A First Reconciliation Lapbook ~

Buck and Honeybee received their First Reconciliations recently.  We made these lapbooks and added some of the things we studied as we prepared. 

First, we glued 2 manila folders back to back.  I picked out two whose tabs matched up. 

The House Cat made the cover page for us with Microsoft Clip Art.  She's so much better at that than I am.  What would take me an hour - takes her 5 min. 

As you open the folder, you find the sheet they made as we studied the Ten Commandments.  That Resource Site had this activity which we used for this page. 

They cut out the commandments and put them in order.

On the opposite page we made these little flaps that contain the questions for a gentle examination of conscience for children based on each commandment.  We cut and glued each one accordingly.

The first folder ~

Flip over the folder page and you have a the steps for a good confession.

 On the last page they wrote in the three things that happen to you after you make a good confession.

The second folder ~

They were both so excited to receive their First Reconciliations! 

Now they ask to go every week.

And a child shall lead them!

Buck's Room

This is what comes of this question, "Mom, can I use a couple of pots and their lids? Oh, and can I borrow your CD player?"  I love my little man!

A Blessed Womans Daybook

Outside my window ~ Spring is here ! :)

Around the house ~ Back to cleaning, straightening, re-vamping things after a sickly couple of weeks.

I'm thinking - how daily Mass is God's gift to us and the devil doesn't want you to know about it!

Look mom ~

I lost my first tooth!

Buck loves PMK!

Weight Watcher's the last two weeks ~ Well, I haven't stuck to the plan, exactly, but I was down .6 yesterday?! :)  It's hard to stay on track while traveling.  Although, I do see how attending the meetings and staying aware of what I'm putting in my mouth is making a difference.  It's all about living a healthy lifestyle!

I'm happy for ~ Buck.  He's finally getting to go to ball practice today!

I'm praying for ~ children with cancer...and their families.

My picture ~

Homeschool Conference shopping goodies :)

Visit Peggy for more daybook inspiration.

Around the house...

Buck's tracing race cars and has his armory ready to go.  I love the weapon on the right!

This morning Snuggle Bug read some library books to Honeybee.  I picked up lots of the Let's Read and Find Out Science Series the other day.

Honeybee's now enjoying a cut and collage craft that I still had from some activity bags our book group made.

Last night we caught up on our Jesus Tree readings and added the symbols to the tree.  Life continues to happen and we keep getting behind!  We continue to practice perseverance.  I've figured out that's how we learn virtue - PRACTICE!

Thorns are being removed from Jesus' crown. 

The House Cat read this quote to me from The Family Manager Takes Charge :

"To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children.  Each member of the family has to become in a special way, the servant of the others." -  Pope John Paul II

Lots of work waiting on us....

We need to finish our Fire Safety lap books.

and I have a ton of good things waiting on me... I got my new project manger in the mail this week.  It's time to put it to use!

Let's see... Home Management Binder, Project Feeder Watch, Family Liturgical Binder, Sewing with St. Anne, Tea and Cake with the Saints to review (Literature for the Young Lady), Weight Watchers points to write, CATs to open and give, my notebook to update, Honeybee's Alaphabet Path (purple notebook) to update, the list goes on and on :)  I'm really trying to incorporate some of Jennifer's great notebooking/organizational skills into my life.

This afternoon the older girls are sketching the wildflowers, or maybe weeds, I picked a couple of days ago.  I've requested some more books from the library to help us in identifying them.

It looks like good work is being done even with sick kids in the house and a tired mom who feels like she's not being very productive!  All done for God's glory :)  Hope you are all well!

Be A Faith Detective

Buck, Honeybee and I enjoyed working on this "faith detective" page this morning. The people from That Resource Site were nice enough to contact me a while back sharing their free Cathoic Homeschool resources site. If you have a minute, check them out. You can make an Advent sheet of your own with your little one :)

Our Little Engineer

Buck's been busy making lots of "boy stuff".

A chalkbox car

A bus like "The Duggars" at the gas pump.


Also called a 4th of July car :)

And yesterdays invention, with a little help from Snuggle Bug...

A crane to lift them all!



I guess it's true that kids have more fun with the empty boxes!

Wordless Wednesday Robot

Wordless Wednesday

You've got to love boys and their homemade forts :) Visit Wordless Wednesday for more posts.

Tea, Scones, and Shakespeare

Today is the feast of Saint George, patron saint of England. It's also William Shakespeare's birthday. Therefore, we had an English tea this morning. The girls enjoyed setting the table, while Honeybee and Buck helped me prepare scones. As we enjoyed our tea and scones, Snuggle Bug shared some Emily Dickinson and House Cat read some of our favorite Shakespeare Sonnets.

The scones turned out delicious! This is the recipe we used.

Yummy jams and jellies.

Tea Time!

As the House Cat read Sonnet 116, Buck spoke up and said, "Hey that's from Sense and Sensibility!"
Once we were finished in the kitchen, we moved out front for Saint George and the Dragon. Buck was ready with his knights and horses. The dragon is still hiding from us, somewhere...
Oh, and here's a weapon he made while the scones were cooking. How's that for a catapult?
That mean old dragon better watch out!!! (Notice the ball of dough on the handle? It shoots pretty far :)
Saint George was believed to be born in Palestine and was a Roman soldier. He helped spread the Christian faith to modern day Iran. He visited Britain and is most well know for his legendary slaying of a dragon. In 1415 he was named patron saint of England. Crusaders adopted his red cross on a white background and is still part of the British flag today. Enchanted learning has a British flag to print and color with explanations of the colors and crosses used. I didn't realize the flag of the UK is a combination of the flags of England (the cross of St. George), Scotland (the cross of St. Andrew), and Ireland (the cross of St. Patrick). I should have paid better attention in history class :) Another wonderful benefit of homeschooling - learning things you should already know. I love it and my wonderful family! Thank you God.

Election 2008 Work

We really enjoyed our D is for Democracy unit study. (see below for links)


Snuggle Bug(9-right) and The House Cat (12-below) learned about The Electoral College and how it works. Choosing the President 2008: A Citizen's Guide to the Electoral Process was an excellent resource for this.








Buck(4) did a great job on his first notebook page. He and I had such a good time working on it together! At the top of the page he drew George Washington's belt with his knife and money bag. I thought it was so sweet that he told me, "this is where he kept the money he gave to help people."





Even though the election outcome was not what we prayed for, we trust in God and continue to pray for an END to abortion. GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.

A is For Apple

We've had a great time today with our Apple unit study!





The Life & Times Of The Apple was a great resource for my 9 and 12 year old.

An Apple A Day (over 20 apple projects for kids) by Jennifer Story Gillis also had some great ideas. We tried the apple star prints on pg.33 although the stars weren't as easy to make out as we would have liked. We had fun painting and trying anyway :) I hope to try making the apple wreath and homemade applesauce soon.

As the children "painted" I read aloud The Song Of The Apple Blossom Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker and Johnny Appleseed by Madeline Olsen.


Buck's (age 4) Apple Print


Honeybee's (age 3) "Abstract" Apple Painting :)


The House Cat's Notebook Page


The Snuggle Bug's Notebook page


(maybe next time we'll put the tape on the back :)



Here's a link for a fun apple word search for the older ones:
http://www.abcteach.com/wordpuzzles/WordSearches/applewordsearch.htm

And a connect the dots apple for the younger ones:
http://www.abcteach.com/free/d/dot_apple_to10.pdf

Hopefully Buck and Honeybee will complete some of the activites soon.
http://www.dltk-teach.com/alphabuddies/trace1.htm