Day 5 Gratitude Challenge

For day 5 of the Gratitude Challenge I am thankful for beautiful Fall weather.  Here in Idaho we have had beautiful Fall weather.  It is between 60-70 degrees during the day and high 30’s at night.  This has caused the trees to turn their leaves with full color.  I love the color of the fall trees. Yellow, gold, red, brown, all of them are beautiful. 

I am from Southern New Mexico. Down there the leaves stay green until about Thanksgiving and then fall off the trees still green.  So seeing all the beautiful colors of Fall is a treat. 

The weather being so mild has also been great so that the kids can play outside.  I am thankful for the great weather so we could walk to the park and I could read my Old Schoolhouse magazine that came in the mail today while they played. 

Thank you Lord for the gift of seasons to enjoy!

Visit Garden of Learning to read what others are thankful for and to link up your own thankful thoughts.

Day 4 Gratitude Challenge

Today I am grateful for my friend Katrina.

In the world of the Air Force, you make friends and then always have to say goodbye.  Either they move, or you do. With Katrina, we have had the pleasure of being stationed at two bases together, only separated by about 7 years.

Katrina is a great friend because she is so much fun.  I tend to take myself too seriously and Katrina helps me to let go and have fun. 

  Thank you Lord for the gift of a great friend!

Visit Garden of Learning to read what others are grateful for this year. Don’t forget to be grateful for things large and small this month!

Day 3 Gratitude Challenge

This is Day 3 of the Gratitude Challenge sponsored by Garden of Learning. 

     Today I am thankful for my sewing machine.  I love to sew even though I don’t get to sew as often as I would like. I am thankful for my sewing machine because it works every time I need or want to use it.  When I first got married 18 years ago I had a sewing machine that was awful.  It would tangle the bobbin threads, the stitches on the bottom of the fabric would not look anywhere near as neat as the top, it just gave me lots of problems.  I used that machine for about 6 years.  Then, for Christmas one year, my husband gave me the most wonderful present of a new sewing machine.  I have used this machine for 12 years now and still love it.  I have never had a problem with it.  It sews beautifully, top and bottom. I have sewn many clothes, quilts and craft projects with it.  As I was packing my machine up to take to church to work on craft projects to sell at the craft sale we have, I was reminded just how grateful I am to have a machine that works so well.

     Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of a nice sewing machine to help me

Don’t forget to check out Garden of Learning to see what others are grateful for this month.  And while you are at it, write your own blog post and link up to the challenge.

Day 2 Gratitude Challenge

      This is Day 2 of the Gratitude Challenge hosted by Garden of Learning. 

     Today I am thankful for my oldest son, Matthew.  Matthew is 17 and a wonderful young man.  I am thankful for his attitude to help almost anyone he meets.  I am thankful that he helps me out so much, whether it is making me a cup of tea, doing a spelling lesson with his baby sister, or doing dishes for me as a surprise, he is great to have around.  I am thankful that he is polite and can converse intelligently with both older people as well as people his own age.  Thank you Lord, for the gift of a wonderful son!

     Check out Garden of Learning to read what others are thankful for and to link up with your own story of gratitude.

Gratitude Challenge

     The blog Garden of Learning has issued a challenge. A Gratitude Challenge. So I have decided to pick up the challenge.  The challenge is to see if I can blog about something I am grateful for, everyday for the month of November.  Yep, that means I will have to write something for the next 30 days.  Anybody can participate, so visit Garden of Learning and read what other people are grateful for, as well as to link up.

     For this first day of the challenge I think I will start with one of the most important blessings that God has given to me: my husband.  I am grateful that I have a husband who loves me just the way I am.  I am grateful that I have a husband who supports me in whatever I do.  I am grateful that I have a husband who works hard serving our country for the last 22 years.   Thank you Lord for my husband, and for the extra blessing of a husband with such a great smile

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This Planner’s for Me?

     I have a planner that I use.  It is from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and is FULL of information and pages to plan your entire life.  I have pulled from this planner so my daughter can make a planner of her own.  Well, no more, because The Old Schoolhouse has come up with a planner designed specifically for High School students.

     This student planner really does “have it all”. It is written to your student, not the parent.  When I asked Sarah (13) to use it and see what she thought this is what she said.

“The TOS High School Planner is  brimming full of information. It is divided into five sections. My favorite sections are Calendars, Informational Must-Knows Lists, and Organizational Forms. What I like about the calendar pages is they give you four different styles of calendars. My favorite calendar is the blank one you can fill out on your own. Some of my favorite informational must-know lists are: Famous Authors and their Works, the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal, Kitchen Conversions cheat sheet, and Seven Wonders of the Ancient world. A couple of the Organizational forms that I like are the Daily schedule, One of these Days, I would like to, My Daily Chores, and Dates to Remember. The High school planner has a lot more that I like but these are  the major ones.”

     My Sarah has always been a “planner” girl.  She absolutely loved this planner. She really liked that it was for her, not me.  We created a folder on the computer and she can access this planner whenever she needs a new form or to look up information. Then she simply prints it out and puts it in her 3 ring binder.

     Major Features

• Articles specific to High School planning
• Calendars – multiple styles
• Informational Must - Know Lists
• Homeschool Forms
• Organizational Forms

     One of the best features, in my opinion, is the ability to either print out each page and fill in by hand, or type the information in the PDF format and then print. The abundance of styles is also an asset. This way if one page, such as a daily schedule, is not working for you, there is another style to try for the next week.

     Being a planner specifically designed for homeschool high school students, there are pages dedicated to helping plan their high school careers.  Other pages let your student become involved in knowing what courses they have to look forward. They can begin to track what grades they have in certain courses on their own. Transcript pages keep track of classes they have taken. Also included when you buy this planner is a Parent Pack with articles for parents of high school students.

     Overall Sarah and I are pleased with The 2010-2011 High School Schoolhouse Planner.  We have only begun to use it, and keep finding  forms and information sheets that have been overlooked.  It has been a positive asset to our school day and beyond.

The 2010-2011 High School Schoolhouse Planner is available from The Old Schoolhouse Store. It is an e-book download with a cost of $29.00.

I received The 2010-2011 High School Schoolhouse Planner for free from The Old Schoolhouse Store in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Tag, Your It

Last week I was tagged by All American Family.  This consists of answering a few questions and then tagging someone else to answer questions.  Thanks for tagging me.

     Now for the questions:

1.  Why did you start homeschooling?     We started homeschooling our son when he was 8 and starting 3rd grade.  He had a wonderful kindergarten teacher, a good 1st grade teacher and an okay 2nd grade teacher.  I kept getting notes saying I needed to work more with him on his math facts. There were times that he watched movies that we didn’t approve of and when I complained were told that they did not need to inform me because the movies were on an approved list.  There were times when my son was called into the principal’s office, not because he was in trouble, but because there had been a fight on the playground and she knew my son was not involved, but had seen it and would tell the truth about what happened.  That bothered me quite a bit. And the final kicker was when we received a letter from the district attorney that a child molester had been in my son’s classroom. It happened to be the teacher’s new husband.  The letter said an investigation had been done and found that there were no problems, they were just informing me that it had happened.  This was the final straw, and we did not send him back for 3rd grade.

2  How long have you been homeschooling?  We have been homeschooling or 9 years now.

3.  Do you have pets? What kind?  We have one dog.  He is a Golden Retriever/Siberian Husky mix also known as a Goberian.  HIs name is Loki, which my son informs me is the Norse God of mischief.  It used to fit him better, but now that he if 4 he is pretty mellow.

4.  What is your picture perfect day like?  My picture perfect day is one where we are all up on time, chores done, nobody fusses at their schoolwork, and everybody finishes on time and happy.  Still working on this perfect day, but I know, one day it will come.

5.  What is your favorite season?  My favorite season is: Fall and Winter.  I love the changing colors of the season in the Fall.  I like the cooler temperatures of winter, although it is a love/hate relationship. I love the snow, as long as I don’t have to drive in it.

6.  What is your favorite dinner or meal to make for your family?  My family is not very picky. They like almost everything I make.  But I think their favorite is Taco Soup.  Every time I make it they attack it and then say, “You should make this again next week.”

7.  What is your favorite activity to do with your family?  With all different ages, we don’t always seem to do everything together like we used to.  But, when a new movie comes out on DVD, it seems that we can find time to watch it together.

8.  What is your favorite indulgence?  My absolute favorite indulgence, that I do not get very often would be: pumpkin cheesecake.

     Now for the questions that I am going to ask.

1.  How did you meet your husband?

2.  How many places have you lived?

3.  What is your favorite place to visit?

4.  What is your favorite dessert?

5.  What is your favorite animal?

6.  What household chore do you dislike the most?

7.  What is your favorite subject to teach?

8.  How long have you been blogging?

Now I have to pass this on to other bloggers. So I am passing this on to:

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