Taking time, to spend some time.

"You will notice we say "brother and sister" 'round here,
It's because we're a family and these are so near;
When one has a heartache, we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.
I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God."

This past week, the Lord offered some incredible opportunities to bond with both my immediate family as well as my church family, which was so encouraging and uplifting that it must be shared. At my home church, Community of the Word, I was able to host a DIY day (Do It Yourself) and asked that all the ladies of the church who were interested in joining to bring pieces of fabrics, cloth, and/or accessories that they weren't using anymore to take apart and put back together. My hope was to be able to show them what I do in my business and teach them some ways to recycle old, unused items into something new. At the same time I was very excited to be able to spend time with these sisters of mine and build our relationship through a fun and funky type of fellowship.

Armed with one sewing machine, a few different sewing kits, and quite a few enthusiastic participants the day was a success and I was able to show a little love to my sisters in Christ through an avenue of love and creativity the Lord has given to me. It was certainly an enjoyable way to "Pay it Forward".

I praise God for the opportunity to share a little bit of myself with these ladies and, more than that, get the chance to learn a little bit more about them. Seeing them express themselves creatively was an insight into how beautifully unique the Lord has made each and every one of us.

Lord willing, we will be able to do many more events like this at CW and of course at other churches. If anyone out there, oh lovely readers, is interested in having a DIY day hosted either at a church or at some other venue, let me know! I would be more than happy to see what I could do for you.

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But that, of course, wasn't the only blessing to come out of this week. One outing, on a more personal level, was a day out with my boys to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Homeschooling all three of our boys affords us the opportunity to make every special outing a learning experience. Like a field trip, but more inclusive since we get to learn right along with them.

Watching your children nteract with the world is an underrated and under-appreciated blessing in this world. Having three boys with very different personalities gives both Ray and I a glimpse into who they are and the kind of men they will become. The decision to have them home schooled continues to be reiterated to me as a good choice and I praise God for the blessing of patience, endurance, and the ability to see the things I may have never noticed if we had put them in school.

Their curiosity is something that I hope never fades. Their ability to stay engaged in the world and to learn from every experience that God allows them is my hope and prayer for their future. And more than that I hope that we continue to have the opportunity to be an active part of their education.






The world is changing and growing just as our boys are and I cherish these days when we can spend time together and grow stronger as a family. I will never get tired of these moments and I hope that I never lose sight of just how fleeting they really are.

Thank you, Lord for blessing me with the chance to strengthen the relationships in my family both biological and spiritual. You really are a God of providence who is more gracious than I deserve. Here's to many more weeks like this.

-Ciel

Picture Day at Vanguard Academy

Here's a short story of how we envision 2013-2014 will be like at Vanguard Homeschool Academy:

 A lot of reading!

 A lot of searching! 

 A lot of discussing! Literally!

 Some silliness!

 And of course, eating healthy food!

 More reading!

 Teaching E for excellence!

 A lot of contemplating!

 Geology & History!

 Just learning every minute of the day!

 Practice makes better!

 Showing and Sharing!

 Learning to sit back and enjoy the moment! 

 Studying together!

 Enjoying the couch together!

Then thank God Almighty at the end of a wonderful productive day! What a blessing it is to be a homeschooling family!

Back to School at Vanguard Homeschool Academy

I'm very excited to get back into the groove again. The summer vacation trips we made had the kids looking forward to what's next on our schedule. But telling them about hitting the books soon wasn't going to be too exciting for them to hear. Since we are an all year school calendar, everything counts for their learning! What a beauty homeschooling makes!

So first on my list was to get my scope and sequence from Abeka and write down what goals we are looking at for this coming year. This really helps as a guide for me as I look for sources and methods to teach and help them apply it in life.

Here are a few other things that helped me get me going.
- www.homeschoolfreebie.com, I've been following this website for a couple of years now. Every week they send me a new list of free resources to use. I totally recommend it. And it's free to subscribe!

-www.educationworld.com, this website is recommended by Homeschool Freebie of the Day. The 5 minute lesson plans is a great list of suggestions! I actually followed one plan to teach spelling. Made a little tweak to it. Instead of drawing the alphabets on a fabric or a shower curtain, I used our school closet door and made the alphabets out of contact paper. It was quick and easy. The boys helped stick the letters. They enjoyed it!

So as I prepare for this year's lessons, I also try to find ways to get them ready by getting them involved.

Happy Back to School!

A Summer's Adventure

I wouldn't have thought a summer could be so busy as we had it. That's not a complaint it's a great feeling of appreciation. It's been a blessing to have had this experience with my family. First a trip to New York with my one and only loving hubby, while my kids had their trip to Palm Springs with their grandparents (my on laws). And then off to a trip to Yosemite with my loving family. If there's anything these trips have brought to me is the thought that God's glory is so revealed and yet so rejected by many.

What a beautiful sight of the awesome city scrapers of New York that was built so many years ago and still standing so grand.  Then a sight of the Sequioa, Mariposa, Red Wood and Pine trees, and probably other trees I have yet to find out standing so high and mighty. As we drive through these trees and be surrounded by it gives such a peaceful feeling. Then be in awe after an attempt to climb the boulders of Bridal Veil falls with my two boys. Then get cooled off as we swam at the cold streams of Cathedral Beach after a hot sunny hike. And in the end of the day be speechless as you stare at the view of  Half Dome from our favorite site, Glacier Point.

But in the end I must give praise to the One who made it all work out.

Colossians 1:16 "For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible..."

Random Picture

This was taken by my son, Ezekiel, on our way to music school. We thought it was really awesome to see the clouds so low and the mountains so tall. Praise God for camera phones!

To be Healthy or not to be Healthy

I'm such a late bloomer. All along I thought I was being healthy enough in my own ways. Here I am thinking I'm smart enough to know what's best and what's not. Little did I know that I really wasn't. It takes constant knowing, by constant reading, by learning from others, or by experiencing it the hard way. I find it that life will be a never ending learning. Which I now appreciate and agree with that statement, before I would think it be dreading. I enjoy learning now, oh how I wish I had the same enjoyment back in grade school. Well, as the saying goes "better late than never". So, what am I jabbering about at the peak of a new year?  Why did I title my post the way I did? Maybe because I just want to tell everyone that I have been liberated to a healthy way. Now I agree that what we breath and take in is serious. With all the technology out there we seem to think it's all trustworthy. I guess what I'm trying to share is that through the past months I've been learning about what is healthy and what is not and announce that I've become an agreeable GREEN! Greener than before, I guess you can say. Happy New Year to the world of blogging!

Creativity at work!

Sometimes they just need that break and let their creativity inside run like crazy with the camera. This photo was taken by my eldest son, Ez 9yo, who built this little village of logs and added his toy soldiers to create a war zone. Who would have thought of that a war zone can exist on Mommy's wood floors but my own sons! They even took a video and made a movie out of it.

Wordless Wednesday - Guess what it is!

 I love taking random pictures for color and texture. Can you guess what it is? We were at a antique train museum called, Travel Town. These pictures are part of the old red caboose that I took with my iPhone 3G.

Memories families make together is worth keeping

I can't believe that it was a year ago that we found over the internet a free concert that an orchestra was going to play for the children in the community near by ours. It was a free event that they set for children to come and watch. I remember it was a fun day to take the boys. What better way to remember this day to see our boys now taking music lessons of an instrument of their choice from a music school that is just right for them, Claremont School of Music. How time flies. This is one of the best memories I hope to keep retelling. 

Freebee Homeschool Resources

I find it really helpful to find resources online to help me teach certain academic subjects to my kids. So here is a little something that I want to share. The online wealth of free resources for homeschoolers or any parent who is always on an outlook to helping their children excel.

 

This dictionary was introduce to me awhile ago by a friend of mine who was a mother of three. She homeschooled all three. Now with one college graduate with a nursing degree, with the second child getting a doctorate in Physical Therapy, and with the last child in the process of finishing college. I write about her because she would be the most influential mom to me. She encourage me about everything from being a godly wife & mom to creating a God directed homeschool environment for my children. And this is one of the resources I've come to enjoy. I don't have to dictionary on hand, but I'm so glad that it's freely available on the internet. I'm really impressed with this dictionary. I never thought how important it is to own the right dictionary. This one is worth owning, but because I'm financially ready to purchase, I'm just glad I can still use the benefit through the internet. And I'm sure you will also. Click on the image or here to go to the website itself.

"On a Tight Budget" Series part 2

I just want to quickly share on this series is a link: http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghbgrd1.html#

I was searching on google for a grammar curriculum or a help resource how to teach grammar. This link was one of few that had  a free downloadable exercises. It is very easy to read and straight forward. It gives a good direction of what the students will go through. The website categorizes each level by grade. Thought it isn't a Christian base curriculum, but it still teaches the basics of grammar. As long as  my kids get the hang of good grammar, I know we can use other Christian resources to add to this helpful sight. If you are family who is on a tight budget like us, I recommend checking it. It's totally free. And you don't need to give any email or other personal information on the website.

Journey to Homeschooling: Week 7

The days are just so fast I can't catch up. From days to weeks definitely homeschooling keeps you busy and productive. Though busy we do find ways to make it relax for the whole family. And that's one thing I like about it. So this week on a Thursday night we hung outside of our front lawn. And a couple of our neighbors came out and chatted with us. While my husband was talking to one of them I had the kids do some night exploring.  Actually, my eldest one have been itching to do this. So finally he and his brothers got experience it. They brought out their flashlights, headlight and anything that they can use to explore. As they walked around the area they came to a corner and found a black widow spider. This was an awesome experience for them. They were very proud to find it they had to show it to their dad. They wouldn't go back in the house without sharing it. I gave them paper and pencil to draw it. And I just let them do what they wanted to do with it. It was really interesting to see how they were wide eyed about this particular spider. I really enjoyed watching explore.  I know the pictures aren't so clear, but I was really just trying to capture the moments. They just moved too quick for me.

"On a Tight Budget" Series

As homeschoolers, I'm pretty sure many of us are one income family.  As we also are in the same boat, that's why I'm always on a hunt for bargain and reliable ideas on saving money. So I would like to dedicate this series on such ideas that I find and also apply in life. For my very first one, I was once again browsing through a website for other homeschool resources online. And this came about and free book about ways to save money on homeschooling. Which by the way, I believe is worth downloading. It is free! (Download link: www.successful-homeschooling.com/101-ways-to-save.html )
And reading through it, I just had to share one of the first idea I came across to and mention it.

"3. Identify Needs and Wants
Take a look at your list of books, materials and supplies and decide which items are needs and which items are wants. For example, you may want an expensive vocabulary program when all you really need is a dictionary. You may want a complete home library when all you really need is a library card. Spend money on your needs first. Then, use remaining funds on your wants, in order of importance." (Free copy of 101-ways-to-save money on Homeschooling by Carletta Sanders)

This idea is nothing new to me. I have been thinking about it, but it is hard to apply at many times. Needs and wants are totally two different things and I know I need discernment as I step in to the stores I go to to keep up with our materials at home. And many times I get tempted to think that good deals are needs when they might be just wants.

Journey to Homeschooling: Day 13

So Day 11 was a bust for me, and so it seemed. But in the midst of it all blessings were out pouring, and that's no doubt. On day 12 I resolved to avoid such kind of day. I figured maybe I was trying too hard to make it my day instead of their day and letting things be. So I resolved to remind myself,

"do all things without grumbling and dispute" Philippians 2:14

For some odd time of the night I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I went to my mac and did some online search of a website that was given to me awhile ago and forgotten what it was about. I finally found it again and learned that it was going to be helpful for me personally. Let's just say it inspired me once again.

It is a christian base homeschool resource website called, Heart of Wisdom. What I found for myself is that their  history and science curriculum is central to the Word of God. And for my family that has been our definite direction. It has free download resources. They have prepared lesson plans available for download from K-12. In this website I have found a way to get the kids into new way of learning.  Making "lapbooks". This type of learning got my kids involved in reviewing what they have been doing as our bible devotion and also as a part of our Ancient history study. Which is really biblical times. So having to explore this new website it enlightened me and inspire me to do something new with the boys. I highly recommend it for families who desire to be bible directed in their studies. I'm very happy and thankful for this website.

And so today, as Day 13, we took the time to piece things together from our study in the book of Genesis in a lapbook. Thanks to Heart of Wisdom for providing the pieces!

Homemade Crispy Fish Sandwich

Lately it's been a little challenging to cook fresh lunch for my kids. And serving left overs from the night before is sometimes not too appealing. Especially when we get busy with the day sometimes it really gets hard for me to squeeze in the time to prepare hot lunch. And  so, whenever I get into this mood, I still like serving them something that is healthy and I know that is good for them. I like to pop some square shaped fish sticks in the toaster oven! And I though it would good to share how much I have enjoyed preparing this new sandwich trend that I've started in my home. Square shape fish sticks! The boys love it with rice, but because of their square shaped it is easy to make a sandwhich out of it. So I have concucted my very own homemade deluxe fish sandwich! And I think it beats going to McDonalds for fish sandwich!

The bread I used is a deli style burger bun. Added cheese, tomatoe and lettuce, and spread some mayo and horseradish mustard. It was deliciously good!

Preparing the fish sticks is very convenient for me, because the first half of our day gets pretty busy the toaster oven becomes my best friend in the kitchen. So while I continue with the kids' studiesthe fishes are toasting.

Maybe you're wondering where I buy them, Costco is the place.  The whole bag cost less than $8 for a count of 12 (I think its a good deal, especially for the size). The type of fish is cod. And the quality is really good!