Kindergarten at Home - Week 1

We started our first day of Kindergarten at home last week and I wanted to document some of what we have been working on. I don't think it is realistic for me to assume that I will be able to blog every single week, but I am hoping to document some of the exciting things we are doing during this year of fun, learning, and togetherness at home!

I really can't believe Sierra is a Kindergartener already! I am learning that homeschooling is definitely not for the faint of heart and this will certainly be a learning experience for all of us involved. With Sierra being 5, Chyler being 3, and Ariella getting ready to turn 2 in November, it is certainly going to be a challenging year trying to equip them all with a great foundation and love for learning. I am up for the challenge though and if the only thing they learn this year is that God is the source of all love, learning, and creation, then I will also be okay with that as well.

 

We chose a fun, Bible based, unit study, hands-on, classical education approach to Kindergarten for our curriculum this year. It is called My Father's World - God's Creation from A to Z. The first 10 days of the curriculum, we are studying the Creation of the world based on the Genesis 1 account, Chyler, although she is only 3, is participating in these first 10 days along side Sierra; after this, she will do what she can with us, but will also have her own, separate workbooks and things to do. It definitely is fun learning together though!

Here are some pictures of what we have done so far.....

On Day #1 God separated the darkness from the light and named them "day" and "night" -- Here are the girls showing off their book pages for day #1 -

This little cutie enjoys coloring and playing while the big girls are learning...

here, she paused to say "cheese"!!!

 

Sierra is our resident artist and she is very diligent about coloring her numbers just right -- Here she is coloring #2 for the second day of Creation

 

 

Just as much as she desires to color well, cutting and using scissors is also a very important task to her. Her perfectionism sometimes overwhelms both of us (did I mention Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart?!), but she is getting better at cutting each day! Here she is cutting out her Creation number for the day.

 

 Chyler showing off her Day #2 poster - On Day #2 God created the sky. He divided the water below and the sky above.

Sierra with her #3 - Colored so wonderfully 

 

Again, Sierra very busy coloring her number of the day

 

 

Chyler showing her Day #4 poster - On Day #4 God created the sun, moon, and the stars.

 

 

Sierra busy working on her Day #5 poster - On Day #5 God created living creatures in the sea and birds in the sky.

 

 

Here is a small glimpse into our school area. It isn't really a school room per say because there are no tables or desks, we do all of our work at the kitchen table; but this is where we keep all our supplies, posters, banners, calendar, etc. and it is also the play room for the after school fun times.

 

 

Our ABC cards (and number dot cards) displayed on the wall --

All the letters and unit studies to go along with each that we will be doing this Kindergarten year. :)

 

 

I got this idea from my sister and I am glad that I started it this year. The girls took these cute little "My first day" Interviews. I loved hearing their answers and I will cherish these forever!

This is Sierra's....

 

This is Chyler's....

 

I have designated a spot on the wall for us to hang all of our Creation numbers. These will be a constant reminder of how wonderful God is and how He created the Earth in 7 days, and also a reminder of our first week of Kindergarten whenever we look back at them.

 

Also part of our "school area" - I found these great little plastic baskets in the $1 section at Target. It works perfect for me to store the supplies for each child that they are going to need that day - glue, scissors, a pencil, a certain color marker or crayon, a specific craft material, etc. So in the morning, all I have to do is grab the bin below with that day of the week on it (all my materials for that day are stored in there) and then grab each girls basket of supplies, bring them to the kitchen table and we are set to go! :) Keeps things more organized for me and them! :)

 

A closer up view of each girls supply basket...

 

 

I have decided to take all the creation posters the girls have been making, laminate them, hole punch, and then use a ring clip to make them into a book for each child. These will be great to use as we go back through to review the Creation story, retell it, and to show to friends, Daddy, family members, etc. Not to mention, a great keepsake for years to come! Here is the front cover of Sierra's book...

 

 

And this is just a sample page, Day #5 that she created today....

 

As you can (hopefully) see, we are having so much fun and although there have been definite trying moments in the past 5 days of "schooling" and more to come, I am sure -- I wouldn't trade it for ANY THING in this world. These days with my precious girls, learning about God, about loving others, and growing together can never be replaced and I am so thankful that I get to cherish these moments along side them.

7 Year Homecoming

How does this day seem to sneak up on me every year? I honestly have come to dislike this day. Grief has a way of living dormant in your life, it is there, don't get me wrong, but it has a way of hiding sometimes.

It's kind of like a mosquitoe bite. As soon as the bug bites, it itches, it hurts, it won't stop itching...but then the itching fades after maybe putting some cream on it, or marking it out with an X, of even spitting on it (like I know some people try to do). After a few days though, the red bump might still be there, but the itching only comes back every now and again. Then, just when it feels like it is about to fully heal, you get ANOTHER STINKIN' bite! Ugh! And the process starts all over again. This day, my grief, it is kind of like that. A stinkin' itchy bite that never really goes away. Thankfully mosquitoes are only around in Virginia in the summer time, but grief is not that way, it is always there. It might not always itch, but it never really goes away. How annoying!!!

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to make light of a very serious topic (well, maybe I am, because it helps me deal with it better) but either way, I am just trying to say that I have come to the point where June 19th is starting to feel no different than June 20th, or July 26th, or October 15th for that matter. It still itches.

One difference though is how others see your "bites", because bug bites fade away and only you can feel the itch, that is the way it is with grieve sometimes. No one else sees the bite (unless you tell them about it), but you are still itching on the inside. This is the hard part. It may be 7 years, but in so many ways, it was just yesterday for me. Yesterday that I knelt at his bedside and said goodbye. Yesterday that I last saw his smile. Yesterday that I last heard his voice. Yesterday that I last kissed him. In so many ways it still itches like yesterday.

But here is the TRUTH! The GOOD NEWS! Yesterday, today, tomorrow, grief may linger still, but there is always something -- some ONE bigger, better, stronger. The one true LIVING God, the healer, the savior -- MY healer, MY savior!!! If there is anything I have learned over these past 7 years and even in the years prior, during the illness, it is that God will never forsake me. He has never abandoned me.

He has met me every time the itching starts, in a way that no one else could. And He has orchestrated healing and blessing in ABUNDANCE over the past 7 years. It has been amazing to witness and live out. I am ever so thankful! Watching the lives that have been touched by Daniel's story, being able to give our girls a glimpse of Heaven as I talk about Daniel with them...all of these things and more, are the "anti-itch cream" for my bite. God has provided and blessed me in ways that I never even thought possible. If someone had told me, seven years ago as I was sobbing at his bed side, all the things God would do, I would probably never have believed it. But now, seven years later, I am ever so grateful for what He has done and the fact that He has been there all this time.

 I remember the moment
I remember the pain
I was only a girl
But I grew up that day
Tears were falling
I know You saw me

Hiding there in my bedroom
So alone
I was doing my best
Trying to be strong
No one to turn to
That's when I met You

All this time
From the first tear cry
To today's sunrise
And every single moment between
You were there
You were always there
It was You and I
You've been walking with me all this time.

"All This Time"

by Britt Nicole

I am doing a Beth Moore study this summer, as I have done for a few years now, and we are studying the book of James. If you know anything about the book of James, then you probably can understand why I have claimed the first 12 verses of the book of James as my life song on many occasions. As we studied these 12 verses this past week, (no coincidence, I am sure) Beth pointed out 5 characteristics between anguish and joy. Number 1 being, anguish and joy can coexist (James 1:2). Number 2, anguish and joy can trade places. Number 3, the source of anguish can morph into joy (John 16:20). Number 4, mental anguish can be like the mind in labor. & Number 5, anguish is meant to lead to a birth (John 16:20-22). -- Number 5 is truly where it is at!!!

Oh how I can claim all of this again and again in my journey of grief. Psalm 30:11 says "You turned my wailing into dancing." Beth Moore pointed out that when we are in anguish, it can then morph into joy, and she said, "God can turn your pain into your passion." How true that is for me. The pain and anguish that I have endured and continue to endure, has led me to be more passionate for the Cross, more passionate towards the hurting, more passionate for other widows and brain cancer patients, etc. For this I am thankful. I will "Count it all joy" (James 1:2).

So I want to encourage any one out there reading this, if there is something in your life that causes constant itching, pain, healing, and re-healing....turn to Him! God can cover it all and turn your biggest anguish into such joy. My life is proof that this is the case!

And so I leave you again on this 7 year anniversary of Daniel's homecoming with this video. A video of a man who truly counted it all as JOY, even among deep anguish from many different directions, mental, physical, and emotional. But in the end, he knew and understood that something precious would come out of it all. He trusted in the Lord and he changed me - FOREVER.

I do not grieve without hope and therefore, I look forward to the day when we will meet again.

Also, I have been working on a (very large) project recently, creating a blog where I documented Daniel and my entire journey of being diagnosed with a brain tumor and then living/battling 3 years with brain cancer. I have not completed the blog yet, but I thought today was a better day than any to share the site with those that love us. So if you click HERE, you can read our journey (it is a little tricky because of the way it is set up, but if you want to read from the beginning, go to "flip card" view, then scroll to the bottom and start with the "Diagnosis" post; from there, you should be able to just click through them in order). There are also several blog entries by Daniel himself. It is emotional, touching, painful, and wonderful all wrapped into one. My hope is for someday, once I finish adding entries, to turn the blog into a "book" to have a hard copy for others to read, share, be inspired, and continue passing on Daniel's legacy; as he wished I would.