Knowledge House Academy

Savings, trivia & treats

2009-11-07T19:56:00.001-05:00

One of the ways we save even more money is by visiting a local discount grocery store.

One of the cool things about this particular place is they have "buggy bingo" where you can win stuff! There's a number on your buggy & if they call the number, you win X. We didn't win today.

Well they started a new game called Bible Trivia. They ask a series of questions about/from the Bible & you have to find an associate to tell your answer to before anyone else. So we're standing around an associate & the first question was:

"What is the name of the person who was swallowed by a whale?"

Nemo yelled out "JONAH!"

We won tray of cookies, but I was more excited that our 6 year old knew the answer!

Proud Mommy moment of the day.

*They were allowed to have a cookie (16 carbs) as a very-special-almost-never-treat.*

Fence part 2

2009-11-07T17:58:00.002-05:00

When we started our fence last weekend, I wasn't much help. There wasn't really anything for me to do...but take plenty of pictures.

This weekend on the other hand, there was plenty for me to do; although I still took pictures here & there.

We started this morning all smiles & cheery. There was even some excitement when they took turns cutting the poles.

(I just love watching the guys working together. Nothing's sweeter than a Daddy teaching his sons. I love this picture, completely candid.)

We literally spent all day working on the fence, with the exception of a trip to Lowe's to get more hardware (& a couple of tall cedar trees for privacy).

Off topic, at Lowe's we had so much fun playing with the "talking dragons"...

I remember my mom showing me that these flowers "talk". It was always tradition to make them talk...silly but memorable so we've carried on this tradition for our kids.

Ok, back to the fence. We finally finished as the sun is setting after bruises, cuts & plenty of sweat!
Not bad if I do say so myself.

3/4 of the side yard (our raised bed garden is just outside of the fence-behind "Noah's Ark") is fenced in. Now we won't have to worry about any children running toward the street! (and the new cedar trees are between the road & the fence)

Whew, I'm beat!

The Roller Coaster

2009-11-06T08:16:00.001-05:00

Isn't that always how life works? We're all on a perpetual roller coaster constantly twisting, turning, climbing & falling.

Some days are good.
Some days aren't.

With "Nemo" starting school this week, he's come home declaring his love for school & he's also come home declaring his disdain for school. Specifically he hates "work". You'd think that I never made him do any around here! NOT SO!

After trying to explain the importance of education aka "work" in order to succeed in today's world, especially financially, he informed me that he'll just live with us the rest of his life. We will not have a "Failure to Launch" on our hands!

Sigh

Currently he's undergoing academic placement testing. He's bored & would rather play. Understandable but frustrating for both him & his teacher (& me who feels responsible for my son's behavior). Apparently writing to 100 and skip counting by 2's backwards from 80 is "baby work" to him. (Math has always been his strong suit.) But the "boredom" from doing mundane work now, we've tried to explain, will keep him from having to do "baby work" all year!

On the homeschooling front, things are going great! We're really focusing on reading comprehension, fluency & recalling specific information. He's still struggling with dyslexia/dysgraphia in math (only) & I'm going to research methods on improving this. (Images aren't mirror images aka flipped or backwards, he sees them/writes them in reverse order. Ex. he sees the number 25 as 52.)

Working with "Bruce", specifically in math & comprehension, without "Nemo" around will help him not feel inadequate. Because of "Bruce's" LD's, he's slower to get things than "Nemo", often causing stress & animosity between the two.

Overall, I'm really enjoying the individual daily time with each child. "Nemo" gets true one-on-one attention in the early mornings & in the afternoons after school. "Bruce" gets one-on-one during "school" hours.

Homeschooling/co-schooling is working well for us so far!

I see "Nemo" & Nemo

2009-11-04T11:56:00.000-05:00

(bad quality due to cell phone picture)
*Mental note: pack camera into purse!

Who needs toys?

2009-11-04T09:03:00.001-05:00

Out of the 3 dog robe bones sitting in the floor, what does Gizmo decide to play tug-O-war with? "Bruce's" sock!

Ignore the quality, my camera's gone M.I.A.

Touché

2009-11-04T08:54:00.001-05:00

Frame

2009-11-03T07:55:00.000-05:00

We're just waiting to fill the frame with our "new family" picture...

What are you waiting on?

The difference a few days make

2009-11-02T23:02:00.000-05:00

Sharing online resources

2009-11-02T20:24:00.001-05:00

I received a list of website that "Nemo's" teacher recommends for home use. I'm familiar with some of these, but others are new.

I thought you'd enjoy them too.

http://www.seussville.com/
http://harcourtschool.com/index.html
http://www.brainormous.com/
http://aaamath.com/
http://www.funbrain.com/
http://www.neopets.com/
http://disney.go.com/disneychannel/playhouse/bop/bop_home.html
http://kids.discovery.com/
http://www.missmaggie.org/
http://grainvalley.k12.mo.us/gvsd/eagle_resources/readingskills.html
http://visualfractions.com/
http://www.scholastic.com/kids/stacks/index.asp
http://bookadventure.com/
http://primarygames.com/
http://pbskids.org/
http://resources.kaboose.com/games/index.html
http://oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/mathmagician/maths1.html
http://www.usmint.gov/kids/
http://magickeys.com/books/#yc

1st day of co-schooling

2009-11-02T16:14:00.001-05:00

This morning "Nemo" woke up feeling alittle sick. I told him it was just butterflies & he's not used to getting up so early. After all, he has been counting down the days until today... But he was indeed sick & didn't argue when told to lay down. Now that's a sure fire way to tell if they're really sick!

After he awoke he said he felt better & wanted to go to school, it was before lunch so I took him.

His first day EVER.

Did he cry? Nope.
Did he even give his ~~sobbing holding onto his ankle for dear life~~ momma a hug? Nope!
He was very "okay you can leave now!"

On the homeschool front, I got a lot accomplished one-on-one with "Bruce" today. I've purchased some Comprehension Workbooks & Word Puzzles to help with his LD's. Today was a good day.

We were excited for "Nemo" to arrive home (via the bus) to hear all about his day.

In typical "boy fashion" he can't tell me a single thing he learned today other than, "I LOVED IT!"

Homework on the other hand, he isn't too fond of.

I have some online resources to share with you that his teacher has shared with me. I'll post that later.

Chick Fil A Jingle

2009-11-01T15:22:00.001-05:00

"Nemo" picks up almost anything if you make it a song. This is actually how I taught him his days of the week, using "Oh My Darling Clementine" as the tune.

There are 7 days, there are 7 days, there are 7 days in a week.
There are 7 days, there are 7 days, there are 7 days in a week.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday...
There are 7 days in a week, there are 7 days in a week.

Well it's no surprise when he quickly picked up the jingle for Chick Fil A that plays on the radio.

I don't think the second line is the right lyrics, but close enough.

Fence part 1

2009-10-31T22:58:00.002-04:00

We've decided to put up a fence around "Noah's Ark" for the protection of any younger child(ren) that we may be adopting & we're do-it-yourself ers & I'm the photographer of the family. So while they worked I ~~worked too~~ took pictures.

Today we decided to just put up the posts. Once the cement sets, we'll run the fencing. The boys enjoyed helping & being allowed to work with stuff they don't normally get to-like shovels.

They helped mix the concrete:

poured it in the hole around the post:

We made sure it was level: (insert shameless iPhone photo here)

Now. Whew, seven posts up.

The look on "Bruce's" when he was told that he had to hold the post until the concrete set: priceless

Autumn, Fall, whatever

2009-10-31T22:43:00.000-04:00

I just love the Fall colors!

Or Autumn colors...

whatever you call it. I love 'em.

And this is one of my favorite trees in our yard. Red & orange - my favorite colors.

They were hawngry!

2009-10-31T13:53:00.001-04:00

We've made it a tradition to visit a local area lake to feed ducks/geese on Scout Night.

Well this week, I decided to take video of our hawngry friends.

Toward the end of the video you'll see a Canadian Goose take off with a whole piece of bread...and get chased by an angry duck!

What have you done fun this week?

Stinkin' paparazzi

2009-10-31T09:37:00.001-04:00

You can't even go out to enjoy a nice family meal without those photographers snapping away. (big cheesy grin)

*No children were harmed or stalked during this photo sneaking process. The photo taken by my brother-in-law who coincidentally was waiting for his to-go order. We left before he did. (we arrived at the same time)

The Homeschool Swap

2009-10-30T16:34:00.001-04:00

This was my first time participating in The Homeschool Swap & it was fun! I "met" a wonderful woman & we had so much in common!!!

At the end of the "swap period" we were to send our new friend a package. I was so excited when I opened my box to peak inside.

She sent me

a box of Black Cherry Berry herbal tea (Mmm...)
two packages of pistachios (drool)
a sweet card
a Better Homes & Gardens magazine (so I can have decorator's envy)
a Scholastic book for the kids
and a Family photo frame that I now have on our t.v.

I'm really glad I participated & made a new friend! Thanks so much Christi! Now I've gotta go read & drink that tea.

Multi-faceted reasons

2009-10-30T13:33:00.000-04:00

For too many reasons to mention (don't want to bore you to death with the world's-longest-rambly-post), we've decided to put our youngest in public school. He'll start Monday & he's SUPER excited. He's literally counting down the days.

Like the decision to homeschool, this decision was not made lightly or quickly. We've thought about it, discussed it, and prayed about it for months now. We do not take our childrens education (or well-being) lightly & this was a huge change/decision for us.

Basically, we feel that "Nemo" will benefit from a more social, interactive environment. Each child is different & we feel that he will do great! We've already met his teacher & thank God, she's not anti-homeschooling! (I was really worried about his, among other things.) We've researched all options & are confident in our decision. We will not leave the entire education up to the school, we'll be "co-schooling"; substituting work at home & being active in his school education as well.

We'll still be homeschooling "Bruce" because he's special needs & has a learning disorder(s). This will also help me to focus more on "Bruce's" education & progress. He attended public school 3 years ago & doesn't want to go back, & personally we won't be sending him back.

Again, each child is different & requires different things. I understand that everyone has their own opinion on what they think is "best" but that's for their own circumstances/children. I appreciate your comments, but please if you're going to be negative keep your opinion to yourself.

Life is constantly changing, we are adapting & keeping the Faith.

Kitty Masseuse

2009-10-29T15:02:00.001-04:00

I peaked out the back door at our 10 outside kitties (don't judge) and saw the cutest thing! They were laying together in our torn up outside chairs (don't judge).

What was "so cute" is that one of the kitties was "making biscuits" on the other one's back-making it look like she's a masseuse. And let me tell you, the one getting the massage sure looked like she was enjoying it!

A little while later I peaked out again & two other cats were doing it too!

So we've got masseuse kitties!

Thrift store finds

2009-10-29T14:35:00.001-04:00

I seriously get a thrill from finding great deals! As you remember, a few weeks ago I discovered these pants for ~~$495~~ $20.

And I LOVE reading blogs that share their love for frugal finds too! Especially Balancing Beauty and Bedlam! She finds some awesome deals too!

Well this week, our local thrift store had a 10/$10 sale on all clothes. I got me & "Nemo" some things.

I also got two beanbag chairs (don't you just love those) for $1.50 each. It wasn't long before 1 of our 4 inside cats (don't judge) discovered it too!

Some more of my finds are: a frog habitat - cuz y'all know I love frogs!

Two really cool board games!

And "Nemo" a new book bag! We're about to start co-schooling him (my friend Amy describes what co-schooling is perfectly HERE). More on that later.

What are some of your frugal finds?

We're "official"

2009-10-25T16:01:00.002-04:00

After months & months of classes, interviews, & preparation we're now official foster-to-adopt parents!

Peek-A-boo

2009-10-23T15:56:00.000-04:00

The pets aren't exempt

2009-10-22T18:06:00.000-04:00

I love going outside & taking pictures of the pets through the door! The lighting is perfect & you can really see their personality shine through!

My favorite shots of Gizmo, our yorkie are in the doorway! See what I mean?

Well today I got out & took pictures of one of our black cats (we have 3 black cats, 4 total) through the door. "Baby" is so sweet! When I go outside he stands & stares...

I've tried to get him to go outside, but he doesn't dare! None of them have ever been outside.

It's not much longer when he starts begging for me to come back inside. He stretches up & scratches (though not hard) on the glass, all the while meowing...

I keep taking his picture & he is obviously annoyed that I'm snapping away & not coming back inside. Can't you see his annoyance?

It's like he's thinking "stupid humans!"

I'm super duper lucky

2009-10-22T16:17:00.001-04:00

I love clovers! I can't stop by a patch without bending down to at least search for a 4-leaf clover or two.

I think I passed this on to the boys. I heard them outside saying, "Don't step on my clover patch! Go get your own!" So I grabbed my camera & headed out to join the search.

We even have a little friendly competition with who can find one the quickest. Or who can find the most.

Well I beat 'em today! I found one with 5 leaves! Does this make me extra super lucky? Can you see it in the center of the picture?

Here's a closer look...

And I just had to pick it...

After showing the boys, this really set off a determination to find another 5-leaf clover...

But they never did - bwahahahahaha!

Splits, Tests, Stripes and Belts

2009-10-22T15:54:00.001-04:00

This week, "Nemo" had a stripe test at his karate school. He was so excited to show off his skills!

He worked hard & earned 3 stripes!

He's loving karate, the jury is still out on "Bruce".

Splits and guarding stance

2009-10-22T15:53:00.001-04:00

"Bruce" enjoys karate but he has to practice a lot. This isn't going over well, especially since he's out of shape. He feels like he can't keep up, but with encouragement, I think he'll come around.

We're going to continue with him in karate school for another week...hopefully he'll still want to continue. We really feel like it would help his focus, discipline, and also boost his self esteem!