17, 19, 20

We went to El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach today with our nature study group. And I forgot to check the battery on my camera before we left the car... I had only a little life left in my battery :/ so I didn't get a picture of the soft shell turtle that we saw but Kiera did with her film camera. I can't wait until they (Kiera and Nathan) are done with their rolls of film in their cameras. My mom had found a blue and a red camera that I had bought for my twin cousins when they were younger. I happen to still have some film so the last couple of weeks the kids have taken their cameras on our nature walks. :) Which was good because I didn't have my camera last week and we found a dead baby rattle snake. Nathan got some pictures of that one. :)


Fortunately I remembered to take a picture of a bridge (there were numerous) before my battery died. This  was the second bridge we crossed, at the beginning of the trail.
17th: Bridge

19th: From a Distance

Obviously of the same bridge. I actually like this picture better.

20th: Soft

Nathan got to hold and touch the caterpillar

We have to work on identifying this.

This is what the cocoon looked like

Here are some other photos that I took during our outing.

Artist's Fungus

Immature Black Crowned Night Heron

I believe it's a Common Darter

Something memorable that happened... A brown widow spider was on my sleeve. Yea, not something I would call "fun". I walked through a spider web while I was with Nathan and Domenic. As we were walking back to where our group was I saw something dangling from my arm, took a double take and my arm was on the ground in .5 seconds. Smashed spider remained where I had lifted my arm. haha I'm just glad I didn't scream. I think me moving so quickly caught Nathan's attention the most when he looked at me with wide eyes and asked, "what was it Mommy?" Me trying to sound calm replied, "Mommy was just smashing a spider Buddy." Eeeee!

Education-General

It's almost August! For our family that means a lot of birthdays. 

It also means planning for this upcoming school year! No I'm not waiting until August, I've actually started researching and have begun planning this month. It probably has a lot to do with a few meetings I've gone to in the past couple of weeks, and also my desire to be organized. 

The first meeting I went to was the Charlotte Mason group meeting about scheduling using the Ambleside curriculum. That was very helpful! Last year when I looked at the Ambleside website I felt SOOO overwhelmed! So I didn't attempt any of it. I like how the reading is outlined for the whole week, so I know what I need to do in that week. Also, lessons are suppose to be short, 15-20 minutes each. I like that, short and purposeful, not long and drawn out. With the reading you're suppose to also have nature studies, which we've been meeting with our group for almost a year now. Kiera is seriously becoming a flower expert. The artist study is looking up a little information about the artist and then printing out the pictures for the kids to see, and also for you to see what they observe. The composer study is a little more hands off, simply listening to the pieces the composer has written and reading about them a little as well. The listening can be done during drawing, eating, playing, etc. The books are well written so they can stretch the children's mind and are not dumbed down to bore anyone involved in listening or reading. I appreciate Charlotte Mason's philosophy in believing that children are thinking persons and are capable of comprehension beyond what a lot of people believe. Respect while instructing.

The second meeting was a co-op meeting with our homeschool group using the Five In a Row curriculum. We're only going to be doing 8 books for the school year which makes it feel more attainable. 1 book for two weeks, meeting at the end of the two weeks and then a week off to prepare for the next book. Not a week off of school but a different schedule for that week. That also gives time to finish up that book if there were other activities/lessons that I would like to cover. This curriculum is a unit study, which is using one story/book for all the subjects. The book's a picture books that are well written.

I'm really excited about both because they're both based off of well written books. The only thing I'll need to supplement with is phonics and math. I have the McGuffey Readers thanks to my mom and her love of books and phonics cards and activity sheets. Kiera already loves writing and she learned a lot of basic spelling while doing the My Father's World kindergarten curriculum last year. For math we just have a basic workbook and I plan on doing a lot of hands on with her. We have the Cuisenaire rods, legos (large, medium and small, haha), woodfoam blocks (we bought these because Domenic liked to throw blocks), fruit, sticks, rocks, and anything else we might find that can be counted, sorted, stacked and manipulated. 

With all this excitement (I've always loved school) of planning out our school year I have to remember what my goals, our family goals are.  God's Word is what we need to remember to look to for all our teaching needs and inspiration and look at everything else as supplemental.

For our Bible we will be looking at 45 Character Qualities The first quality being obedience.

Here are some scriptures that stood out to me while I was reading some of Charlotte Mason's Home Education (volume 1) book and praying for guidance during this time of planning.

1 Peter 5:2-4
(2) shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; (3) nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. (4) And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

Children are a Public Trust.––Now, that work which is of most importance to society is the bringing up and instruction of the children––in the school, certainly, but far more in the home, because it is more than anything else the home influences brought to bear upon the child that determine the character and career of the future man or woman. It is a great thing to be a parent: there is no promotion, no dignity, to compare with it. The parents of but one child may be cherishing what shall prove a blessing to the world. But then, entrusted with such a charge, they are not free to say, "I may do as I will with mine own." The children are, in truth, to be regarded less as personal property than as public trusts, put into the hands of parents that they may make the very most of them for the good of society. And this responsibility is not equally divided between the parents: it is upon the mothers of the present that the future of the world depends, in even a greater degree than upon the fathers, because it is the mothers who have the sole direction of the children's early, most impressible years. This is why we hear so frequently of great men who have had good mothers––that is, mothers who brought up their children themselves, and did not make over their gravest duty to indifferent persons.

Hebrews 10:24 & 25
(24) and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, (25) not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

Code of Education in the Gospels.––It may surprise parents who have not given much attention to the subject to discover also a code of education in the Gospels, expressly laid down by Christ. It is summed up in three commandments, and all three have a negative character, as if the chief thing required of grown-up people is that they should do no sort of injury to the children: Take heed that ye OFFEND not––DESPISE not––HINDERnot––one of these little ones.

So run the three educational laws of the New Testament, which, when separately examined, appear to me to cover all the help we can give the children and all the harm we can save them from––that is, whatever is included in training up a child in the way he should go. Let us look upon these three

great laws as prohibitive, in order to clear the ground for the consideration of a method of education; for if we once settle with ourselves what we may not do, we are greatly helped to see what we may do, and must do. But, as a matter of fact, the positive is included in the negative, what we are bound to do for the child in what we are forbidden to do to his hurt.

1 Timothy 1:5-7
(5) But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (6) For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, (7) wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions.


1 Corinthians 10:23 & 24
(23) All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. (24) Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.

Four Tests which should be applied to Children's Lessons.––We see, then, that the children's lessons should provide material for their mental growth, should exercise the several powers of their minds, should furnish them with fruitful ideas, and should afford them knowledge, really valuable for its own sake, accurate, and interesting, of the kind that the child may recall as a man with profit and pleasure.

15,16,18

I'm going to skip 17 for now until I can get to a bridge.

July 15th: Fear
I wanted to get all creative with this one, like the picture of our office but instead I asked Kiera and Nathan to help me out with this one. I guess I could have had them walking on top of a fence... but they would need stunt doubles for that kind of thing. ;)

July 16th: Flowers

Fake

The blue flowers that were used for the center pieces at the baby shower.

 Real

Trying to identify this flower. It seemed to have a tail. We saw it at Gum Grove.

July 18th: Abstract

Now I looked up some abstract photography and saw some amazing images. Super cool! Here are some that I took.

heehee. I don't know if this one would be considered abstract but I liked it. :)

The gentle giant.

July 16th, what was going on

So I'm a little behind on posting my photos but it was a busy week. 

Artist Nancy made the sign

I was preparing for the baby shower that was this past Saturday for David and Nancy. Friday was my baking day for the dessert table. I made pumpkin spice bars, triple chocolate brownies, coconut macaroons, snickerdoodles, lemon cake (with whip cream and strawberries in the middle), and mini carrot cupcakes. The only thing that wasn't that great was the lemon cake, I think I baked it too long. Fortunately there were all the other goodies to compensate for that.
Of course I was planning on taking a picture of the dessert table but we needed to keep things covered because flies are gross.

I borrowed the carriage from Kiera

Once the kids were asleep Robert helped me finish up the favors. Have I told you he's a pretty awesome husband? Well, he is. :)

It's a Boy!

So here are the photos from July 13th which was, 13 Things.

 Feet! 

I had to take a few since it was a long exposure

 Our Quick shade doubles as a clothes line.

It's perfect for towels and diapers.

 I like this photo and I love this face.

 I was going to use this picture for Fear because it is quite scary isn't it!

This is the office, though now you can see the love seat and some of the floor.

 This is the whole picture from my Self Portrait photo.

 Another face I love. Such a patient man.

 Do you see any similarities? 

 These kids are the best! The sunshirts were a good buy.

 A Monarch at the butterfly garden in Newport (Environmental Nature Center).

 Haha. These two are a couple fun people during photo shoots.

They thought I was just taking a picture of their shadows. ;)

 The rope swing at Gum Grove

 A hawk feather. I'm pretty sure it was a red shouldered hawk.

Let me know if it's from a different hawk.

I was too far away to get a good picture unfortunately. :/

 

Pretty cute!

 

They love their aunt Julie

The 14th was Typography so this is what I chose...

I asked Robert to design the board for the game. 

I told him a silhouette of a pregnant lady and he took it from there.

Day 9, 10, 11 and 12

Photo challenge update...
Day 9: What I wore today

Purple tank and comfy jeans with my white chanclas.

Though I have to confess, I took this picture yesterday. What I actually wore on the 9th was a teal tank top and orange shorts. No I'm not kidding. haha I was cleaning! And they're bright colors which make me happy. :) I bought my orange shorts to go with the CSUF shirt I wore when Robert graduated a couple years ago. They are so comfy! Yes, I would have worn it out and about too. ;)

Day 10: Technology

Our personal phones, Robert's work phone and tablet 

and our laptop.

Day 11: Veggies

 Our pickling cucumbers!

Our zucchini!

The sugar snap peas are starting to bloom too! Can you feel my excitement? It's because we planted everything in our garden (except the strawberries and grape vines) from seeds and it's so cool to watch them grow.

Day 12: Color!

My daughter likes bright vibrant colors too ;)

Faith

How do you explain faith to a 5 (almost 6) year old and a 4 year old? This is why we always start in prayer, "please Lord show us..."

We talked about faith during our family devotion time today and we focused on one verse. Hebrews 11:6, which says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Wow, without faith it is impossible... not improbable, not there might be a way. Nope it is clearly stated that it is impossible to please God. Why is that? Well, what is faith?

My explanation to them...
Faith is believing in something or someone who we might not be able to see with our eyes but know is there. Just like we know the wind exists because we see the trees and our flag move. We can even feel the wind. So, that is like God. We see what He has created and we can feel that He is with us because He gives us peace and joy, but we don't see Him with our eyes. So faith is knowing that God is there just like we know the wind is there, even though we do not see them.
I LOVE the "oooohhh, I get it" look. It's usually accompanied by a smile that warms my heart.



Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Day 7 and 8

July 7th: Shoes I wore today

Thursday's we go on our nature studies with a group of

friends so these are always what I wear on Thursday.

These are what I usually have on though

Before I go on to the picture for the 8th, I wanted to quote Kiera. "I can not depart from any of them!" She was referring to the butterfly erasers when I told her to only choose a couple to take home from my parents.

heehee She had also used shall in a sentence just about an hour before that.

July 8: Close up

Who can tell me what book and chapter I was reading?

Now a Nathan quote for today. "Those are the Rusty Potatoes." The lady stocking the produce smiled and then I said, "you mean the Russet Potatoes?"

July Photo Challenge

I came across this July photo challenge yesterday and I thought it would be fun!
http://pinterest.com/pin/56581271/

So since I only saw it yesterday I had to do a little catch up. Kiera is always willing to help and Nathan is only sometimes willing. ;)

July 1st was the Self Portrait

Kiera was holding the mirror for me. 

I tell ya, she's an awesome little assistant. :)

July 2nd was Something Orange

This is our insulated bag, I believe it's a Rachel Ray bag.

It works great and doesn't have that nasty PVC smell.

July 3rd was Low Angle

A baby's point of view

July 4th was Fruit

 She said the peach smelled good

One of our yummy homegrown strawberries

July 5th was Wide Angle

I was going to take a picture of the park or the sky but

I didn't like looking at all the power lines.

And now for today, July 6th is Low Key

There we go! All caught up! Hopefully I can do one every day.