Playing Chicken Dominoes

This is a great domino game- and my boys can play it as young as 5! Yeay for games everyone can play!!! We use double 12 dominoes and the little barn hub. Everyone draws {8 or 10, I can't remember right now..} and the one with the highest double places it in the barn {officially, you are supposed to play each double once to complete a game, but we are done after 3 or 4 rounds!}. As you take turns playing, you put the same number on the barn hub to "get into" the game. You cannot play until you are "in" but someone else can use their turn to put you in if they have the domino and they want to... ;). If you can't play, you draw one domino and the next person goes.

You proceed to play your dominoes until someone places a double out- then you have to make a "chicken foot" placing 3 toes on the double. You cannot play anywhere else until the foot is complete. If you cannot place a toe, you have to draw and sometimes you get stuck drawing a looooong time- especially if you are playing with only 2 or 3 players. The game continues until someone runs out of dominoes and they win! This is a favorite at our house!!

Organic farm tour

We went on this tour of a local organic farm in October. They did a fantastic job keeping the kids interested and busy! The boys loved the tour and the information and of course, all the moms were soaking it in! We moved from station to station- learning about things like bee keeping, square foot gardening, square dancing (!), chick hatching, and making your own flour for bread and baking.

The boys planted lettuce in the square foot gardens and learned ways of naturally keeping the pests away. At the chicken coop they learned about the realities of coyote invasion and how quickly and completely they can destroy a flock of chickens.

The earth oven was very new to the farm and they had only begun using it earlier that month. They were having some trouble cooking in it because of all the moisture {it had been raining a lot in Texas} but they were getting the hang of it and baking their own breads now. Kids were able to take raw grains and try their hands at grinding it with 2 different grinders. One very old fashioned hand crank {highly difficult} and a new motorized grinder {simple!}- but I love that it really gave them the idea that food has not always been so easy to obtain. AND that using nature's ingredients as intended is a completely different process than what it has become in our processed world. This was a morning well spent and very enjoyable for all ages!

Landform maps

The boys needed to make land form maps using topography so we used play dough. I didn't have the best colors, but we went with it anyway!! They were able to make several different forms- mountain ranges, hills, lakes, rivers, plains, etc.- and we used the different colors to differentiate between structures. This was actually for a scouting requirement and my little one joined in just for fun! All the boys enjoyed doing this little project and it was super easy.

A Fresh Start

Next week is the start of a new year for us. Fresh start! Boy, do we need it!

The past two years have been complicated...difficult...frustrating. Finally, we feel like we are getting back into focus. Family, schooling, fun. Yeay! Now, if I don't mess it up. Why do I put so much pressure on the "homeschooling" part of life? It's a huge responsibility, granted, but I'm normally a mostly laid back and easy going person. Where's all the pressure coming from? hmmm.. anyone else feel it?

I'm trying (maybe desperately) to find the balance- between achieving goals (those lesson plans and great ideas!) and letting go of the pressure. It will be a daily battle. I don't even know if I will win or quite what that will look like. But I'm ready to fight for it. I'm ready to try it again. I'm ready to let God work on me so He can work through me and reach my children.

A week ago I wasn't sure if I had done the right thing in keeping my boys home through my year of treatment. I was being tormented with doubt. It hurt. Big hurt! I questioned everything...had I been selfish? foolish? Did I damage our relationships? Would they hate this time when they looked back on it? It took some free therapy- you know, friends- to help me see the boys from a fresh perspective. They are happy, healthy, smart, friendly and GODLY children. In other words, they're fine. I haven't ruined them...

So I'm up for the next year! I will strive hard to encourage them. We will try to learn, laugh and have adventures together. And pressure- go knock on someone else's door for a change- we're too busy being a homeschooling family!

Cy's Storybook Bible part 3

Hello everyone. I'm here to tell you of me (a 9 year old's experience, from the end of 2007 to the beginning of 2008). This is a sad story what happened to my mom. One day I got up to a sad morning. At first, me and my brothers didn't know what was going on. Because mom and dad were crying and me and my brothers didn't know what to do. So we just wrote cards for them. Later they told us the bad news. MY MOM HAD CANCER. And you know what? I still didn't lose faith with God. So I'm trying to tell you guys that if we have hard times, God is still there. I want you to give me a comment if you read this about when you felt that God is not there. I've gone through a lot of hard times but I still have not lost faith in God.

If you do not know this I am going to tell you right now: everybody has sinned. Nobody is ever perfect. I can tell you that. Not even me, no way, I have sinned too. If you do not think He will forgive our sins...well, He came to earth, died for us, and we are free from sins.

Cy's Story book Bible part 2

CH: 4 Verses cont.

Work at everything you do with all your heart. Work as if you were working for the Lord not for human masters. Colossians 3:23

Truthful words last forever. But lies last only for a moment. Proverbs 12:19

Doing right guards those who are honest. Proverbs 13:6

Commit to the Lord everything you do. Then your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3

The path of honest people takes them away from evil. Those who guard their ways guard their lives. Proverbs 16:17

Her husband is respected at the city gate. He takes his seat among the elders of the land. Proverbs 31:23

Notes on Cy's Bible story post

PLEASE NOTE: The following entry is from my oldest son (almost 10 years old) who worked all morning on his Bible journal and I asked him if I could share it here because I felt it was very heartfelt and meaningful. He proudly presents it here for the public so please enjoy and know that I had NO INVOLVEMENT whatsoever! (And this from my reluctant writer....)