Fair Results

Drumroll please.......

Allie:
Visual Arts - Tissue Paper Flowers - Blue Ribbon
Cooking - Blonde Brownie - Blue Ribbon
Cooking - Chocolate Brownie - Purple Ribbon (Eligable for The State Fair)
Photography - Apple Blossom - Purple Ribbon (Eligable for The State Fair)
Photography - Flowers on Piano - Purple Ribbon (Eligable for The State Fair)

Caleb:
Visual Arts - Torn Paper Ocean Scene - Grand Champion Purple Ribbon
Cooking - Snickerdoodle Cookies - Blue Ribbon

The County Fair & Missing Dad

This week is our local County Fair and today is the big day to drop off 4-H projects for judging. Allie and Caleb both made projects for the Visual Arts display. We all think they turned out well....definitely purple ribbon quality in my book :O)

Caleb's torn paper and tissue paper ocean scene.


Allie's tissue paper flower bouquet.


They both will also take baked goods and Allie will enter her photo of the apple blossoms she took in April.



On another note, Allan left this morning for a week long business trip in Louisiana. We miss him already. We will be doing all of the farm chores this week, so pray for the critters. Friday cannot come quickly enough for us.

Last minute fair entry:
Allie liked my "tissue paper flowers on the piano" picture, so she created her own version and had it printed in black and white. Very Elegant.

Another Blessing!

The weather here has been amazing. It was in the 70's yesterday and felt like fall. To make things even better, our sweet cow Rosie had her baby last night. A beautiful, healthy, sweet, baby boy. I think we'll call him Jonah. He's so little!

Weekend Fun!

The kids had a camp out this past weekend and the weather was PERFECT!!! We had high temperatures of 78 and lows in the upper 50's - in Kansas - in July - it was unbelievable!
We made a campfire for the usual fair of hot dogs and smores, and well, we learned a little something about cooking out. Who knew you had to let a fire "burn down" before you could use it? Probably everyone EXCEPT us :O) The fire proved to be a bit hot when the girls went to roast their dogs, but Dad came to the rescue. If you have a steel fencepost, your cooking stick, the ever-useful duct tape, and a couple of hay bales lying around, you can outwit the fire!

"Cookout Forts"

We are LOVING this!

We got our Happy Phonics set in the mail from the nice folks over at Love to Learn and what a hit! My Ashlyn (3 1/2) couldn't wait to get started. I wasn't even halfway done cutting out the first game (muffin match) before she was begging to play. I can see why this program works. I feel like I must mention that it is worth every penny of the $49.99 price tag - the games are printed on very high quality cardstock and the instructions are clear as a bell. If you have a young one at your house that is ready to learn to read, give Happy Phonics a look.

What do you use for...

Today I'll be adding our curriculum specifics to the blog in the left hand column.

flexability and answered prayer

Well, we started school on Monday and Tuesday the kid's grandparents called and asked if they could pick them up Thursday and keep them a couple days. My first thought was, "Oh no! I have this whole week planned out, and now I am going to be two days behind." Then I thought, "Wait a minute, this is not a race. We can be flexible -I'm the teacher- and maybe this is a little blessing from the Lord."

I am always wishing to be able to spend a little time alone with my husband, and now He is giving me two and a half days. (Did I mention we have not had a single day without kids in 3 1/2 years?) If I had chosen to get all stressed out about the reading we weren't going to get done, I might have missed the joy and answered prayer that was right in front of me. Besides, what is more fun to a child than spending a few precious days with Grandma and Grandpa?

Now, what to do for 2 1/2 days.....:O)

Back to the Books!

We started our new school year today and it was AWESOME! Everyone is so excited to be learning new things again.

I can tell that our history period is going to be a huge hit. We are covering American History, beginning at about 1800. Today we started a book about Daniel Boone together and Caleb is reading on his own about Davy Crockett. Tonight we will begin Little House in the Big Woods as our read-aloud.

Caleb is doing Apologia Science Zoology 1 and already "made me" read more than I had scheduled. He is a HUGE lover of science.

Allie will be reading several books this term, but she really loved the first couple of chapters in Ruth Beechick's Adam and His Kin . She is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her Spanish program. We chose The Easy Spanish. It looks like great fun and is CM friendly!

We were finished with our studies by noon and now the day is ours to enjoy as we wish (okay, the kids will *enjoy* and I will do laundry).


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Blog Makeover

I am feeling very computer savvy this evening. I learned how to make my blog 3 columns. *YIPPEE* I have wanted to do this for a while now, but was always afraid I would mess everything up. I won't tell you how long it took me, or how many tweaks were required, just know it was a LONG TIME! I was rewarded for my efforts when I surfed over to Candace's blog, His Mercy is New. While there, I discovered a great source for fabulous backgrounds. Thanks Aqua Poppy for making these available! Now, go get one of these beauties for yourself!

Handy Software

I found a software program that I am very excited to share. Maybe you've heard of it. It's called Startwrite. This program allows you to create your own handwriting practice sheets, copywork, etc. in your choice of popular handwriting fonts. I chose this program because it has the italic font that I am teaching my kids. I like that you can adjust the font size, and even make the letters a traceable light gray for the younger ones. With my youngest just learning to write, I feel that the $39.95 price tag is a real value. You can download a free trial at the website.