Wordless Wednesday

Hilton Head-1, originally uploaded by Frontier Mom.

Wordless Wednesday

My Goal has always Been to Have a Room Where You Cannot Enter It Without Learning Something!

Here are some pictures of my learning room, all clean and ready for school to begin.

We  spent several days working in the room and I was really pleased to have it tidy for at least one day.

Here is our Lab Dusty acting like he didn't just chew up, and eat I might add, the other half of the green crayon on the floor.  How can I be mad at that face?

Here are my bookshelves all organized by historical category.

Notice the Landmark Books I found at a used book store in town!!

Here are my Tapestry of Grace Books, along with some bibles, reference and classic books.  I even put the colored dot on the spine of my TOG books so I could spot Year 2.

This is a picture of the closet in our Learning Room.  I love these black shelves and I buy a new one every chance I get.  You will also see one beside my desk for printers and such.

I keep the shoe boxes up top for clippings and other things I want to put in a place for safe keeping.  For instance, I label them Human Body, Astronomy, American History, NC History, etc. and when I find a book or article that pertains, I put it in the box.

The things below are paper sorted by color and type, along with math manipulatives, supplies and other things.

Here is our computer work station, with headphones of course.

Milk crates serve as storage for small science books and readers.  I also keep some homeschooling how-to books here.

Here is the view of Trey's desk area and laptop work station.

Here is the view from the door coming into our Bonus Room.

Here is my white board, glorious white board.  I also like the white table here so I can keep my books on it as I go over the lesson on the board.

This is behind my desk.  I keep Teacher's Manuals and various other teaching materials back here.  I also keep my devotional materials here.

Beside my desk is another black shelving unit.  I like it because I can keep my Laser and All-In-One Printer here and get to them easily.  This gives me lots of storage.

This is the view from my desk.  The Eagle's View!!

And yet another view.

And, you will usually see my coffee pot on this table.  I also keep a fan underneath and all 36 weeks of my TOG printouts are in the rubbermaid container underneath!!

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Washington, DC - Here we come.

We are leaving in the morning on a 4-H trip to the capital.  I am really looking forward to climbing on the bus and taking a nap, followed by lots of reading.  I'm really feeling the stress of our school year beginning on August 18th.  Although I was doing really good early in the summer in terms of planning, now I seem to be interrupted every few minutes.

All this to say, I'm packing lots of stuff to read and review.  I think the bus trip is going to just be awesome and, multi-tasker that I am, I hope to get lots of reading done too!

We Won the District!!

Trey, #10, was excited after winning by one today in the 9 & 10 All Star Tournament.

After downloading a trial version of Lumapix, I couldn't wait to try it out with some good ole baseball pictures.

Rain and Baseball

We've been trying to play All-Stars this week.  Twice we have driven 45 minutes, only to have the games called due to rain.

Wyatt plays on the 11/12 year old team and Trey plays on the 9/10 year old team.  They have each played a game, Wyatt's team lost and Trey's team won.  Our cleats on the back porch drying out from two nights ago, if that tells you how wet the fields were.

Hopefully we get our games in tonight at 6:00 pm.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Meet Princess Belle

She is a Siberian kitty.  She is already getting really comfy in the house.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Here is Sheyanne, ready for her gymnastics recital.

Wyatt

Wyatt loves playing catcher and 4-H.

Sheyanne

The many faces of my princess!!

Cody playing Baseball

Trey Hit an In-the-Park Homerun!

And Mom perfects her photography skills with her camera.  (Notice the ball in the third photo.)

Home Educating is like a Baseball Game!!

It was another Saturday, a day which started cold and windy.  Trey was up to bat, there was a runner on first and the dugout was chanting his name, "Trey, Trey, Trey."  He got in his batting stance, one he chose by watching many hours of the Braves.  The first pitch came, low and outside.  Everyone yelled, "Good Eye."  The next pitch came and CRACK, he hit a shot to the fence.  As he ran, the crowd cheered!!

As I sat for the first of three games of the day, I reflected on how much home education emulated a baseball game. 

 

For one thing, it takes the whole team, or family, to play the game.  If everyone doesn't participate, the game is most surely lost.  

Also, as each person on the team comes to bat, so it is in the home school arena.  Throughout the day, year and life, someone is always "at bat."  At these times, they can either get a hit or strike out.  Alot depends upon the support they feel from the dugout.  In our daily learning, hearing words of encouragement can mean the difference between getting a single, double or maybe even a triple or striking out.

The time to prepare for a baseball game begins way before the game.  The hours of practice where infielding is done over and over until it is right means the shortstop makes the routine throw to first.  The practice of fly balls to the outfield means the difference between an easy out or a score by the opponent.  The practice pays off when it counts.  In our pursuit of education, the rote drills, learning of vocabulary rules, memorization of spelling rules all prepare us for the time when it counts.  The point when all the dots are connected and a new realization is made.

The team depends upon the coach just as my children depend upon Jeff and I.  They are looking at us when they get on base, so we can safely send them ahead.  Sometimes the next base is easy, but other times it might require speed and courage.  Yet other times, they might get out and have to start all over again.  The key is to go to bat again and try harder.

And, as we lost the first game, I realized not each day will be a winner.  Somedays it seems we have more to-do's than done's, but the learning has only ceased momentarily.  Tomorrow it will begin again, and hopefully as we won the next two, to win the big one in the end!!

Love that Strut!!

After winning the last tournament, the team was moved up two divisions. However, they still won second and I just love that strut after Trey got his medal.