“Insta”-replay, family fun and learning fun

January is more than half over! The new year is going quickly for us!

Family game night was expanded to include legos. Sharing our creativity and laughing together were the highlight of the night!

We are also digging out games that we haven’t played yet, despite owning them for years. One such game was “water works” a game of leaky pipes where quiet Merry beat us all!

Besides playing games the girls also spent time playing piano.  They showed of their skills with a mini performance for my inlaws.

Charry is back to volunteering, now at the library which we can see from or house.  She was very excited to be able to walk there by herself, without Mom. Less excited to have Mom show up later and take pictures of her working.

Merry had real life complimenting her school. As we learn about roots and a fallen leaf from her cactus starts growing its own roots. As a mom I love when they can see what they are learning outside of the books and assignments.

So that is what we’ve been up to.

Good Mornings

I thought I would share a new part of our daily routine.  This year as a family we are committing to putting God first in our lives.

For starters this is meaning getting up a little early and reading our Bible before anything else each morning.

We’re not always pretty, since it’s before brushing hair.  We are usually bundled, since we still miss bed. But we are gathering, somewhat together (depending on how long it takes for sister to get down stairs).

We each are committed to different reading plans. I’m using a “One Year Bible” on my Bible app.  Merry is reading one chapter of the  New Testament each morning, starting in Matthew. And Charry is starting with Psalms and Proverbs, also following a plan from the Bible app. Jon is participating too, he’s listening to the Bible while he gets ready for work, he did the math and 4 chapters a day should get him all the way from Genesis to Revelation.

Consistency can be hard for me but having accountability helps.  Now not only is my family keeping each other accountable but, by posting a blog, I have the entire internet helping.

“Insta”-replay: Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Starting the year off blogging. I like to pretend this year will be more consistent than last, but probably not. So how else are we starting the year?

We toasted in the New Year with cranberry juice since I forgot to buy sparkling grape juice.  It was pretty in our glasses.  We also picked an unconventional time to toast.  It was around 9:30, after we’d finished a movie.  To make it special we found a YouTube clip of “Auld Lang Syne” to listen to before toasting.

I’ll admit I may be spending too much time on Animal Crossing already this year.  But the animals fly kites! Which is awesome, just saying.

We started back to school by taking a field trip to the zoo.  The reason for heading to Portland was more to visit my grandma but since we were up that way I figured the zoo was a good place to stop.

Most of the trip the girls had their phones out, taking pictures of the animals.  I managed to get them to pose a time or two so I had some pictures also.

Charry is taking biology this year and we have had trouble getting labs to work.  But this one was an exception! It was nice to jump back into our school with a success.

The experiment was supposed to extract DNA from peas. So the white stringy stuff floating in the clear liquid is DNA, is that cool or what!

So that was our first week of the year, next week my classes start up too.  So we’ll be staying busy.

Homeschool New Years resolutions

It’s the new year so everyone is making lists of things they want to change or accomplish in the up coming year. I’ve noticed that many resolutions are a bit cliche, the typical eat better or exercise more.  As a homeschool mom I have my own list of resolutions I seem to make every year, sigh.

1. No more books at the table while we eat.  I know reading is a good thing but I live in constant fear of ketchup getting on library books.  Besides it’s nice to talk to family.

2. More trips to the library.  We recently moved within walking distance of our library and so far have doubled our fines, oops.  I need to go back to a set library time.

3. Grade tests in a timely manner.  I blame a lot on the move but push comes to shove, I don’t like grading.  Especially essay questions, still it would be better to get them done while my daughter remembers what she wrote.

4. More project based learning.  My kids love doing projects and they get a lot out of them.  But the extra time and set up is hard on teacher-Mom, so I put them off.

5. Read to my kids.  So we are obviously a book family, but I think reading out loud is beneficial. Besides some classics are boring to read by yourself but fun as a family where we can mock them together.

So do you have any resolutions?