And After FOREVER Away...

So, I've been off of blogging for forever... and I'll probably only post personal stuff here from now on.

Here's what's new....

My boys have grown up...

Homeschool has gone on with lots of activities....

We have been on a few different field trips....

We have been sailing.....

We have finished last year's school (and I LOVE our Weaver curriculum!)....

And we have found the Lord trustworthy through it all.

U-Pick farms

Myer's Blueberries - Pick your own Blueberries.


206 Twin Lakes Dr, Summerville, SC, 29483. Phone: 843-873-8695. They are typically open Mid June - July Their hours are 7:30am-7:30pm Monday to Friday, 7:30am-2:30pm Saturdays. Payment: cash.

Charpia Farms - peas, strawberries, and prepicked produce

126 Reed Street, Summerville, SC 29483. Phone: 843 873-9645. Email us at: acharpia@aol.com. Directions: 1/2 mile off Orangeburg Road on Embassy Drive. And for a map to our farm, click here. Crops are usually available in April, May. Open: Monday to Saturday, 8 am to 6 pm, Closed on Sunday Strawberries: April and May Peas: April Payment: Cash, only   Fisher's Orchard - peaches, nectarines, apples

4181 Jordan Road, Greer, SC 29651. Phone: 864-895-2892. The peach season is normally from June 1 through mid September   Ivens Apple Farm - Apples, pumpkins, corn maze, farm animals, school tours, birthday parties

130 Orchard Drive, Moore, SC 29369. Phone: 864-574-8889. Alternate phone: 864-576-4195. Email: ktnivens@aol.com. Open: Monday - Saturday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday 1 pm to 6 pm, from August - November. Directions: 6 Miles SW of Spartanburg. From I-85, Exit 63 (Hwy. 290) east 6.2 miles to sign on right. From I-26, Exit 28 (Hwy. 221) south 1 mile, right on Hwy. 290, 2.5 miles to sign on left. We offer (U-Pick/We Pick) - A Fun Place! Apples, pumpkins, winter squash, apple cider & butter, jellies, relishes, fall decorations, school tours (call for reservations), , animal exhibit, farm store, birthday parties. (ADDED: May 14, 2013, from SC govt website)

Nivens' Apple Farm - apples, hayrides, pumpkins, corn maze

2.2 miles west of Moore, SC. from Hwy. 290 or Exit 63, 6.2 miles east of I-85 down Hwy. 290 toward Moore, SC. Phone: 864-574-8889 or 864-576-4195. Open: August 15th thru Thanksgiving (or until apples are gone)

8 am to 6 PM. U-Pick apples, hayrides, School tours, U-Pick pumpkins, farm animals, corn maze, apple cider.

A visitor to the farm writes: Nivens' Apple Farm is one of the best farms I have ever been to! They have a little bit of everything there! They have u pick apples and pumpkins, farm animals, cider, a corn maze, and hayrides. The prices are very inexpensive and it is very educational. They teach you a lot about apples! I tell all of my friends about Nivens' Apple Farm. My daughter loves going there. It is a great outdoor activity.

Peach Country - strawberries, nectarines, peaches, plums, and prepicked produce, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area

13485 Hwy 11, Campobello, SC 29322. Phone: 864-430-3353. Alternate phone: 864-468-4999. Directions: From Exit 5 on Interstate 26 take Hwy. 11 towards Campobello. Go straight thru red light in Campobello, staying on Hwy. 11. Go app. 4 miles and we will be on the left at the intersection of Hwy. 11 and New Cut Road. If you get to Gowensville you have gone to far and need to turn around and come back down Hwy. 11 a half mile. Crops are usually available in June, July, August. Open: Monday thru Saturday, 9:30 am to 6 pm, Sunday, 11:30 am to 6 p.m. Strawberries: May 1st-30th, Peaches: June 10th-August 20th, Apples: September 20th- October 31st. Payment: Cash, Check. (UPDATED: April 26, 2010, from SC govt website)

Windy Hill Orchard and Cider Mill - apples, snacks and refreshment stand, picnic area, farm animals, school tours

1860 Highway 5, York, SC 29710. Phone: 803-684-0690Directions: 5 miles west of York on Highway 5....look for the Windmill! Crops are usually available in August, September, October, November, December. Open: mid August through December, Monday to Saturday, from 9 am to 6 pm; Check our website or call for Sunday hours. Best time for apple picking is mid September till mid October. Payment: Cash, Check, Visa/MasterCard, Discover. apple pies, fried apple pies, wassail. Daily Educational Farm Tours. Saturdays are Apple Harvest Days, cumulating with our Apple Harvest Festival on the 3rd Saturday of October. Check our website for updates and details.

Comments from a visitor on November 09, 2009: "We visited Windy Hill in September as an outing with visiting relatives and our daughter. We were told about the inability for Windy Hill to sell cider, but the person was very pleasant about it. We purchased our u-pick bags and had a great time picking in the orchard. We feed and watched the chickens and rooster. Then we all had a great time petting the pig with her new born piglets and watching a funny goat. It is not a fancy place, but we had a great time. The apples were great as applesauce too.

Springs Farm - strawberries, restrooms, school tours

1010 Springfield Parkway, Fort Mill, SC 29716. Phone: 803-548-3939. Email: buypeaches@springsfarm.com. Open: Mid - April through May Thursday through Sunday 8 am to 6 pm. Directions: From Charlotte: Take I-77S Exit 88. Left at the the stop light. About 3 miles (Go through 4 Stoplights) on Springfield Parkway. Market will be on the Left. Click here for a map and directions. Payment: Cash, Check, Debit cards, Visa/MasterCard. Click here for our Facebook page. (UPDATED: February 11, 2013)

And the Unit Study we chose is...

The Weaver Curriculum!!

The reasons for that are:

1) It is Bible based. I am guaranteed to get Bible done every day, since the entire day's curriculum spins off of it. The memory verses also come from the things we study there.

2) It is ACTIVITY based. With three little boys who like to GO, it is awesome for them to see "The foolish man who did not prepare to build" or "how a house foundation works best on a rock".

3) My boys retained a TON of things from this two week spread. Getting to experience the things they learned held it in their head much better than simply sitting and watching documentaries or reading books.

I am SUPER EXCITED about this next school year, although a little nervous about the price. You see, with looking into a better all-around curriculum (which is fairly inexpensive compared to others, granted) I began to also look into a better way to teach my very "Hands-on" sons the other subjects not covered by Weaver. Those are Math and Phonics.

SO, for Phonics... I have a dyslexic son, or maybe borderline dyslexic son, who has a really hard time with reading and phonics in general. Because of that, I want to be able to teach him how he learns best. I have looked much into the Orton-Gillingham system of teaching phonics, and am planning to use much of what they use. However, with an A-Beka background, I feel I can use the phonics "Special Sounds" from A Beka to teach with the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching (using blocks/ cards/ tiles to assemble words). To use it, we are going to make the A Beka Special sounds on foam "tiles" with sticker letters on them. I am also purchasing books two through four of Explode the Code, which uses the Orton Gillingham method of teaching. It was the simplest way I could come up with.... and the cheapest, since the other systems cost into the HUNDREDS of dollars for one set. I am hoping and praying that this will work for me and my boys.

For Math, We are very much looking into Math U See. Although it is expensive (because I have never bought curriculum before, only workbooks), I believe it is worth it. I always have been fairly good in math, and have no problem working out any math you give me. However, I am having a hard time teaching the boys to do well in a subject I love so well. I remember the same experience when I was in school, only for me it was writing. I never had a teacher who had a hard time with penmanship, but mine was terrible, so I always was graded harshly. I now grade penmanship based first on form, and second on effort. If one child has a paper that "appears" better than another child's who struggles at penmanship, I may give them both, say, a B-, but child one who did NOT give me their best work may end up with an 85 where child two who put in extra effort may end up with an 88.

Ok, rabbit trail, where was I?? Oh, I know, math. SO, I want to be able to teach the boys on their level and get them comfortable with adding/ subtracting/ multiplying/ and dividing at rocket speed. Because, really, the kids who have a good grasp on those can actually FOCUS on the CONCEPTS that are taught in later math. I know not all of them "get" algebra!! But those who have a firm foundation are more easily guided when they arrive at higher maths. That's what looks so good about Math U See. You can stay and focus on one topic until your child has it mastered, then move on to a new topic for them. Since math builds on each other, I like that I do not have to finish 180 lessons, and if the kid didn't catch Lesson 51, you hope he's got it mastered after you teach him three more things before the test in Lesson 57.

The amount we will spend on school this year will be three times as much as we have spent in years past. However, I am praying that it ends up being a help. AND the things we purchase this year will make next year not so bad, and saves us a lot more money in the long run!!!

Happy Anniversary

Today marks eleven years that I have been married to my Prince Charming.

My Prince. The one I waited twenty three years for. (Yes, math geniuses. That makes me thirty four.)

My Prince. The one who answered every request I had made to God for him. (Although I should have been more specific with the singing request. Praying that he would love to sing and that he would want to sing specials in church does not guarantee ability.)

My Prince. The one who has stood by me when I was at my worst. The one who cared for me through three very hard pregnancies. The one who worked and cared for the house for three months (on three separate occasions) while I lost every meal I ate.

My Prince. The one who allows me to go shopping alone so I can think and budget.

My Prince. The one who leaves his shoes in the middle of the floor. (I am especially thankful at three in the morning.)

My Prince. The one who moved us six hours from family in order to get a job that would allow me to stay home.

My Prince. The one who walked out of my dreams and into my heart.

My Prince. The one I love and adore more today than when I married him.

My Prince. The best man I've ever known. The best combination of all the good men I've ever known.

I love you, Babe. Happy Anniversary.

How God Uses Me

Photo Credit

Somedays, it amazes me that God chooses to use me.

So many times, I fail. And fail miserably. That He still wants me to represent Him in His great work is enough to astound me.

Lately in my Bible reading, I have been reading about the children of Israel. The ways they failed God compassed every area of sin and abomination that God lists. Pride was usually their downfall. "I". That is a dreaded disease. It is usually when I focus on ME that I fall. It is when I forget that God did this. That God is the one responsible for my successes.

"He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." Psalm 40:2

HE did it!! HE brought me out. HE set my feet. HE established my goings. So often I tend to forget this!!

Lord, Please help me to remember that if it's good in my life, it's because YOU did it.

Unit Studies

Recently, I wrote a post about Unit Studies.

Since that post, I have also been introduced to Tapestry of Grace. It is a history based approach to education. It includes all the subjects except math and science. The Weaver Curriculum also includes science, and the Tapestry of Grace curriculum could add it in easily in the elementary years, and it probably could be built on in the junior high years. Neither curriculum includes the phonics curriculum, so I would still be using A Beka to teach that over the next few years. However, I will be varying between the A Beka readers and the library books on the topics that we are learning. I do enjoy having more say-so in that area of my sons lives.

So, between Tapestry of Grace and Weaver, the things I like:

Weaver:
1) It is based in the Word of God
2) It slowly goes through each and every area of the Bible so the boys actually get to STUDY God's Word for themselves and get a thorough understanding of it.
3) It includes Science so I do not have to come up with that on my own
4) It has a support group and forum for those doing Weaver, so I would only be a click away from help.
5) It has a lot of info on other books to use with the curriculum
6) It has a "Day by Day" lesson plan for busy moms to use to get done faster

Tapestry of Grace:
1) It goes by group rather than by grade (ie. it is split into Lower Grammar- not reading well yet K-3, Upper Grammar- reads well, but not middle school yet, Dialetic- junior high years, and Rhetoric-senior high)
2) It is only 4 years long, so students visit each topic three times before their school career is finished.
3) The first year studies ancient civilizations, which is the Bible from the Creation til the Fall of Rome. The other three show God's handiwork in his creation since the Bible.
4) There is also a forum for Tapestry of Grace.

The things I don't like:

Weaver:
1) Four years are spent in the Old Testament and only one in the New Testament.
2) There is so much information to look through and decide on for each day.
3) Sometimes, the setup confuses me, but I want to re-print it and look over it the way I did with Tapestry of Grace. That may change my mind.

Tapestry of Grace:
1) There is only one year centered in the Bible, and I saw no real Bible curriculum in it other than the first year
2) I still have to come up with my own day-by-day plan for the younger grades (Although I did like how it teaches the children to be responsible and map out their own week. That will come in handy for when they are HS or college age.

So, these are the two I'm debating between for next year. I will still be doing BJU math, and A Beka phonics, but one of these will be for everything else. I am excited about all the boys working together and spending more time to do the same subjects. It should bring more unity and fun to our school at least, I'm hoping so.

We are doing a preview of both kinds of curriculum for the end of this school year. Both kinds of curriculum have 2 and 3 weeks of their currriculum online for you to look over. Since we are going to use both in the next five weeks, we will be able to make a intelligent decision about which will work better for our family in the next school year. 

I'm so excited!!! We get to start the preview in two weeks. I've already gotten books and movies from the library. And I have more on hold. I feel a little like a little kid in a candy store. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Fun with Family

So, today, we took a school fieldtrip. All the way to Charleston.

We had a really good time looking at old churches,

the historic courthouse, (where the guard complimented the boys on their behavior and asked if they were homeschooled. When we answered yes, he said he could tell because they were actually listening and responding with interest to what we saw and read.)

  and the "Battery".

where we learned about a hero of Charleston during the Revolutionary War.

The boys had a lot of fun...except for the walking part.

It was a good day, overall.

:)