Biltmore

I was able to get a discount ticket (because we homeschool) to go to Biltmore. I've been wanting to take the kiddos but it is so expensive and I was also waiting for them to get a little older. We went up there last Wednesday. We saw most of the estate. We went through the "castle" in probably a record 45 minutes. (The tour of the house is supposed to take 90 minutes.) I knew the kids weren't interested in every little antique. We just talked about the purpose of each room and went on to the next. The favorite was the library. They also like the pool in the basement.

After going through the house, we met Grammy and Bops for a picnic lunch. Then Bops showed us where to feed the geese.

After lunch we toured the winery. The kiddos got to taste grape juice, fresh-squeezed that morning, in the Tasting Room.

A nice older gentleman offered to take a picture of all of us. The kiddos are sitting on a statue of Cedric, the Vanderbilt's dog.

WNC Nature Center

On Josiah's bday, we were able to go up to the WNC Nature Center with Bops. The Nature Center is a small zoo with native animals. We saw rattlesnakes, frogs, fish. We saw samples of various minerals. Josiah identified talc and commented on how it is the softest mineral and diamonds are the hardest. We saw wolves. Unfortunately, they were sleeping because they are nocturnal.

We saw River Otters. They were playing and swimming in the water. There was a slide on which the kids could pretend to be otters.

We saw black bears. They weren't very active either.

The kiddos like the little petting zoo.

They enjoyed naming the goats. This one they named Chocolate.

The cougars were very active. They were chasing each other and pouncing on each other.

Most of the animals native to NC seem to be nocturnal. We also saw coyotes, raccoons, foxes, and owls. Most of them were sleeping.

Carissa's New School "Toys"

I got these Melissa & Doug toys a while back when they were on sale at http://www.amazon.com/. I pulled them out for Carissa for the summer. She has loved them. They keep her busy while the boys are finishing up their work.

Happy 8th Birthday, Josiah!!

I can't believe it has been 8 years since we brought you home. You have been growing ever since.

You were always active, even from the first.

You have such an amazing active imagination.

You are growing into a brave young man.

Daddy and I love your enthusiasm for life.

You are growing into a great young man.

Caleb's Kindergarten Graduation

Caleb graduated from kindergarten this morning! Singing with his class
Waiting for his name to be called

The Graduate!

Caleb with his teachers, Mrs. Blevins and Mrs. Trammell

All of us

Adventures in Homeschooling

Spring a year ago, we decided to take Josiah out of public school to homeschool him. I went through a huge learning curve on all things homeschool. I was very overwhelmed at first with how much there is out there. Thankfully, I have several friends who homeschool who could point me in the right direction.

Here is Josiah on the first day of homeschooling.We decided to use Tapestry of Grace for our main curriclum. We have loved it. It covers history (including church history), geography, literature, and music/art appreciation. It is meant to be used by families with several children. They can all study the same thing while each student works on his/her own level.

This year we did Year 1: The History of Redemption. This covered creation through the fall of Rome. Here is a picture Josiah drew when we were studying ancient Egypt.


Here is Josiah dressed as a Roman on a field trip to BJU Museum & Gallery.

For science this year, we have studied Animals, the Human Body, and Plants. Here are some pictures of things we have studied this year.

Amphibians

Insects

Mammals (here we took a field trip to a dairy farm)

Reptiles

We studied all the major systems of the body.

Then we studied plants. Here is Josiah on a tree walk trying to find

evergreen and deciduous trees.

For Bible, Josiah copied a few verses each day from the book of James. He has worked through the entire book this year.

For Spelling we used Spelling Workout. This curriculum used crossword puzzles, riddles, and other fun things to teach various phonics rules.

For Math we used Math-U-See. I really liked this curriculum but it wasn't a great fit for Josiah. So next year we are switching to Progress in Mathematics. We'll see how it works out.

For Handwriting we have used Handwriting Without Tears. Josiah has done really well with this. He started learning cursive this year.

On Fridays, we changed things up a bit. For Bible, Josiah wrote and drew in his Gratitude Journal.

For Spelling, Josiah used English From the Roots Up. I love this book. It has Latin and Greek words in it with English words which are derived from them. I picked a word for each week that generally went along with what we were studying in science. He has learned the Latin numbers I - X as well as various words like:

Zoon (Greek) - animal; zoo, zoology

Pes (Latin) - foot; pedestrian, pedestal

Bios (Greek) - life; biology, bionic

Instead of Math we did Logic. We used Building Thinking Skills.

We also added figures we had studied that week to our timeline.

While working on this fun, different stuff on Fridays, we tried to listen to some music that went along with what we were studying. Some of what we have listened to has been Egyptian, Hebrew, Chinese, Native American, and Greek music played on ancient instruments.

Overall, this year has been a great success. I look forward to adding in Caleb next year. He is excited about homeschooling next year. It will be different having two to teach and should be an adventure.

Caleb's Field Trip

Caleb's kindergarten class had a field trip to our Children's Museum. He had a great time running around playing with all the various fun displays.