A New School Year-the old school way

This summer has passed so quickly.  I haven't even posted to my blog!  I've tried, but had issues getting pictures to upload.  If I can't have a picture, I don't want to post.  :)  Anyway, tonight it worked.  Maybe I can play catch up in the near future.
Besides traveling a lot this summer, my mother has had serious health issues.  We've all been stressed and had extra running and things to do.  Last week I realized that I had not even planned our new school year.  Those who know me, know that I'm normally ahead of the game when it comes to planning and scheduling.  I started last week planning out which books we would use (we follow a Charlotte Mason approach with Ambleside Online).  Once the books were ordered-either online or from the library, I started thinking about a schedule.  Wouldn't you know it, our printer is acting up!  I've always, always, typed up and printed out our schedule. Not this year or at least not this term.  I was able to print one blank form and make copies-that's it!  Honestly I'm thankful that I could get that much out of the printer.  I set to work tonight writing out the schedule.  I have the first six weeks done.  That will have to do for now.  Who knows, I may stick with this old school approach.  I'm thankful just to have my girls at home and be able to homeschool them.  I'll gladly hand write the schedule.  Jeremiah 29:11

ATI Conference, Big Sandy, Texas

Just a month ago I had no idea about this conference. In fact, in all my years of homeschooling I've never been to a conference. Grace read about the ATI conference and shared the website with me. The more we read, the more we wanted to go.
Most people register for this in January. We were just finding out about it in April! It's amazing how when The Lord wants you to be somewhere, He makes everything fall in place. We got registered and even found a hotel that wasn't booked (around 2000 people come to this event). Upon arrival, I went to purchase meal tickets for all of us. As I was putting my change away, the next lady in line behind me asked to purchase meal tickets. She was told that they were no longer available! God again met our needs. You see, our hotel is 30 minutes away from the site. There are not any places close by where we could even purchase a meal. I don't know what we would have done for lunch and dinner if we couldn't have purchased those tickets.
I've been continually blessed by the messages spoken each day. Some of my favorite speakers were Tom Harmon and David Gibbs. Each day there was music and more. One day a family of 9 (their ages looked to be 5-maybe 19) recited the whole book of James. Not just a chapter, but the whole book! Talk about hiding His word in your heart! What great role models for my girls.
Everyone was so genuinely nice. Everyone-children and adults alike. They announced having a special luncheon for widows and single moms. They even had a mechanic working on the cars that belonged to these ladies.
I just can't help but believe that these are people that are not only reading their Bibles but are living out the Word. What a breath of fresh air in this tainted world of ours. I'm walking away from this conference with a renewed spirit and lots of things to work on in my life. I think it's safe to say that we'll be attended more of these conferences in the future.

Free Art Lessons

On my Saturday morning blog scan I stumbled across this fabulous site with free art lessons.  As a homeschool mom I'm always looking for ways to supplement our curriculum and ad fun.  This blog is full of fun...for free!

The perfect school day

Spring is arriving here in the deep south. The weather is mild, the flowers are blooming and we're spending much more time outside. That's what I love about home schooling.