Cutting Without Fear

This week has been a great one here at Little Angels. We have been integrating new curriculum that have enriched each day and made it exciting! You will be hearing more about these resources soon in my reviews that begin in a week or two.

This week I have watched my girls blossom and grow each day. My oldest seems to be taking fertilizer at night as she seems a bit taller every morning. My Nat has lost some of that baby face that allowed me to pretend that she is stuck in time rather than growing up. My Lillee bud amazes me everyday with her new skills, vocabulary and eagerness to participate in whatever the rest of the family is doing. In fact, this eagerness is what I wanted to share about today.

It seems that as we get older, our willingness to try new things tends to waiver. Now, there is a reason I tend to stay away from cartwheels as gravity is becoming increasingly more unkind.  However, this fear of trying something new begins even before our chins begin to double. ;) In fact, I can remember being nervous to try something new when I was around my eldest daughter's age and I see this same hesitation sometimes in her as well.

What is it that stops us? Could it be intimidation? Maybe it is a lack of understanding and we don't want others to see us fail. Perhaps it is a fear of trying and then being ridiculed or mocked for doing it wrong. I, for one, have memories of this that still haunt me to this day.

I contemplated all of these things while watching my youngest hold a pair of scissors. Now, before you get all Child Services on me, she was sitting down and I was with her. Our focus during her school that day was cutting. Here she is when she begins:

Notice she has jumped in, scissors flipped, to tackle the difficult art of cutting. She did not ask for me to show her first. She did not worry about what I would think if she did it wrong. She was not a bit hesitant to try. This struck me as I am notorious for making sure I go with the flow. How does everyone else do it? What do they say I should do? Perhaps it is the need for success or to show that I have it all together... who knows? But I do know that a touch more of this determination to jump in and try would most assuredly expand my horizons and enrich my life.

I also considered how my daughter had someone looking over her and watching, ME. I was aware of how she was holding the scissors and making sure that her eyeballs would remain intact at all times. :) She was holding something that had the potential to hurt and I want what is best for her. This makes me consider how I have a Heavenly Father who is watching over me as well. I am holding choices in my hands that have the potential to hurt me if not made with care. However, the One watching over me is gently prodding me to proceed carefully and to handle my life with care. Eager to try while handling with care... hmmm.... this is the balance I want to have.

With each cut of my baby's scissors, she crept closer and closer to reaching her goal. Sure, I worked with her on correct finger placement and the correct manner to hold the scissors. Yet, my intention never changed: to assist my daughter in making something beautiful all by herself. Though she tried my way several times, she seemed to have better leverage by holding it the way she wanted and had much better control. So, I let her proceed as the goal would remain the same: to cut out her picture. This reminded me of how one method can work in some situations while another might be better for others. I need to be courageous enough to be different.

As you can see, she made it and I was there to share in the excitement! How beautiful to know that God is sharing in our triumphs as well! Notice the small bit of tape in the bottom corner? Yeah, me either. I like to think that God has a giant roll of that amazing invention sitting next to His throne just in case He needs to "fix" something and make it as good as new. ;)

Oh, the lessons I gleaned from my daughter's cutting lesson. Each day is an opportunity to learn something new... together. Have a fantastic day everyone!

Out with the New... On with the Old! :)

Hello, friends! As you can see, my blog header has been through a bit of a change this week. :) I liked my new header with my caricature but to be honest.... I missed seeing my three angels' smiling faces as soon as I open my page. Call me sentimental but there you go. In many ways, this blog is dedicated to them. Homeschooling was never our first plan but it has become our favorite. The opportunity to spend time with my children every day is one that I treasure. Better yet, I get the privilege of using my passion for learning and reading to impact my own children. How cool is that?!

This blog has become a place for me to share, learn, and grow all while I seek to guide my children in their education and values. I love the fact that I have a smiling 6th grader rather than a moody and stressed middle schooler. I have a 3rd grader who is unafraid to be herself and never meets a stranger. My three year old gets to learn from two of the smartest young ladies I know and tries so hard to be just like them.  I enjoy watching my girls interact with one another in love (most of the time :)) and support each other throughout the day. I enjoy watching them learn something new and know that I would miss it if we ever needed to do something different.

The faces of my children bring joy to my heart and for that reason, I dedicate this blog to them. We seek to view everyday as an opportunity to learn... together. :)

Happy Blogging my friends!

Homeschool Reflection: Part Three

Today I will wrap up my Homeschool Reflection by looking at a few things we have accomplished in August!

Sunshine- Coloring, the number 1, colors: blue, red, green, yellow, purple, pink, and orange

She has also learned how to cut and glue, at least in theory. We haven't quite figured out how to cut on the line but we are having fun anyway! :) Here is a sample of her coloring. I think it is awesome for a three year old!

Next, we have my NatNat. She is in third grade this year and is doing such a great job! I have noticed that the topics she struggled with at the end of last year is being understood much easier now. She has been working with writing a "How To" paper, writing 6 digit numbers in expanded form, place value to the hundred thousands, fact families, compound subjects and verbs, review from last year and painting! We have also been learning about space, gravity, the universe, NASA and the Sun! Here is a picture she created with her new paint set:

Lastly, we have my Em. She is my sixth grade wonder. She has been working on writing a Personal Narrative, using descriptive words, exponents, properties of addition and multiplication, adding and subtracting decimals, 10 digit numbers, place value, compound subject and verbs, independent and dependent clauses, as well as correct punctuation. She has also been learning about space, gravity, the sun, NASA and the universe! Here is the picture she created with acrylic paints:

August was a great month for us and I am looking forward to a great year! Be sure to check in tomorrow as I will be featuring a great TPT seller in a Product Feature! It is an amazing Common Core resource for any classroom! You won't want to miss it! Happy Blogging!

August Reflection: Part Two

Today, I will be looking at some of our strengths and weaknesses. This is probably the hardest part of reflection, especially the weaknesses. I am sure it will surprise you that we don't like pointing out our flaws. *grin* But, it is good for the soul and can be very effective in supporting progress throughout the year. So, here we go!

Strengths:

1.) The girls have been doing very well on getting up each morning. This may not seem like a strength but the feeling of success on any given day is reinforced when you start it on time! I confess that I am the weakest link on this front. (I will talk about that more below.) 

2.) The curriculum has been working very well for the girls. It has enough "off book" activities that they remain engaged. I will be carefully monitoring this year to determine their effectiveness in three areas: the girl's level of interaction, their excitement while learning the material, and the quality of their finished tasks. This will help me gauge whether or not to continue with the same curriculum for next year.

3.)  Our schedule has been working well for us as I stated here so I won't go into that again. You are welcome! :)

4.)  We have been to stay on point in our lesson plans for the most part. Even with sick days as well as holidays from having family over, we are actually ahead in most areas. The only area we are working a little behind in is Science. This will be easy to catch up and my goal is to be on track with everything by Wednesday of next week.

5.) I am making extracurricular activities more of a priority this year. As a result, the girls have really improved in their Art skills as well as Computer skills.

Weaknesses:

Now let me just insert a note about weaknesses. You will note that all of these will be a reflection on me: the teacher/Mommy/Principal. I am well aware and often intimidated by the fact that our girls will only be as consistent as what I am! They will grow as a direct result of my influence and time. That, my friends, can be a scary thought! Without further ado, areas that I need to work on!

1.)  I have been less consistent on starting times. This was mainly due to the fact that I was sick for about two weeks. A part of this sickness was insomnia which made for rough mornings. This is getting better but I will confess, I am soooooo not a morning person. Because of this, our Bible devotions have been skipped a few times. This cannot become a habit! So, I will be working hard to get us back into a good routine. I am a firm believer that if we start our day with God, the rest of the day will be more productive.

2.)  I have not thought through the days with my Sunshine enough. For example, I am beginning to feel that her projects are getting repetitive. I need to be looking for new activities and focus areas to make sure she doesn't get bored. I also want to find projects and activities on Pinterest that will maintain her interest and will have little impact on the wallet. :)

3.) I have got to improve my time management. This year I have added a student, started a Teacher Resource store, and started a blog! I love all of these things but I am needing to figure out how best to juggle them all without neglecting what is most important: my family. 

So, that will wrap up part two of August's reflection. You can read Part One here. Tomorrow, I will be showing pictures and recapping what the girls have accomplished so far this year.

Homeschool Reflection: Part One

Today, I would like to do a bit of reflecting about our first few weeks of homeschool. This is a brand new year in curriculum, schedule and even students! I think it is so important as a public school teacher or home educator to continually reflect on where you are at, what has been working and what might need to be changed! I will be focusing on different areas over the next few days. First, I will start with what has changed this year from last year. So let's take a peek:

What has changed this year?  This year we have added a new student, Sunshine! She has definitely added a whole new dimension and it takes more effort to keep her occupied during instruction. I have found that she LOVES school so she wants to be a part of the whole morning. This makes it more difficult when I am instructing one of the older girls. To help this, I am constantly keeping my eyes open for activities that will keep her busy and engaged on her own. Sorting sticks, "sewing" projects with thread and patterns, and soft building blocks are all activities that keep her interested. She also has freedom to color if she would like or write on a white board. After instruction with the older girls, I spend time with her by reading books, learning new colors and learning her first few numbers. I also have soft alphabet and number puzzles that she loves to play with that I use as introduction to these concepts. I do not put a lot of pressure on her, I just make sure to give her freedom in exploration as well as times in which I guide the exploration.

Another change has been the schedule. This by far is my favorite change! We have changed to a semester schedule and the pressure of the day has been alleviated. We are no longer rushing to finish! We have the time to "take our time" in our lessons. This has proven to be a very effective move. Our days are filled with many smiles and fewer tears, actually no tears so far this year! It also gives plenty of time in the day for silent reading and art projects.An added bonus is that it means fewer headaches for Mom! It's a win-win! :)

The third change is with our curriculum. I have been a faithful ABeka supporter for the past three years. This year I took the plunge, researched my own curriculum, and bought what I thought would work best with my girls. This has been an amazing move! We still have structure but we also have more freedom. I love the Bob Jones curriculum as it is a bit more colorful and interesting. I also like the progression. The Apologia Science has already been a topic of focus on this blog and I will once again say that I love it!

Tomorrow, I will be talking about some things that we have been successful with as well as areas we need to strengthen. Friday, I will write about what we have accomplished so far this year! I hope to see you there!

As today is Library day, we are about to head out to the van. Our library is BRAND NEW and is about a mile down the road from us. We are loving it! Happy blogging!