April

April was an exciting month for us in homeschooling. We took the kids to Medieval dinner and tournament. They all learned so much about that time period. I can't wait to study more with them!

The kids also love spring because we talk a lot about plants and gardening!

We took the children fishing and Valerie caught one fish. We talked a lot about nature. 

Classical Conversations ended the year with a celebration. Lily's class played Mary Had a Little Lamb on the tin whistle and sang us the ten commandments~

Here is Lily with the other girls in her class. She loves Boston and Hope and they even color coordinated!

Lily became a Memory Master this year~ Such a huge accomplishment. She memorized over 400 facts and was able to recite all of them to her tutor without any errors. Then she went on to be randomly quizzed by our director of CC. Lily didn't miss any again! So now she is a Memory Master. It took hard work and lots of study time. I am so proud of her for not being afraid of this challenge, but going at it with full integrity!

Everything is a learning experience when you homeschool. We went downtown and found this amazing old building. We studied the time period it was built and went around looking at all the old features. I even showed her some old black and white movies to show her how everything use to look. It was great! I felt like we were in one of those glamorous old movies!

At New Life, we started a unit on Little House on the Prairie. Rebecca Carter taught the children about wood carving by using bars of soap that they made into creatures. Valerie and Lily made ducks! They also learned about how to tie a knot! 

My favorite thing this month has been learning about the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. We have been talking about each fruit and the children are noticing each other showing love, joy, kindness, etc. As they notice them, they write down what they noticed from one of their siblings and put the paper in a bowl. When the bowl is full, we will read them all and celebrate with a family party!

On this same note, Christina and Kelly decided to plan a random acts of kindness day. Such a great opportunity to teach the children about serving and loving others. We started at the dollar store and bought toys and snacks to give out at the mall. At the mall, we wrote verses to give out. The children also brought some of their own money. We went around giving toys and snacks to boys and girls with notes telling them that this was just a random act of kindness. The kids loved seeing the smiling faces! The funny thing was how shocked people were. They almost didn't know what to say or do. We also put little bags of money on soda machines and candy machines to bless people. We even took baby wipe packs and set them on changing tables for moms!

After the mall, we headed to the hospital. This was my favorite! The children gave out flowers to people in the different waiting rooms. People were so thankful. It really brightened their day on a very rainy day and when they didn't feel well or were waiting on loved ones. One lady hugged Little Lily and kept smiling and then told us that she didn't know English, but she definitely showed us how thankful she was with her smile! We also gave out crayons and coloring books. One family was so thankful. They had been there for over two hours and needed something to keep the kids occupied. We also taped money on the soda and snack machines and talked to the kids about how long people have to stay at the hospital and how stressful it is. We also gave out more snacks to people! It was a beautiful experience.

The last stop was to the police station and fire station. We had taken a break for lunch at Christina's house and we made fresh cookies. We then took them to both stations. The police and firefighters were very thankful and made sure the children felt special in what they had done!

God is so good! It is great to be able to share that love with people and to bless others!

March

March Madness!!! One of our favorite parts of March is St. Patrick's day. The children love setting a trap for a leprechaun. Even though they have not caught one, it is so fun to get a note and treats in the morning. This trap was a hat with tissue paper on it. They hoped he would fall through when trying to get the treat. They got little hats and gum! 

Eli and Valerie took swim lessons at the Ozark Community Center. Both of them learned how to really swim while on our vacation to North and South Carolina. They still need to work on their skills, but so glad that they know how to swim now!

Lily went to the Springfield Little Theater to study theater. The theme for the day was "snow". They read books and made fun crafts. The best part was that Lily learned a song and dance routine that all of the children performed. They also were split into two group and Lily's group did a poem that they recited with each one having a different part! It was so enjoyable!!

As Easter came, we did fun crafts and we made bird nest cookies. I love teaching the children fun baking and cooking skills. I love spending time with them too!

We also went to the Discovery Center. There was so much to learn and do there. It never gets old. There is always something different that we can focus on when we go there!

At Classical, we have been studying great artists. We really have enjoyed this!

When our unit of great artists finished, we moved on to Orchestra. We even were able to go to go see Drury's performance of Peter and the Wolf! Such a great way to learn about different instruments and how the orchestra works. Daphne was very afraid of the wolf though and talks on and on about it!

At New Life, we learned to churn butter. What fun!

We took a little trip with our friends to Honey Heaven. We used this experience to work on our etiquette again and to learn about bees.

The Nature Center has also been putting on fun learning classes and we love going and walking the trails!

February

February flew by! We had a great time making Valentine boxes. We made an angry bird one as a family and then Lily made a pink angry bird one all by herself. I am so proud of her ability to try things on her own!

We also had fun with President's day. We had friends over for a fondue party and to learn a little about George Washington. The kids had a fun time with a craft as well.

I am sure there is more to say about February, but this is all the pictures that I have to share! 

January

January Fun!

Having great friends is one of the best gifts in life and Lily definitely has been blessed in friends. Boston is a great best friend!

 Lily loved her cake decorationg class. She learned so much and did such a great job!

 Lily loves learning at New Life on Fridays. Here they made funny characters and wrote about them!

Daddy took the oldest three children to the Springfield Little Theater to watch Seussical the Musical!

 Also at New Life, we do so many activities to work on really learning our classical memory work. Here the children are putting the mountains with their continents to help memorize them!

 Lily and Eli worked on a huge puzzle to work on critical thinking skills.

 The children have a geat babysitter who also does activities with them like building a whole village of paper people and castles!

November and December

In November and December, it is always a very busy time of holiday fun. However, it is also filled with leanring. Classical Conversations had many great learning experiences for us. Here is Katelyn and Jelaina dissecting and owl pellet.

Here Ms. Amy Martin and Ms. Melissa Smith are teaching Lily's class about the Earth's rotation.

 We also went to a wonderful museum where we learned a great deal about the tools and lifestyle of the American Indians.

 In Bible, we focused on the book, What Would Jesus Do? The kids learned so much and enjoyed their time.

We also learned about the government and voting as we helped friends with their poling locations and giving out information on the candidates.

Lily has really become a great artist! Enjoying this age!

Lily again at CC. This time she is using playdough to make a flower and then labeling the parts.

For one of Lily's presentations, she taught about Indians. She learned about how they wrote using pictures and about their life and shared it with her class.

Lily was a China Princess for halloween and so we learned a little about the culture in China.

 I just love this. Lily drew these pictures of her best friend and her.

 Playing with clay!

Lily learning how to use a bow and arrow!

 Lily had a big recital. She sang in front of a large group. She sang, A Whole New World, from Aladdin. She did an amazing job! What a beautiful voice!

 Daddy is very proud!

 Lily has been doing a beautiful job on her writing. We are really working on neatness. She is a fast writer and can sometimes get messy!

We had friends over to make holiday cookies and to learn about how each tradition teaches us about the Lord.

We went to Silver Dollar City and the kids got to participate in the Frosty the Snowman show!

 We made Christmas trees using ice cream cones and m & m's  and frosting. Yummy!