Sunset Learning Academy

Catch Up

2011-07-16T11:37:00.007-04:00

Such exciting news all around.

My wonderful husband is, as always, the most loving father there is. We appreciate who he is and what he does daily.

My hubby was pinned as Gunnery Sergent on July first! I am so proud of him for his hard work and dedication to the UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS!

I have been working hard on learning more about photography through some online classes. I am really starting to see things in a whole new way, and loving it!I also am going to so many doctor appointments it makes my head spin at times. One of these days we will get these kidneys working right! For now, I am hanging in there. I know I have the strength to make it through anything when leaning on my Lord and Savior.

Let's start the younger generation off with Frederyc... My eldest son Frederyc and his wife, Elizabeth, have had a wonderful boy on June 10th. I have not been able to go up north to see him and am looking forward to it.

Hadyn Jett Patterson

Next, my daughter Alexis....

Alexis and her husband, JT Mills, now have a beautiful baby boy as well. Noah Norman Mills was born on May 13th. Happy to report that both granbabies are doing great.

Then, Jacob.......

It has been a rough path for Jacob. This spring he has faced many challenges. This summer he has been enjoying his last summer as a "kid". I continue to pray daily for the Lord to lead my son. Jacob passed all his required course to graduate early and is exploring the possibility of Joining the USMC in the fall.

My lovely Tyra Jade......

Tyra is turning into a .... PRETEEN! OH NO!

Tyra is advancing nicely with her studies and is trying to find her place in our ever changing family. Tyra is now advancing to what would be 6th grade. She is the light of so many peoples lives! I can see God working through her.

And lastly, but never least, Johnny E.......

It amazing to watch Johnny growing and learning every day. He has really reminded me how much we can learn from the smallest of things. I found him watching the ants, how much we can learn from this. When I find myself frustrated I step back and remember that THIS will NOT last for long.

Been So Busy!

2011-01-24T09:23:00.003-05:00

Where has the time gone?

We have been so busy the last few months! Hard to keep up. With mom having surgery and be stuck in bed schooling got interesting. Dad took the week off of work to keep everything afloat. My oldest son and his wife also came to visit. It was so nice to see them, and soothed my soul so much to see them before surgery. Jacob started his dual enrollment this month. He is taking 3 classes at the local community college. So proud of him! We are very thankful for all of our friends that helped us get through this time.

We made it through last week on our own, it was a struggle to get back on track. I am grateful for Enchanted Learning and their monthly calendar. As I am still not up to par it made planning and finding material a snap!

It snowed again here in North Carolina over the weekend. We sure have been having a lot of snow for the south!

This week, in addition to our regular schedule, we will also be learning about the development of a fetus. On Jan 22nd it was the anniversary of the ruling on Rowe vs Wade. I am going to take this week to discuss the ruling, what the Bible has to tell us, and the unborn child. In addition we will be starting some sex education with Tyra. If anyone has any good resources please share!

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

2010-12-01T11:18:00.006-05:00

I remember reading this book way back in the early 80's. I believe it was 4th grade we watched the movie. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever book, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever movie and resources are on the schedule this week. This book stuck with me through the years so I am now sharing it with my children. I have found several sites with lots of resources. (See below).

Resources
Site 1
Site 2
site 3
Site 4
Audio Book
Info about Author
Movie on YouTube.com

There are several of sites and resources, I try to find the "free" resources. If you come across any more "free" lessons for The Best Christmas Pageant Ever please pass them along!

A BIG Thank You to the ones who have provided their lesson plans and worksheets for us.

Craft Activities

2010-09-28T09:55:00.001-04:00

Sites-Michaels-Site

Events at Michaels

WWII Vets

2010-09-23T12:27:00.001-04:00

My Son and His New Wife

2010-07-09T12:46:00.013-04:00

Introducing Mr and Mrs Frederyc Patterson........

On June 12th, 2010 I gained a daughter-in-law. Frederyc and Elizabeth have been dating for many years now. our family traveled to Indiana to attend their wedding and welcome her into the family.

My daughter, Lexi, and my son, Jacob.

The youngest, Johnny Ellwood.

Beautiful Tyra Jade.

All of our amazing children!

This is the message Tyra gave them!

Welcome to the family Liz, we love you!

Camping the Outer Banks

2010-07-09T10:58:00.012-04:00

For our final weekend with all of us together we went to the Outer Banks to camp on Ocracoke Island. What a wonderful little island! Little did we know that the weekend we chose to go was the Ocrafolk festival. This was a great time! We listen to some wonderful music. I think my favorite was Trent Wagler and the Steel Wheels. I would have been happy with a picnic lunch and sitting there all weekend long. Of course the children were not as fond of the music as me.

When we left the house it was pouring down rain. We left town and a few miles down the road the sun peaked through, the clouds began to part while the blue sky emerged. The remaining of the weekend was beautiful weather.

To get to Ocracoke Island you must take a ferry. The ride was an interesting one to say the least. There were many different kinds of people aboard the ferry. there was this one guy who seemed to march (or dance as it seemed to be) to the beat of the same drum as Tyra. What fun they had dancing to the music in their heads!

We spent time on the beach, cooked out, Jt and Lexi rented a jeep to take on the sand dunes, we rode out to the far sight of the island to see the horses, and we hiked. While on the island there are many sites to see. There is a light house, beaches, historic homes, nature trails,such interesting ocean life (it was fun to unwind and chase the crabs with Lexi), and many wonderful wild birds. There of course are more stores then you could see in a day. We ate ice cream and johnny enjoyed his first ice cream cone. There are bikes and golf carts everywhere. It was almost like stepping into a place where life slows down for a bit.

Busy Summer

2010-07-09T09:29:00.010-04:00

It seems that the older my children get the busier the summers become. Camping, hiking, weddings, parties, birthdays, vacations, and ohhh those lazy summer days! We have been so busy that I have had no time to sit and write. I am however not complaining at all, I love my crazy life!

I have a few blogs to write to catch up on all the happenings around here.

Where to begin.... We finished up the school year with a camping trip to the Outer Banks. Lexi is now in college. We are very proud of her! JT, Lexi's boyfriend, also has asked for her hand in marriage. We feel they are still so young. They are planning a long engagement, this helps ease our mind. Jacob had to go back to his dad's.
We all miss him very much and feel such a loss with him gone. We are praying for him and his situation there.
Tyra is visiting her family up north for a bit longer. She is such a blessing to us all. Johnny has started walking. He really enjoyed some time visiting with Aunt Sheila and grandma Jill. My oldest son has gotten married and we now have a wonderful daughter-in-law. We are happy to welcome her to our family.

I will be writing some more about each event that has happened.

Review of Holiday Helper-Memorial Day

2010-06-02T10:53:00.003-04:00

Review

Holiday Helper-Memorial Day

From Living Books Curriculum

The week leading up to Memorial Day we wanted to explore the history of the day, the history and traditions of the American Flag and learn the Pledge of Allegiance (in sign language as well as english). We found a free download for Holiday Helper-Memorial Day on Currclick. This Ebook was such a wonderful resource! Packed full of history, traditions, wonderful picture study, a poem, as well as copy work. I highly appreciated this Ebook. My children, as well as myself, learned so much! We will be bringing this out again next year as a refresher and plan to use it as a start for a more in depth study next year. Thank you for a great resource!

Air Show Pictures

2010-05-25T09:03:00.003-04:00

2010 Air Show

Blue Angels

Complete pictures available here.

First Birthday

2010-05-25T08:43:00.005-04:00

Big Blue eyes!

Happy Birthday!

Johnny turned one on the 16th. We had a party with friends and loved ones. We will be having another party up north with family in a few weeks. Crazy, I will be going to my eldest sons wedding one day and celebrating my youngest sons first birthday the very next day! Life is wonderful!

Sing it Johnny!

More cake!

What is it?

NC Aquarium

2010-05-06T15:19:00.008-04:00

A day at the Aquarium with Havelock Homegrown Kids. We had a wonderful, exciting, educational time. Lots of neat things to see, tons to learn, and fun with new friends!

We got to hold a starfish, pet a stingray, watch a hermit crab find a new home. They do a fish feeding daily at about 10:30, we watched divers jump into the tank with SHARKS! There was a jelly fish, and fishes galore! A huge exhibit about turtles, otters were at play. They sure put a show on for us! Johnny liked watching the BIG fish, Tyra enjoyed the stingrays and talking to the lady that worked there. We found her very knowledgeable. Jacob found the Sand Tiger Sharks interesting. We all enjoyed the blizzards afterwards!

Thank you to NC Aquarium and all the supporters for such a fun filled, educational day! We look forward to our return!

Special Links of interest

Kids Glogs

Earth Day 2010 Online Posters

2010-05-05T10:24:00.005-04:00

We have done our share of wasted resources by our weekly poster boards and lap booking. For Earth day 2010 we have found a site to help eliminate this waste. Glogging, online posters!

My children and I are still in the "learning" phase of how this all works, so please be merciful with us!

The assignment for Tyra and Jacob was to make a poster board about recycling. Johnny and I worked on one for Earth Day so that I could learn how this all works. I have found this to be a very fun way to research and learn! However, there is a way to "upgrade" the account and add class projects. I would LOVE to do this, but at $99 a year I guess I can do without it.

My children enjoyed it. Tyra likes learning new technology on the computer and my older children enjoyed this much better than a regular poster board. I still am a bit old fashion and enjoy cutting, pasting, and painting on poster board. I liked the idea of producing less waste! I also have a hard time disposing of our poster boards and this adds clutter to our home, so all around it has been a nice experience. We are going to continue to glog, but I think we will still do an old fashion hands on project from time to time also!

Please check out our glogs and let us know what you think!

Recycling by Jacob

Recycle, Reduce, Reuse by Tyra

Earth Day 2010 by Johnny (and mommy)
On the Earth Day glog there is a link and be sure to listen to the music as well!

Pollen

2010-04-08T11:19:00.015-04:00

POLLEN, POLLEN, POLLEN EVERYWHERE!

A true sign of spring! I awake and BOOM, pollen covers everything both inside and out. Some say allergy season is here, take an antihistamine. WAIT! Look at the trees, is that a bud blooming? The flowers are all opening, what an amazing site! So as I look upon the beauty that God has allowed me to witness I ask myself, "Spring comes without a coat of pollen in Indiana. Why is that so?"

I had my children do some research. They spent all day working on finding the facts about pollen and the way it is carried. They used the web, books, call a friend / family, and even talked to neighbors. After their hard work on the project, and on getting along.

Here is their slide show.

Product Review Expedition Australia

2010-03-27T11:40:00.008-04:00

Our adventure in learning about the "Land Down Under" was fun and exciting! The Download N Go™- Expedition Australia Ebook is divided in to 5 days. This is for K-4th, yet I used it for my 9 year old, as well as my 2 high schoolers. It is written by Amanda Bennett and The Old schoolhouse. There are several book suggestions for each day. I was able to find many of these in my local library. The Ebook is set up to make a lap book through the week. We made a lap book but then upon our final day we made a few poster boards to tie it all together. We unfortunately had a death in the family so rather than the 5 days to complete this we had to take a break in the middle. This is why we did the poster boards, it was a way to "refresh" our memory of all that we learned.

On our first day we went to a web site that was included in the ebook that the youngest child loved! It was a nice interactive way of learning. This was a great start! Some of the video clips included in the lessons were a bit dull and so we expanded the lesson with some of our own resources. Each day we learned about a different animal, geography, a new word to add to our vocabulary, music, crafts, history, science and many interesting things about a culture other than our own. Every day there is several links for sites that all have the same info, yet some of the sites were easier to understand than others. I liked having multiple resources to use.

To adapt this to fit my older children we expanded our research and the older children had to write a report. The younger child had to give an oral report upon completion of the lessons. We had a great time learning as a family. They challenged dad everyday with a new fact.

We have many people we know that have been to Australia so upon the completion we played with boomerangs, and didgeridoos. We made our own boomerangs as well. The children were able to view pictures that other had brought home from their trips to the "Down Under."

I would highly recommend this Ebook if you enjoy lap booking or unit studies. With having multiple ages and levels in my home I found this to be a fantastic resource for family learning. Not only did the children and me learn a lot, we also had a great time as a family. At a low price of $7.95 you can not go wrong.

To order or see more product information please follow the link below.

http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=429&products_id=13952

Model: ebok-TOS-DnGo-Australia
5000 Units in Stock
Manufactured by: The Old Schoolhouse - Affiliate

Last Chance to Get a Good Look at Mars Until 2012 - Yahoo! News

2010-03-25T09:47:00.001-04:00

Last Chance to Get a Good Look at Mars Until 2012 - Yahoo! News

Home - LowesBuildAndGrow

2010-03-16T07:51:00.001-04:00

Saturday Mar 27, 2010

Home - LowesBuildAndGrow

10:00 AM

Saturday Apr 10, 2010

The Knack(SM) - Where Kids Discover(SM) - Michaels Birthday Bash

2010-03-16T07:49:00.001-04:00

The Knack(SM) - Where Kids Discover(SM) - Michaels Birthday Bash

http://www.theknackkids.com/EventView/Code/ev0056.aspx

Home Sweet Home

2010-03-15T11:18:00.003-04:00

Well we had yet another death in our family. My husbands stepfather passed away. The last 5 months have been very hard for our family. We got the news a few weeks ago and packed up and headed to Indiana to be with family. We returned home just a few days ago and we are recovering from what feels like a whirlwind.

While we were up north my hubby and I celebrated our anniversary. We were able to take a bit of time and remember to be joyful for what we have.

As many know I have been sending prayers out for my son Jacob, his father and stepmother. They have been having much turmoil in their home and have had many struggles. The wonderful Lord has responded to the prayers and Jacob came home with us! At this point it is a temporary situation. I continue to pray for his father and stepmother and for us all to be able to agree upon the best for Jacob. With him moving in with us our house seems a bit small. But I have chosen to believe that we are not overfilled within our HOUSE, But we ARE living in a HOME filled with LOVE!

While we were north my daughter, Alexis, enrolled in college and will be starting in May. I am so proud of what a beautiful, mature, amazing young lady she is becoming!

Today I take a deep breath and unpack from our trip, get chores caught up, and get a game plan going! I love new challenges and I have been blessed with another homeschooler in my home!

"It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home." ~Author Unknown

Homeschooling Support Group Meeting Feb 23, 2010

2010-02-25T17:16:00.003-05:00

It was so nice to meet with you all again. I really enjoy chatting and sharing ideas with like minded families. I would like to thank all of the children who attended, I was so impressed with such a great group of children! I am so excited about this group.

Goals for this group.

To share ideas and resources
Field trips
Support group
Occasional guest speaker
Socialize with other homeschooling families

Old News

Science Fair (Have an Offer from John S. Riley, Ph.D. to Judge. While he was a Chemistry professor he judged both Middle/High School Science Fair projects as well as Undergraduate Research presentations.)

We decided that was would be GREAT! Yet, it would be much better after the group has been built up a bit.

Mary Jo shared her experiences from the Modesty Seminar. This sounded very exciting! Her daughter said, "We should dress modestly not only to protect our own marriages, but also to protect others marriages". What a wonderful thing to have our children learning! As we think about this, has anyone seen the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue? I asked Food lion to remove it from my child's line of vision.

New News

Book It Program Opens On March 1st
Fire Department Tour Thursday 10AM
Ideas For Field Trips
Page shared with us a series of books she reading (teenage level) called 39 Clues. http://www.scholastic.com/teachthe39clues/

New Ideas

Monthly public speaking for the children.

Mary Jo said that she would like to start having the children do a monthly public speaking. This seemed like a wonderful idea. Mary Jo will be organizing this, if you are interested in having your child/children participate please let us know.

U pick, start planning on an event of picking strawberries. YUM!
It mentioned that it would help to be able to add links or documents for all to see, I am working on a way to do this.

Local Happenings

LoweBot: Saturday 02/27/2010
The Knack Science 2/27/2010 1:00pm

Resources Shared

TOS product testing http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/homeschool/Homeschool-Crew-2010.htm
Local Testing http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4Be5ok1vL8aNzk1NTFkNzUtMjk3NC00NzQxLWE0NjItOGU5NGNlY2JhNDI4&hl=en
Maritime Museum Schedule http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B4Be5ok1vL8aODM5OGMyZGItNzZmYy00N2E5LTljZTctZWVjNDNiNWVkOTM3&hl=en
Secret Keeper girl (this looks like a wonderful program)
Book site http://www.libraryanded.com/
Site to take quizes on books and earn prizes http://bookadventure.com/

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-02-23T19:16:00.014-05:00

So much is going on here at Sunset Learning Academy. We had a taste of nice weather on Sunday, so bright and sunny. Hubby sure was happy to be able to be riding! Monday was 66 degrees, it did however turn to rain. Today, Tuesday I noticed the tips of my flowers starting to sprout out. A few falls ago I planted Iris' and tulips. I had no idea if they would grow or not. The main reason I planted them was because my hubby was deploying yet again and I knew that in the grey of late Feb and early March I would be a bit blue and needing a smile. Well, they bloomed so beautifully that year! It was just the little thing I needed to give me a spring in my step. Now as they continue to bloom every year I continue to smile as they emerge. The years I watch them grow alone, I remember my husbands love as he helped me plant them. The years we watch them bloom together they remind me to be thankful for our time together.

Today was our second meeting for the Homeschooling support Group. I will post the happenings tomorrow. For now I will simply say that I am enjoying my time with the other families and love the networking of resources! It is so exciting to see this coming together. I also must add at this point what a WONDERFUL, well behaved, helping, caring, fun loving group of children we have within the group. Again a BIG thank you to Wheels of The Promise for use of the church.

We are in the process of learning about Australia. We have received an ebook from TOS to use and review. Watch for my review over the weekend! We are continuing our study of ABC's for the Proverb Girl. I just love this! It is teaching my daughters such wonderful morals. Some may say that some of the teaching within it are "old fashioned", I, for one, am NOT embarrassed to be a keeper of my home. We are also still learning new sign language songs. Johnny just loves it when we sign to him. The girls feel they are a bit old for the songs, Johnny is our excuse to learn them.

I have been working strongly with Lexi on habit training. She is in charge of making a well balanced meal one night a week for here on out. Nice break for me and GREAT training for her. As she nears her 18th birthday and continues her "big" plans of entering adulthood I am having a nervous breakdown about all that she still needs to learn! She has come leaps and bounds since moving in with us. I am proud of her daily. Watching her grow into a respectable young woman is such a blessing. I pray that she continues to develop her relationship with the Lord.

Tyra is trying to master her multiplication and division skills so that we may move on to a more advanced level. We are also working on handwriting and NEATNESS! Tyra is working on habit training along with Lexi. She is working on helping out around the house and taking on an active role within our family by noticing what needs done without being told. Tyra also has begun going to a Wednesday night bible study at our church. As many of you know she asked Jesus into her heart on Friday, Feb. 12th, 2010 (Lincoln's birthday). She will be singing at church this Sunday. I am very proud of her!

Johnny is finally over being sick! He has cut 2 more teeth through and now has 4 bottom teeth. His appetite is back in full force as well. He is walking around all the furniture. I just know his first steps will be soon. I wonder if he will take them while Aunt Sheila is here!

As I come to a close for today, one more thought needs to be added. I would like to say that I have a wonderful husband whom without I would be lost. He is always there for me, and has never ending love. I appreciate all that he does for me, our family, our community, and our country. I love you!

I hope all are having a wonderful week and may everyone be blessed this week!

This week....

2010-02-18T19:01:00.004-05:00

The baby has been sick this week. it started out with a night of vomiting Monday night, then um... let's just say a messy diaper Tuesday, a crying Wednesday and now a fussy, clingy Thursday. Poor baby! He has two top front teeth trying to come in. I think this is what is the cause of all of this.

This week was full of meetings, cheer practice, bible study, and household disasters. And many more unexpected events.

With all of the above going on this week we have fallen a bit behind on our goals so it is looking like Saturday school for us! When thinking back on my life I always chuckle when I think about weekends. Once upon a time they meant no work, and party time. Then it meant no work and family time. Then a time came that weekends meant my hubby does not work and we get family time. Then for a bit while he was deployed I never knew the difference between Saturday or Wednesday. NOW, with a baby in the house, weekends mean SLEEP for me! My hubby can take over and I can nap, maybe a long bath! My husband is such a wonderful man!

This week has seemed like a disorganized mess. I feel like I am stuck in rut and need pulled out. Thank You to the Girl Scouts for these yummy cookies. They have really helped me through it! Okay, seriously it was the love from God, my husband and children that get me up every morning! But the cookies were a nice treat!

Adventure of The Day

2010-02-16T18:44:00.003-05:00

Today we had our first Homeschooling Support Group meeting. I think it went well. We had 6 families attend. While the children enjoyed getting to know one another the parents enjoyed some time to get acquainted. We have come up with many ideas for field trips, a few ideas for activities, and shared some local resources with one another. Our meetings will continue to be held at the Wheels Of Promise on Tuesday mornings beginning at 10AM. I would like to Thank Wheels Of Promise for allowing us to use the church as a meeting spot. I enjoyed getting to know all of you and your children. We had such a bright group of children there today! My family and I look forward to the next meeting and deciding upon our first field trip!

President Day Poster Board

2010-02-15T13:26:00.010-05:00

For President's Day Tyra had to choose a president and do either a written, oral, or poster report. She chose Abraham Lincoln. She made a wonderful poster board with lots of information and even remembered to include her references! She then had to tell us all about it and everything she learned. She learned a lot during her research. This project was spiced up some when J & B Learning ( http://jnblearning.blogspot.com/ ) joined in and had her son do a poster project as well.

Both the children worked hard to make sure their poster was the best. I am looking forward to seeing who she chooses next year!

Her Favorite quote from Abraham Lincoln is, "Always bear in mind that your only resolution to succeed is more important than any other."

North Carolina Snow!

2010-02-15T12:55:00.011-05:00

We were blessed with snow that began to fall on Friday night at around 11:00PM and continued to fall until the wee hours in the morning. Tyra stayed up Friday night to watch it come down. We put a pan out so we could collect snow to make snow cream. She finally fell asleep so that she could be energized by morning! She made snow angels,

played with Johnny,

had a snow ball fight with daddy and Socks, rode the four-wheeler,

and finished the fun up with a HUGE snowman she made with Miss. Debbie, our wonderful neighbor.

The snow really was beautiful. I must say it was nice....

I also must say I am happy that it is a rare occation here!

Egypt, Moses, and Hieroglyphs

2010-02-11T15:58:00.013-05:00

Today we continued our studies on Moses. This included more studies on Egypt, exploring the desert, and today we learned hieroglyphs! We found that there are many forms. We had fun making a poster with all of our families name on it. This has been very interesting to study since my husband lived in Cairo, Egypt for a year.

We also learned today the reason we celebrate Valentine's Day. We got great info on this link.
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B4Be5ok1vL8aYzYzZTgxNDYtMDdhYy00MGVkLWI3MDctZGM0YmQ0YTk0NDU1&hl=en

Today was a very good day. We got a lot done, and learned so much today! I think everyone in the family learned something new today.

Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic

2010-02-11T15:44:00.004-05:00

Jewelry Organizer: Saturday 02/13/2010

Bring your child to Lowe's and they can build this Jewelry organizer! It's the perfect Valentine's Day gift for mom!

LoweBot: Saturday 02/27/2010

Clinics start at 10AM and are FREE!

It’s a car! It’s a robot! It’s both! Bring your child to Lowe’s and they can build this cool Lowebot!

http://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/Home.aspx

The Knack(SM) - Where Kids Discover(SM) - The Knack Free Family Event: Science Fair

2010-02-10T11:11:00.001-05:00

The Knack(SM) - Where Kids Discover(SM) - The Knack Free Family Event: Science Fair

Homeschooling Support Group

2010-02-08T12:54:00.002-05:00

Homeschooling Support Group

Come share your homeschooling experience, joys, and struggles with other schooling families.

A place to find new ideas, new methods, or share your ideas and methods.

Come socialize and make new friends.

Come plan and join us for group field trips.

"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity,

he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."

Clay P. Bedford

I am a homeschooling mother of 5. I have been homeschooling for 5 years now. I love watching my children thrive as they broaden their knowledge. I have tried many different methods and have realized that what "works the best" all depends upon the child and their families situation.

I have come to realize that my children could extend their learning even farther if we had a network of local families with similar goals and morals for their children.

"To educate a man in mind, and not in morals, is to educate a menace to society." Theodore Roosevelt

Come join us on Tuesday mornings.

When: Tuesday 10am

Where: Wheels of Promise

900 Hwy. 70 West
New Bern, NC 28560

The above is the mailing address, building is actually at the Havelock City limits it is located right across from Wells Wayside Furniture.

Contact Information: Cindy Barker (252) 360-4894

Email: sunsetlearning@yahoo.com

Web: http://sunsetlearningacademy.blogspot.com/

So hard to teach with this distraction

2010-02-02T09:24:00.011-05:00

Just as you are getting ready to dive into a new world of learning with you older children your preschooler says, "I am booorrreeed." Does this sound familiar to you? Or how about this scenario, all gathered around talking about your studies for the day, all the children are interested and learning with amazing attention. Until, the 4 year old starts to run crazy, screaming, throwing their arms about. Now, you have lost the attention of all.

Being young is a time of magical imagination, and exploring. Children learn through play. Young children have a strong curiosity and desire for attention.

Well, after talking to a very good friend of mine, another homeschooling mama, an idea has unfolded. She said preschool daily activity boxes and my mind filled with many wonderful thoughts. Here a few of those thoughts.

How about a daily box, bin, container of your choice?. Label each one clearly on the outside Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. (April, I am awaiting the pictures.) Make sure the container is labeled clearly and large enough to be easily read. Now we are ready to begin filling the containers with material to awake the imagination and creativity of a youngster.

Now what should we fill them with? So many ideas are running through my mind, I must slow the thoughts down to make any sense of it all. Inhale, Exhale.... okay. Maybe we should put pages in each one corresponding with the days of the week. That way they will be coloring, tracing, copying Monday on Monday, Tuesday on Tuesday etc. I would also include some pages with the child's name written upon them in each box. Do not forget anything special for the week, for example is there a holiday that week.
(Here is a good site to use)
http://www.kidzone.ws/tracers/index.htm.kidzone.ws/tracers/index.htm .kidzone.ws/tracers/index.htm

Some other ideas would be one day of the week can be dedicated to colors. Put crayons in this box with coloring sheets. (Another good link) http://www.kidzone.ws/prek_wrksht/colors/single-worksheets.htm

Maybe some play dough in this box as well. Here is a recipe. http://www.kiddinaround.com/NEWS/Play_dough.html
You could have a whole day dealing with colors, or you could divide this to one color per day.

Now shapes, again either a day for shapes or one per day. Here is a good link for shapes. http://www.akidsheart.com/threer/lvl1/shapes.htm
I think if I was doing a day on shapes then I would choose this day to include construction paper and scissors. If you are doing one color per day, one shape per day then make the whole box say red and circles. Then you could add a ball to this day, or anything else you come across that is red and a circle. If you are doing a day of shapes blocks would be a good thing to include within this container. http://www.kidslearningstation.com/preschool/teach-shapes.asp

Another idea, how about a dress up day? Lets pretend we did a container for Monday of color, Tuesday was shapes, Wednesday can be dress up. Include within this box dress up clothes appropriate for your child. For example, for a boy I will include a cowboy hat, boots, a vest. Along with these I will include a song about cowboys and some coloring pages about cowboys. Would my son like to be a doctor? Maybe a pirate hat? My son might want to be a prince, I could include a crown. (made by him of course). Michael's has many inexpensive crafts that could be used. http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayproductlist?categoryid=75520&pageNumber=1 eNumber=1

The possibilities with dress up are endless.

If your child is old enough to work on a craft independently then maybe make the Thursday container a craft day. Include any age appropriate crafts for your child. I would set my child at a small child's table away from my other children as to not interrupt them.

Friday, now we have one more day to fill. This day could be so many different things. Maybe a puzzle day. Fill with many different puzzles, include a challenge such as a Rubik's cube. Allow them to make their own puzzle. This website tells you how to make your own photo puzzle, but you could have the child color something and make that into a puzzle as well.
http://www.ehow.com/how_5864855_make-large-piece-photo-puzzle.html

Friday could also be a day to draw pictures for grandma, grandpa, etc... give the child plenty of materials to create art work that you later send to friends and family.

OR, Friday could be a day for videos. There are many videos available to teach young children Sign Language, or a foreign language. Check with your local library to see if they have DVDs that can be rented. Another idea for Friday could be a music day. Include some musical instruments.
Have no fear about spending money to buy some, there are many you can make at home. Here is a great site telling you how. http://www.familycorner.com/family/kids/crafts/9_musical_instruments.shtml

You could also include some music to learn by on this day, many titles are found on the following site. http://freekidsmusic.com/
A good Classical music for children site is http://www.classicsforkids.com/

There are several other things you could do with these daily containers. These are just a few ideas. Let your imagination get away from you. Your little one will be delighted to have something new and different to play with and this will allow you the time needed to help your older children.

This idea can be adapted for even younger children as well. If you have a very young child, as I do, then you can simply divide different toys into separate labeled containers. Everyday will be a new and exciting day of new toys. This will help entertain even the youngest of sibling while you are busy with the older children.

If you have more ideas please feel free to share!

Is there help for my growing chaos?

2010-02-01T15:35:00.006-05:00

"If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then, is an empty desk a sign?" — Albert Einstein

It seems as if I spend more time planning and organizing rather than actually "doing" things. So I have decided that it is once again time to stop pushing things from point A to point B and ACTUALLY get organized AGAIN!

Step one, reevaluate the "clutter". What is it that I should keep and what can I now discard?

Step two, actually throw away the unneeded extras. (I have come to realize that we are a family of pack rats.)

Now at this point I realize that I need to make some adjustments to the way I am filing and storing many supplies. So I start a list of what I have considered to be "needed" items. All I can think is how thrilled my husband is going to be to come home and see that I have emptied all the desk drawers onto the floor making it impossible to enter into our home. Even bigger thrill for him, when I tell him that I must buy this list of supplies I am attending to now.

Maybe I should look up some ideas on how to control this chaos? So now I have searched the web for ideas... most that I found wanted me to buy their book.... more planning rather than doing. I did however come across so interesting "freebies". Free is always welcome in my home. I found the following to be of interest.

Getting Organized Part 1 - Tips & Tricks
By Kathy von DuykePrinted in PHS #12, 1996.

http://www.home-school.com/Articles/phs12-kathyvonduyke.html

Getting Organized Part 2
By Katherine Von DuykePrinted in PHS #13, 1996.

http://www.home-school.com/Articles/phs13-kathyvonduyke.html

Getting Organized Part 3
By Kathy von DuykePrinted in PHS #14, 1996.

http://www.home-school.com/Articles/phs14-kathyvonduyke.html

Okay, now I am feeling educated, motivated, creative! Time for the doing! Time to get ORGANIZED! As if on cue, of course, the baby now starts to fuss, the 9 year old needs a hand, and the teenager needs a ride. And so is a day in my life.

Why Home School?

2010-01-25T12:33:00.001-05:00

Many people want to know why I have chosen to homeschool my children. Well, there is no ONE answer. More a collection of many reasons. While there are many wonderful schools, both private and public, as well as many wonderful teachers, I have come to realize that my children do not fit into the conventional "mold". Homeschooling has given my children the opportunity to learn "outside the box". While we strive to teach our children morals and values in an immortal world it becomes more difficult upon a daily basis. Homeschooling has given us the freedom to further explore interests and have a deeper learning on many subjects. We do not have bells that signal the end of one subject and the beginning of another. Once we have come to understand and are able to master a lesson then we are able to move on at our own pace, as slowly or quickly as necessary. I can not imagine sending my children to a place for them to learn from strangers where I have no idea where their values or priorities may fall. Nor can I imagine being denied the opportunity to learn daily from my children.
So when does our "school day" begin and when does it end? My children are given the gift of curiosity and are taught to continue to learn through out the day. From asking questions, to learning a new skill, or maybe by reading a book, and many times from not knowing what something means or how to spell it and looking it up in the dictionary. I can not remember how many times we have asked one another a question and had to go to the world wide web to look it up and research it to find the answer. Some people wonder things and leave it at that, we wonder and find out daily. So again I ask, when does our school day begin and when does it end? Well, I hope to learn new things until I take my last breathe. My goal is to have my children also have that unquenchable thirst for knowledge as well.

100 books every child should read - ParentDish

2010-01-25T12:31:00.000-05:00

100 books every child should read - ParentDish

Books Every Child Should Read

2010-01-25T12:26:00.000-05:00

50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read

Preschool
What a Wonderful World by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele, illustrated by Ashley Bryan. Atheneum, 1995. (Multi-ethnic)
One Afternoon by Yumi Heo. Scholastic, 1998. (Asian Pacific American)
Grandmother's Nursery Rhymes/Las Nanas de Abuelita by Nelly Palacio Jaramillo, illustrated by Elivia. Henry Holt, 1996. (Latino)
Margaret and Margarita/Margarita y Margaret by Lynn Reiser. Rayo, 1996. (Latino)
Baby Says by John Steptoe. Mulberry Books, 1992 (African American)
I Love My Hair! by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, illustrated by E. B. Lewis. Little Brown Young Readers, 2001. (African American)
Baby Rattlesnake by Te Ata, illustrated by Mira Reisberg. Children's Book Press, 2006. (American Indian)
You Are My Perfect Baby by Johce Carol Thomas, illustrated by Nneka Bennett. HarperFestival, 1999. (African American)
Round Is a Mooncake: A Book of Shapes by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Grace Lin. Chronicle Books, 2000. (Asian Pacific American)
Where Did You Get Your Moccasins? by Bernelda Wheeler, illustrated by Herman Bekkering. Peguis Publishers, 1992. (American Indian)
More, More, More, Said the Baby: Three Love Stories by Vera B. Williams. HarperCollins, 1996. (Multi-ethnic)
Do You Know What I'll Do? by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. HarperCollins, 2000. (African American)

Ages 5-7
Drumbeat... Heartbeat: A Celebration of the Powwow by Susan Braine. Lerner Publishing Group, 1995. (American Indian)
Grandfather Counts by Andrea Cheng, illustrated by Ange Zhang. Lee & Low Books , 2003. (Asian Pacific American)
Halmoni and the Picnic by Sook Nyul Choi, illustrated by Karen Dugan. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 1993. (Asian Pacific American)
Hairs/Pelitos by Sandra Cisneros, illustrated by Terry Ybáñez. Dragonfly Books, 1997. (Latino)
Abuela by Arthur Dorros, illustrated by Elisa Kleven. Puffin, 1997.(Latino)
Honey, I Love and Other Poems by Eloise Greenfield, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. HarperCollins, 1986. (African American)
The Good Luck Cat by Joy Harjo, illustrated by Paul Lee. Harcourt Children's Books, 2000. (American Indian)
Celebrating Families by Rosemarie Hausherr. Scholastic, 1997. (Multi-ethnic)
Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Dragonfly Books, 1997. (African American)
Shades of Black: A Celebration of Our Children by Sandra L. Pinkney, photographs by Myles C. Pinkney. Scholastic, 2000. (African American)
Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Jake Swamp, illustrated by Erwin Printup, Jr. Lee & Low Books, 1997. (American Indian)
Morning on the Lake by Jean Bourdeau Waboose, illustrated by Karen Reczuch. Kids Can Press, 1999. (American Indian)

Ages 7-9
My Name Is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada. Aladdin, 1995. (Latino)
From the Bellybutton of the Moon, and Other Summer Poems/Del Ombligo de la Luna, y Otros Poemas de Verano by Francisco X. Alarcon, illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez. Children's Book Press, 2005. (Latino)
Golden Tales: Myths, Legends and Folktales from Latin America by Lulu Delacre. Scholastic en Español, 2001. (Latino)
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton, illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2009. (African American)
Maples in the Mist: Poems for Children from the Tang Dynasty by Minfong Ho, illustrated by Jean and Mou-sien Tseng. Lothrop, 1996. (Asian Pacific)
John Henry by Julius Lester, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. Puffin, 1999. (African American)
Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki, illustrated by Dom Lee. Lee & Low Books, 1995. (Asian Pacific American)
Wings by Christopher Myers. Scholastic, 2000. (African American)
The People Shall Continue by Simon Ortiz, illustrated by Sharol Graves. Children's Book Press, 1994. (American Indian)
Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. Dragonfly Books, 1996. (African American)
What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know about Horses? by Richard Van Camp, illustrated by George Littlechild. Children's Book Press, 2003. (American Indian)
Justin and the Best Biscuits in the World by Mildred Pitts Walter. Yearling, 1990. (African American)

Ages 9-12
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges. Scholastic, 1999. (African American)
Native American Animal Stories by Joseph Bruchac. Fulcrum Publishing, 1992. (American Indian)
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Laurel Leaf, 2004. (African American)
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. Hyperion, 2002. (American Indian)
The Journey: Japanese Americans, Racism, and Renewal by Sheila Hamanaka. Scholastic, 1995. (Asian Pacific American)
Oh, Freedom! Kids Talk About the Civil Rights Movement With the People Who Made It Happen by Casey King and Linda Barrett Osborne. Knopf, 1999 (Multi-ethnic)
Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia by Carmen Lomas Garza. Children's Book Press, 2005. (Latino)
Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom by Walter Dean Myers. Amistad, 1992. (African American)
The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems and Stories from Mexico by Naomi Shihab Nye, with paintings by Mexican artists. Simon & Schuster, 1998. (Latino)
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. Scholastic, 2002. (Latino)
Quilted Landscape: Conversations with Young Immigrants by Yale Strom. Simon & Schuster Children' Publishing, 1996. (Multi-ethnic)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. Puffin, 1997. (African American)
The Rainbow People by Lawrence Yep, illustrated by David Wiesner. HarperCollins, 1992. (Asian Pacific American)
The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. (Asian Pacific)

More info available at...
http://www.nea.org/grants/886.htm

The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List

2010-01-25T10:32:00.001-05:00

The Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List By Deborah Markus, from Secular Homeschooling, Issue 1, Fall 2007.
1. Please stop asking us if it's legal. If it is — and it is — it's insulting to imply that we're criminals. And if we were criminals, would we admit it?
2. Learn what the words "socialize" and "socialization" mean, and use the one you really mean instead of mixing them up the way you do now. Socializing means hanging out with other people for fun. Socialization means having acquired the skills necessary to do so successfully and pleasantly. If you're talking to me and my kids, that means that we do in fact go outside now and then to visit the other human beings on the planet, and you can safely assume that we've got a decent grasp of both concepts.
3. Quit interrupting my kid at her dance lesson, scout meeting, choir practice, baseball game, art class, field trip, park day, music class, 4H club, or soccer lesson to ask her if as a homeschooler she ever gets to socialize.
4. Don't assume that every homeschooler you meet is homeschooling for the same reasons and in the same way as that one homeschooler you know.
5. If that homeschooler you know is actually someone you saw on TV, either on the news or on a "reality" show, the above goes double.
6. Please stop telling us horror stories about the homeschoolers you know, know of, or think you might know who ruined their lives by homeschooling. You're probably the same little bluebird of happiness whose hobby is running up to pregnant women and inducing premature labor by telling them every ghastly birth story you've ever heard. We all hate you, so please go away.
7. We don't look horrified and start quizzing your kids when we hear they're in public school. Please stop drilling our children like potential oil fields to see if we're doing what you consider an adequate job of homeschooling.
8. Stop assuming all homeschoolers are religious.
9. Stop assuming that if we're religious, we must be homeschooling for religious reasons.
10. We didn't go through all the reading, learning, thinking, weighing of options, experimenting, and worrying that goes into homeschooling just to annoy you. Really. This was a deeply personal decision, tailored to the specifics of our family. Stop taking the bare fact of our being homeschoolers as either an affront or a judgment about your own educational decisions.
11. Please stop questioning my competency and demanding to see my credentials. I didn't have to complete a course in catering to successfully cook dinner for my family; I don't need a degree in teaching to educate my children. If spending at least twelve years in the kind of chew-it-up-and-spit-it-out educational facility we call public school left me with so little information in my memory banks that I can't teach the basics of an elementary education to my nearest and dearest, maybe there's a reason I'm so reluctant to send my child to school.
12. If my kid's only six and you ask me with a straight face how I can possibly teach him what he'd learn in school, please understand that you're calling me an idiot. Don't act shocked if I decide to respond in kind.
13. Stop assuming that because the word "home" is right there in "homeschool," we never leave the house. We're the ones who go to the amusement parks, museums, and zoos in the middle of the week and in the off-season and laugh at you because you have to go on weekends and holidays when it's crowded and icky.
14. Stop assuming that because the word "school" is right there in homeschool, we must sit around at a desk for six or eight hours every day, just like your kid does. Even if we're into the "school" side of education — and many of us prefer a more organic approach — we can burn through a lot of material a lot more efficiently, because we don't have to gear our lessons to the lowest common denominator.
15. Stop asking, "But what about the Prom?" Even if the idea that my kid might not be able to indulge in a night of over-hyped, over-priced revelry was enough to break my heart, plenty of kids who do go to school don't get to go to the Prom. For all you know, I'm one of them. I might still be bitter about it. So go be shallow somewhere else.
16. Don't ask my kid if she wouldn't rather go to school unless you don't mind if I ask your kid if he wouldn't rather stay home and get some sleep now and then.
17. Stop saying, "Oh, I could never homeschool!" Even if you think it's some kind of compliment, it sounds more like you're horrified. One of these days, I won't bother disagreeing with you any more.
18. If you can remember anything from chemistry or calculus class, you're allowed to ask how we'll teach these subjects to our kids. If you can't, thank you for the reassurance that we couldn't possibly do a worse job than your teachers did, and might even do a better one.
19. Stop asking about how hard it must be to be my child's teacher as well as her parent. I don't see much difference between bossing my kid around academically and bossing him around the way I do about everything else.
20. Stop saying that my kid is shy, outgoing, aggressive, anxious, quiet, boisterous, argumentative, pouty, fidgety, chatty, whiny, or loud because he's homeschooled. It's not fair that all the kids who go to school can be as annoying as they want to without being branded as representative of anything but childhood.
21. Quit assuming that my kid must be some kind of prodigy because she's homeschooled.
22. Quit assuming that I must be some kind of prodigy because I homeschool my kids.
23. Quit assuming that I must be some kind of saint because I homeschool my kids.
24. Stop talking about all the great childhood memories my kids won't get because they don't go to school, unless you want me to start asking about all the not-so-great childhood memories you have because you went to school.
25. Here's a thought: If you can't say something nice about homeschooling, shut up!