Memorizing Scripture

We did not choose to homeschool our children because we wanted to keep them away from the world for religious reasons. We began homeschooling because we knew our child would better thrive educationally with more one on one attention. Also, we wanted to homeschool because we enjoy being with our child, and we wanted to leave our life open for travel and for real life experiences. We wanted to free him to learn in his unique style and address his particular need. wE know over time this will fluctuate, and we want to stay open to that.

Nevertheless, one great benefit of homeschooling is the option to teach faith in God, in conjunction with secular education.

One feature of our curriculum that we  simply love, is scripture memorization.
When I was young, I thought it was so cool that people could memorize large passages of scripture, or Shakespeare, or verse of any sort. I wanted our kids to be able to do that.

So we embarked on teaching and memorizing scripture;
an entire alphabet of scripture.

You ought to hear this Lil' Monster go through the alphabet, singing a scripture per letter.
I love hearing him singing these verses during his play time.

©Mamma Sass

Here Lil' Monster is playing and

learning the 10 Commandments, 

©Mamma Sass

by pretending to be Moses.

©Mamma Sass

The benefit of homeschooling, is that we can help our child be educated in all subjects; not just secular, not just religious, not just worksheets, not just daily activities, etc - but a well rounded knowledge. We believe Homeschool is about learning to learn.

But I do love that we are free to teach faith.



First School Picture

©Mamma Sass

I can't believe Lil' Monster is off to take his very first professional School Picture!

Don't you love the "all business" on top look?

And his first school picture is going to be with a (2) toothless Smile.

Who could not fall in love with this cute kid.

 

Make the Date with Money

For several years, each day we have done calendar time. You have probably seen in a number of our homeschooling photos, our lovely and large green calendar.

This year, we are going to spice it up and make it a little more challenging by adding new features and activities.

I found a great idea from Carisa at "1+1+1=1" blog to use money to "Make the Date."

Money is a concept that Lil' Monster doesn't know much about, making it a new challenge.

First, we did our typical calendar work of putting up the day, date, month, weather, etc.

Then we discussed the different coin names.

Using counting blocks to show value, we counted out how much each coin was worth, in columns of 5.

 Then we discussed the date (yesterday was the 9th) and counted out how many blocks we needed = 9.

We formed columns of five.

Then we placed a nickel on the top.

We discussed the remaining four blocks as singular units (as they can not be grouped in 5s) and then placed a coin on each of those.

 I was surprised at how quickly he picked it up.

As Lil' Monster begins to remember the value of each coin, I will begin to phase out the counting blocks.

This is a great way to mix up our calendar time and teach new skills.

Back To School - Kindergarten

copyright © Mamma Sass

copyright © Mamma Sass

It is the first day

Back

to

School

Lil' Monster is one happy boy.

copyright © Mamma Sass

We decided to being a new tradition of celebrating the first day back to school with some fun activities.

copyright © Mamma Sass

Today we began with a delicious breakfast, of pumpkin muffins and doughnuts from our favorite local bakery (The Moose is Loose).

copyright © Mamma Sass

This was followed by casting a hand impression, for future memory.

© Mamma Sass

We then followed this up with reading, some review of materials from last year's school, and calendar work.

Then off to Gymnastics - a fun way to close out the school day.

We then celebrated by having a nice family dinner at a local restaurant - a rare treat indeed.

By bed time, Lil' Monster was exhausted but content.

The rest of this week, our lessons will consist of a review of last spring's education.

Next Monday, we will begin our new Lessons of our Sonlight Curriculum.

Post update: I just wanted to share the finished handprint project:

What a great remembrance this will be when he is older. He is still deciding if he wants to color it or add anything to it or leave it as is. 

The Gymnast

It is fun to watch Lil' Monster grow up.

There are so many "firsts."

Today was the first time that Lil' Monster was signed up for a regular activity outside of our home.

Gymnastics.

He is a bundle of energy and is often found, leaping around the house, throwing himself off of things and tumbling on a regular basis.

We thought, it was high time for him to do those things with a goal, as well as to learn to do them safely.

Luckily, through our district homeschooling program, we are able to sign Lil' Monster up in classes in our community that address school courses. Gymnastics is a P.E. credit.

What luck.

Today was the first class day.

© Mamma Sass

 He was very excited to get ready.

Shorts and T-shirts are required gear.

But Lil' Monster begged to wear his beloved track suit on top.

© Mamma Sass

He looks like quite the professional.

After class, he was so happy AND thoroughly worn out.

I am thinking Gymnastics is not only going to be very good for Lil' Monster,

but for this Mamma! 

Let's Take a Time-Out

 

In our home, time-outs are a common .

We realize it is not the most effective consequences for most children, but for our son the elimination of sensory stimulation is vital. Too much visual, auditory, or physical stimulation can put Lil' Monster into overdrive, and the end result is a major melt down followed by hours of trying to pull things back together.

 

Time-outs are the perfect solution to discipline for him.  It allows him to gather self-control and calm down. We have designated a few spots in our home where Lil' Monster can sit or stand facing a wall, thereby eliminating stimulation. He takes a few minutes to calm down using breathing exercises. He stays there for a few minutes (the time is determined by how old he is). We have practiced this since he was a wee one. Now, all I even have to do is point to one of the spots when he is in trouble, and he goes to time-out without a fight. I even see him put himself there when he is overwhelmed.

 

Today, he had a rather large melt down. He was instructed to sit in time-out until he could find some self-control. I admit, I got a bit distracted taking care of something else, and lost track of time. After about 10 minutes, I realized he was not out and playing. So I went to check on him.

This is what I found:

 

Now we know why he was out of control.
He clearly was exhausted.

When he came out of this time-out he was quite refreshed and ready to take on the world.

(Don't worry, I didn't leave him in this position, I laid him down elsewhere, where he finished his nap)

It's interesting to note, this is not unlike how many grown-ups deal with stress and feeling overwhelmed.

 

Naps are the best time-outs and rejuvenation a person can have - be they young or old.

Cupcake Cones a Childhood Favorite

Cupcake cones
are a favorite treat from my childhood.
I think there is nothing more delightful,
than sharing a childhood favorite with your child.

 

I love the soft and crunchy textures combined.

I love that there is less crumbs and mess than with typical papered cupcakes.
I love seeing the smile on my son's face when he enjoys a bite.

 

Won't you join us and enjoy Mamma's favorite childhood treat?

How to make Cupcake Cones:
Make your favorite cake recipe, and instead of dropping the batter into paper cups, drop it into premade ice cream cones. Carefully balance them in a cupcake pan, and bake as you would plain ole' cupcakes. Baking time might need to be increased. Check the center by poking with a toothpick to see if it is cooked through.
Top with cake frosting. Or try topping with a scoop of ice-cream.
ENJOY!

Baked Alaska

What could Lil' Monster being smiling about? 

 The weather!!!!!

 

 And the fact, that he FINALLY gets to use the "HOT" tag for our daily calendar.
Several months ago, Lil' Monster complained because we 'never' could use the HOT tag on his daily calendar. He kept asking when we could. I explained, up here in AK we might not ever use it.
Boy, am I glad I was wrong!

 Right now up here in Alaska, we are cookin'.
We LOVE it.
This is our third summer here and we are toasting at lovely mid 70's temperatures. The past several years we were lucky to get into the 50s and 60s. The rain poured and poured.
Summer Solstice meant more daylight - it sure didn't seem like it with the grey skies. We were told that was the norm. How sad it made us. Then we have had two long, snowy, and bitter winters. In fact not 4 weeks ago we had snow and temps in the 20s. For the last several weeks we have had constant sun and temperatures that have been utter bliss.
This Summer Solstice we might just have to stay up all night to see that the sun really does give us 20 hours of sunshine!!!
We have been truly blessed!

Feels like heaven.

Don't you just love he is wearing a long sleeved sweater still? He doesn't own many "warm weather" clothes. The summer clothes he does have, he has already worn and I am currently washing them.

Sunday Play

In our home, we try to make Sunday's different than any other day of the week.

We are commanded to keep the Sabbath Day holy. (Exodus 20:8)

We interpret that to be more than just going to church for a few hours.

A day consists of 24 hours.

That can be a very long time with children.

We are not so strict like the puritans of old, where meetings and reading the bible all day was all you did.

But we don't want to be so relaxed about it, that we consider it a free day to play, catch up on chores, sleep all day, or laze around.

We have come up with some solutions.

After church attendance, we encourage quiet activities like reading (scriptures, church magazines, or other uplifting books), journaling, letter writing, goal setting, watching a spiritual and uplifting movie, calling family and friends, serving others, and sitting with each other simply talking.

Yet, even these activities can be quite difficult with young children.

Young children like to play, not sit quietly.

So, we have set aside certain toys and games for Sunday use only.

These items are not played with at all during the week.

This not only keeps the novelty of them alive; but it also is a way for our child to mark that the Sabbath Day is a different day than the rest.

A few of these toys are scriptural action figures.
They are great fun for our son.
They definitely keep him entertained and busy.

Which Way Does the Wind Blow?

A Grand-MOTHER's DAY

This year Lil' Monster prepared early for Mother's Day.

First he made a card for Granmaw G.

He put flowers all over it because he knows she loves to garden.

 Then he used the format of "Roses are Red" poem and put his own words in the last part.

Because Granmaw G lives far away we sent it off in the mail.

For Mamma, Lil' Monster made these:

These made Mamma so happy!
Aren't they lovely?


We invited our adopted Grandma R for Mother's Day dinner to celebrate.

She is teaching Mamma how to perfect her crochet skill.

She loves on Lil' Monster and is so delighted with him.

 

Lil' Monster is sharing his Baby book with her.

She is real special to him,

because he doesn't share it with just anyone. 

 It is fun explaining to her all about it.

And telling her all about his life.

Lil' Monster sure loves his Mamma and many Grandmas.

Have a Happy Mother's Day!

Presents and Play Dates

Remember Christmas?

I know, it was ages ago -

but really it was just 4 months ago.

This past one,

Lil' Monster received an odd gift from Santa

(a white elephant re-gift in fact)

Can you see what it is.

He were not that impressed.

He preferred the Christmas treats, Legos, and other assorted gifts.

This particular gift was put to the side and quickly forgotten

(as are all too many gifts).

 

Here it is 4 months later and

Lil' Monster had a play date.

He and his friend were 'bored'

(as kids tend to become with whatever they are allowed to do)

When a light bulb struck -

here was the perfect time to pull out something that didn't really mean anything special -

but it was something messy and edible (which most young ones love).

There was

frosting and decorating...

and assessing

and posing

and silly faces

and gnawing on old chewy candy

 and being grossed out

and lots of fun.

At the end I was asked 

"Can we do this again NEXT time?"

PS. Don't throw out those old gifts, they might just come in handy, and then you can send half of it home with a friend.