10th Anniversary!

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, B and I had the opportunity to take a night away. We decided to visit a bed & breakfast in Hannibal, Missouri.

The Garth Woodside Mansion is a beautifully restored historic building from the 1880's that has been turned into a vacation getaway. The owners, John and Julie, are incredibly personable and seem to thoroughly enjoy their guests. The house itself is filled with all kinds of period mementos and the cabins are little islands of luxury for a private and peaceful retreat.

Currently a dinner special is included in the price of a stay at the mansion, so we were treated to a wonderful, complimentary meal. We enjoyed our night away and were so glad to have taken the trip to see a bit of historic America on the Mark Twain Riverboat and at one of Samuel Clemen's favorite respites, the mansion.

Breakfast was excellent as well!

Roman Aquaduct

Our school year has continued throughout the summer this year due to early summer travels, so the kids and I have continued with Tapestry of Grace in the final unit where we are currently learning about Ancient Rome.

At times I find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed with trying to accomplish all that I want to for the school day when the kids are ready to run outside and play with neighbors (who are out of school for the summer). So, to take a little more laid back approach to our schooling, I try to find ways to make hands-on activities less intensive. This lesson on Roman Aquaducts is a great example. I had all these grandiose ideas of the cardboard/plastic tubing aquaducts we could build, but then...reality hit. The mess, the time, the work (mostly done by Mama). It just wouldn't be worth it, so in lieu of the elaborate structure we could build we did the next best things- the Marble Maze.

As you can see in the image, we did assemble it in a linear fashion similar to an actual aquaduct, and indeed it did carry water from the bathtub spout to the red holding tank at the end. They boys thought it was great and proceeded to run marbles in their new waterslide before excitedly running outside to play with their friends.

Brand New Blogs

Do you ever look at all those blogs out there and wonder to yourself how everyone else has been blogging forever? Their blogs are beautiful, they have all kinds of widgets, post upon post of logical and wise information for us to glean from. Well, while I have had other blogs before this one, I am in the baby phase of starting on a new adventure in my homeschooling with this blog. I want to share (and to be heard) by other moms that feel the same way I do - mostly overwhelmed and trying to accomplish too much.

Now, I'm coming to find you. Are you a new blog author wanting to share your thoughts and ideas while still working out all the kinks? Are you a homeschooling mom looking to be heard and understood? I'd love to share in this journey with you. Add your site below and I'll come check it out.

Late Readers

I have had the opportunity to read a few of Raymond and Dorothy Moore's books, but by far the one that has had the most impact on me is Better Late Than Early. I first read this book a couple years ago before starting schooling on a regular basis with my children. I have heard that boys can be a little slower with reading in the beginning, and I feel I have prepared myself for this...then pressures begin to build.
My now 7 yo, Trapper, is displaying all the traditional signs of a later-to-learn reader. He knows the "rules" and is even able to read when he wants to, but getting him to read a cereal box is a challenge. Whenever I begin questioning myself on this subject I begin looking for those whom have walked this path ahead of me. God is gracious indeed!
Just minutes ago I came across this article by Annette MacKay. In the article she shares her own sons journey through a slow start in reading. While this is an older reference the material is still true today, and I look forward to taking it "slow & gentle".

Homeschool Blogging

I have attempted to start a blog before this about family and life, but abadoned ship as it was not working at that time. I continue to feel that I am learning so much that I would like to share, though, in my family's homeschooling journey, that I think I will try again. My hope is that this will be avenue to share some of the things I find and learn as I go with the hope that there may be some who will benefit from it. Praying the Lord leads in this new endeavor.