Being a mom has been the greatest blessing--and challenge!--of my life thus far. Welcome to my merry musings on being Mommy, Mom, and Mama to five beautiful children, given to me by God through the miracles of adoption and birth. Stay as long as you like, and come back often!
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Mid-Summer (Almost!) Post
Thursday, April 12, 2012
2012-13 Home School Curricula
| On a field trip to a coal mine a bit north of where we live. |
I have spent this past year investigating other curricula and thinking through what else I want to use to teach my children as we progress forward. Next year I will have Benjamin in grade 2 and Nathaniel officially in Pre-K/K. Today I took the plunge and made some decisions and purchases, and I am very excited to receive my new materials and get planning! I have also decided to continue homeschooling over the summer months, just not as rigidly, so that we can take breaks here and there at other times of the year and also to keep our routine going. So, here is what I have come up with:
Math - Horizons Math 2 (Benjamin) and Horizons Math K (Nathaniel) from Alpha and Omega Publications
Spelling - All About Spelling Level 1 from All About Learning Press (Both boys...it will be review for Benjamin, and new for Nathaniel...I will continue with Level 2 for Benjamin at some point in the year.)
Grammar - First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, Levels 1 & 2 (Benjamin only)
Reading - Five in a Row (Both boys); Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Pre-K (Nathaniel); guided reading with leveled books (Benjamin and eventually Nathaniel)
Writing - Write Shop Primary (Benjamin and eventually Nathaniel); Kid Writing (Nathaniel)
Science - God's Design for Science from Answers in Genesis (Both boys)
Social Studies/History - Unit Studies based on holidays/interest; The Mystery of History, Vol. 1: Creation to Resurrection (Both boys)
Foreign Language - Hooked on Spanish (Both boys)
Keyboarding - Typing Instructor for Kids (Benjamin first, then Nathaniel)
Additionally, we LOVE field trips, and we will participate in a home school Art class and sports locally. Now that I type it all out, it sounds very ambitious, but I think it will be fun. I am definitely not going to be doing every subject every day, but with a nice menu of choices, I will have plenty to work with. Let me know what you think!!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Homeschooling Benjamin
We have been using Five in a Row materials which consist of reading a picture book for five days in a row, and doing all kinds of other curricular activities that piggyback off of the book. Additionally, we use Horizons math from Alpha and Omega, and Benjamin's Word of Life Quiet Time and memory verses for Bible. I throw in a lot of odds and ends from my years of teaching, too, so it is quite eclectic. This is the map we hung on the dining room wall to use of geography and also to map the settings of the stories that we read.
I have also been doing some little workbooks on basic skills with Nathaniel each day, as he never wants to be left out! He enjoys listening to our stories, too, and is gaining a lot by just being around when I work with Benjamin. Sophia usually occupies herself, but when she gets bored, she makes enough noise to let us know! All in all, it has been a good experience thus far. Benjamin is a little sponge right now, so when he gets interested in something we touch on, we can take the time to investigate it further. Last week it was electricity, and the week before was Paris, France. Who knows what it will be this week! That's the fun of homeschooling!!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
I'm Baaaack!
- The end of May Benjamin graduated from Kindergarten, and I finished my second year of teaching K5 at Blue Mountain Christian School.
- On June 9, Dave and I left for Taiwan to adopt our daughter, Sophia Elizabeth Chia-Lin Fisher! After almost three years of waiting and praying, we finally met our daughter and began a new chapter in her life and ours! (You can catch up on all those happenings at my other blog, Our Silk Road.)
- Since March, Dave had been commuting to Indiana for a new job. We were scheduled to move there the end of July in order for our older boys to begin school. Two weeks before our move, we found out that Dave's company changed their mind--we weren't moving after all! Time to unpack the boxes and resettle in our Jonestown home!
- Due to the impending move, we didn't really take any vacation time this summer as a family. Hopefully we will get around to that next year...I could use a vacation after this crazy year!
- The end of August brought Hurricane Irene and the beginning of the school year. This year Jonathan is a Junior at the Northern Lebanon High School and is studying carpentry at the Lebanon Career and Technology Center. Sabastian is in 8th grade at Blue Mountain Christian School and enjoying being back with his friends. Benjamin is being homeschooled by Yours Truly for 1st grade...we are having a blast! Nathaniel and Sophia, both 3 1/2 years old, are along for the ride. My days are full!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Back to School Monday!
Yep, that's me! Pray for us this year if you think of it. He did a great job today with remembering to call me "Mrs. Fisher" as much as possible around his classmates, and not trying to get my attention unduly. We'll see how it goes when the novelty wears off! Hope your back to school has gone well, whatever shape it takes in your household!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
We're Losing It Around Here!
I shed a few tears about it, too...not because it hurt him, but because this means my little boys is growing up! He starts kindergarten in a few short weeks (with yours truly as his teacher--pray for us!) and is really maturing in a lot of ways. I still have by baby, Nathaniel, but he's growing up way too fast, too! When Benjamin lost his tooth, Nathaniel wanted me to pull one of his out too...didn't want to miss out, I guess!
Benjamin was very surprised when his tooth under his pillow "turned into" four quarters...we don't make a big deal about the tooth fairy or anything, but we told him to just put it under his pillow to see what would happen. He was happy to put the money in his piggy bank and that was that!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
The Angels are Singing!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Winding Down
Tomorrow we will add a straw to our days of school count and be at 162...only 18 more days left, but actually a bit less for my class as we graduate a few days earlier. Hopefully I have taught them more then phonics and math...may they remember that God loves them and has a plan for their lives...like Joseph, Esther and King David. May our theme verse, which we have said for 162 days...resonate with them for a long time: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." (Colossians 3:23). Keep up the good work, K5--I'm proud of you!
Monday, May 3, 2010
May Musings
I think the older I get the more quickly time flies...and the more I realize that I really must seize the moment and use it wisely. There really is no time to waste. I was reminded on Sunday of God's faithfulness and immutability...in this world of constant flux and change, He never changes. He is my anchor as life swirls wildly around me. I am so thankful for the relationship I have with Him. Some day I will spend eternity basking in His glory and enjoying sweet worship and fellowship. And, I believe, time will finally stand still.
Oh glorious day!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
History Fair
My Kindergarten Class
Friday, April 2, 2010
Where...
- I held my Pampered Chef show and it went very well. Thank you to all who ordered to help bring Sophia home!
- I finished out a reading emphasis month at school with various weekly activities. I kind of spear-headed the whole thing, and was very pleased with how it went. And, my K5 class tied with the High School for the most participation, so they get a special lunch as a reward!
- I dealt with a sick hubby and sick kids and ended up sick myself. I'm trying to get rid of a very stubborn cold/sinus infection and am running on near empty every day...ugh!
- I had the girls from our Grantville Girls Bible Club over for homemade pizza and a movie. It was fun!
- I taught my grad class at LBC, worked my last few hours at The Children's Place (I'm now per diem) and of course taught K5.
- I went to DE to attend a Stamp Camp with my mom and had lots of fun being creative.
- I read a variety of books including Jana's Journal by Jeanette Windle. I really like her books, both for kids and adults!
I'm sure there are more things, but that's all my foggy brain can remember at this point. Suffice it to say, it's been busy around here! I'm glad for a mini Spring break this weekend, and time to meditate on Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on my behalf.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
When It Rains, It Pours!
Fast forward a bit and you have my youngest three kiddos playing on the school playground for literally 5 minutes while I finished up in my classroom and Nathaniel falls, hurting his leg. We spend the entire afternoon in the ER only to be sent home with the instructions to see a pedatric orthopedist in the morning because the x-rays are inconclusive as to whether the bone is fractured or not.
Fast forward again to today. We go to the orthopedist who again deems the x-rays to be inconclusive, but the physical examination shows that something is indeed wrong with his upper, inner leg, sort of in the groin/hip area. In order to not incur further damage by waiting unduly for an MRI or bone scan results, his recommendation is to put our little almost two year old in a full body cast to immobilize his pelvic area and allow whatever the problem is to heal. I guess when you have a very active little one, this is the best you can do for him. Of course, he will have to be anesthetized and taken into the OR in order to put on said cast. And of course, I am supposed to be at in service meetings the next three days and school starts on Monday.
But of course, God knows all of that and His plans can't be thwarted! And I thank God that my children are alive and well (unlike Job's children!), and this bump in the road will only make us stronger as a family and as individuals.
But we would covet your prayers! Thanks!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Summer Creativity
Mom and Sabastian exchange quizzical looks in the living room.
Notice the brown line weaving around the other colors? That is the "footprint" (tread) that WALL-E left when he roamed around the Axiom trying to find EVE. (Again, you must see the movie!)
We have made several trips to the library in the past week and a half. Jonathan, our 14 year old, has polished off two thick books already, and Sabastian, our 11 year old, is plowing through the Left Behind series for kids. Even I have gotten into the action...I've completed four novels for young adults thus far...maybe I'll post about them at a later date. In addition to books, our local library has a nice selection of jigsaw puzzles. Sabastian really enjoys putting puzzles together, so he also checked out a puzzle last week. He completed it last night. Here it is:
I'm looking forward to what other kind of creative fun my kids can find this summer...I'm especially excited that both Benjamin and Sabastian will be participating in Summer Art Camps at HATCH with my dear friend Beth. If you are in the Lancaster area, be sure to check out the schedule on her website...I know your kids will have fun and learn a lot!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Grand Opening: Hatch Studio and Gallery

Friday, February 13, 2009
Busy Week
There are several things on my mind tonight. I have committed to directing our church's Daily Vacation Bible School in July, and my mind is swirling with details related to that and our first committee meeting next Tuesday. I'm excited to possibly be using curriculum from Answers In Genesis...great stuff if you need a VBS curriculum. Check it out!
Please pray my two little nephews home from Haiti...my sister Stephanie is really praying that they will be home before June 24. You can read her post about that date here and I encourage you to also check out the rest of her blog if you haven't already. Haiti is such a random country when it comes to their adoption procedures; it is very different from what we are facing with Taiwan, and much more frustrating as a result.
Speaking of my sister Stephanie, today is her birthday. Happy Birthday, little sis! We love you lots and are so proud of you and all that you do for your family and the Lord. Keep up the great work! Hopefully Pedro treated you really well today!
Finally, we have had a bit of movement on our adoption proceedings this week. You can check out our updates at our adoption blog. Thanks for your continued prayers and thoughts!
Have a great weekend!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Another Busy Week!
I worked a lot this past weekend again, and my dear husband is nursing yet another cold, so hopefully the rest of us won't get it! Nathaniel is just getting over his second ear infection, which seem to be brought on by colds, so we don't want any more! I'm ready to spray down the whole house with bleach at this point! Tomorrow morning I'm hosting our play group at our house for the first time, so that ought to be interesting, too...another reason for no colds!
A busy week lies ahead for me, but I'm up for the challenge! Hope your week is fun and productive, whatever it has in store for you!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Working Weekend
Monday, August 4, 2008
Last Week in a (Sorta Big!) Nutshell
...we put on dinosaur masks and played "Dino Tag"...
...we stenciled dinosaurs onto t-shirts with sparkly fabric paint--too cool!...
...and we made dinosaur hats!...
Of course there are many hilarious stories to be told after working with this age group, but I won't get into all of that! Suffice it to say that it was very fun, yet extremely exhausting, and I was more glad than sad when the week was over!
Another happening last week was that our youngest son, Nathaniel, now 10 months old, finally figured out how to pull himself to standing pretty consistently. In fact, the toy box in our classroom served as a great stability object to do just that. Here he goes...
After the busy week of DVBS, I deposited the children with my hubby, and my mom and I went to Valley Forge on Saturday to attend the Creating Keepsakes Convention there. We had a blast shopping all the vendors and taking a few classes. When I totally complete the projects, I'll make sure and post photos...they are pretty neat if I do say so myself!
As icing on the cake, I received some pretty nifty stuff in the mail this past week. What a nice treat to come home to! Remember my post about Postcrossing, the site where you can send postcards to people around the world? Well I received two postcards this week, one from Indiana here in the US and one from Finland. I am really enjoying being a part of this site. Here are the postcards I received:
And last, but certainly not least, in today's mail I received a huge surprise treat from my good friend Beth at Red Yarn...Benjamin Bear (and other goodies!) made by my new friend Kathy at Lizzie Jane!
What sneaky gals, I must say! Ever since I saw Benjamin posted on Kathy's blog, I was enamored with him...and now he's residing at my house! Thanks, Beth, for being such a thoughtful and wonderful friend, and thanks, Kathy, for making such delightful creations!
Wow...I wonder what this week will hold! Whatever it holds for you, have a happy one!
