this time around, so I made sure to note all the "tourist-y" sites that we intend to stop at the next time we travel that way.
         The show was a big success, and the voyage was made all the sweeter as we were able to visit  friends of ours who live in the quaint, waterfront town. I haven't seen my girlfriend in several months, so it was nice to be able to catch up. Her youngest child just turned a year old, and he is such a darling! I was completely enamoured with him. He has a set of baby blue eyes that melt my heart, and he is so smart. Anyway, it was really great to see them all. Magic man finished his show just in time to sit on the beach and watch the spectacular fireworks display put on by the community. So, our Wawa trip in a nutshell looked like this: visiting, magic show, beach, fireworks, chalet, sleep, visiting over breakfast and bon voyage!
         From there, we headed out to the lake where my parents park their trailer year around. The drive took around four hours, but it was worth every minute. My grandparents and my sister were also there, as well as my aunt and uncle (and their children) and we were able to enjoy some long overdue time with them all. We also celebrated the birthday (two days early) of yours truly. We went swimming, made smores and went to bed that night completely exhausted. We wrapped up our trip with church in my hometown, a visit to my grandmother and then the drive home. It was one of those full weekends, that leave you feeling so blessed and thankful. Here's to being thankful for the big things, like friends, family, and freedom, and the little things like being able to enjoy fireworks, and owning a super size washing machine that can tackle the mounds of laundry that three days/two nights away manages to create.

1 Thess 5:18: In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.