So, here I am.  It’s 2011.  I’m 36 and home educating my children.  To make things more interesting, I’m using a literature based curriculum that is very strong in…can you guess?  Yup, history.

There seems to have been a lot of press that curriculum publishers are rewriting history.  There is a lot of concern for “me” that what I teach is accurate.  That means the good, the bad and the ugly.  They are kids and they don’t need some of the graphic details, but some of the stuff I have read is pretty scary.  I read one web page the other day that promotes their whole purpose as eradicating the Holocaust from history.  They say it simply didn’t happen and they want it illegal to teach otherwise.  I mean, really??  It seems so absurd, but there it is.

While it’s not as serious as erasing the Holocaust from existence, this whole recent debate over changing the text in “Huckleberry Finn” to make it more politically correct, is just as bad.  Removing words that were very much a part of that time and culture, especially when that was HUGE aspect of what the book was teaching, is just as wrong.  You are rewriting the facts of that time.

The more we dive into history, the more I’m amazed at how much I love it.  It’s so much fun seeing the kids learn.  I have no doubt that they know more than I do sometimes.  I’m glad to see that they don’t stress over learning lists of dates and places and names (although we do work on those) and I’m very tickled to get to be there when Sean tries to say Montezuma and says Mozzarella…every time.

I’m thankful to the wonderful world of literature and curriculum companies, in my case – SONLIGHT, who put it all together for me.  I am even looking forward to all the years of history that we have ahead of us.  I should be pretty well versed in another 18 or so years. 

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,200 times in 2010. That’s about 13 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 125 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 320 posts. There were 468 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 142mb. That’s about 1 pictures per day.

The busiest day of the year was April 14th with 227 views. The most popular post that day was Joshua.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were networkedblogs.com, thehomeschoolchick.com, homesteadblogger.com, and healthfitnesstherapy.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for mom with 5 kids, cute babies girls, raised hands in worship, pineapple upside down cake recipe, and raised hands.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Joshua April 2010

Wordless Wednesday April 2010
4 comments

Christopher April 2010

Erin April 2010

Michaela April 2010

I was feeling a little bummed that I hadn’t kept up with things better this year.  Thanks to the helper monkeys for making me feel better.  LOL

My favorite Christmas hymn.  Gives me chills.  Enjoy!

Title:

Author: Anthony DeStefano

Illustrator: Mark Elliot

Product Description:  “I think I understand!” Little Star cried out. “The baby Jesus is a king! He’s just little!”

A king is about to be born! The stars in the heavens are competing to shine the brightest to celebrate his birth. But when they see the poor family, the donkey, the shabby stable, the stars all think, That can’t possibly be a king. We’ve been fooled.

All except one. The smallest, loneliest star in the sky, Little Star, is the only one to understand what the king was about to bring to the world. But what can Little Star do for him?

Certain to become a Christmas classic, this delightful tale connects the star atop our Christmas trees to the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, in the hearts and minds of young children.

During this Advent season, I have been trying to read more Christmas stories to the kids than we normally do.  Little Star is a great addition to that list for us.  My kids all sat and listened intently while I was reading and LOVED the illustrations.  The pictures of Mary and Joseph were beautiful.

We especially liked how the story is centered on Christ and teaches a valuable lesson to give all you have to God…no matter what anyone else says or how small you think your contribution might be.  The kids enjoyed the tie-in with the star on the top of the Christmas tree too.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

First – it was dinosaurs.

Then – he decided he had dinosaurs last year, so this year should be trains.

Oh wait – “I know, mommy!  Dinosaur Train!”

There was a brief stop on robots, but that was short-lived and he was back to trains again.

Ultimately, he did settle on trains.

Here he is with his cake.   There’s a tunnel on the icing on the side that’s facing him.  I had a fleeting moment where I thought about drawing a train on the cake…that didn’t last long.  Thomas became part of his present.

and here he is with his cake…and all his personality showing.

His love for dinosaurs does make looking for a gift easier.

He’s such a wonderful boy!   I am so blessed to be his mommy!

There  was an incident, however…just for a minute…

At the end of each birthday I try to get a picture of all the kids together.  This is one of my favorites.

Just to give a quick update. I’m now 12 weeks pregnant. I’m still having morning or noon or night sickness, but it’s manageable. I do have a bad day every now and then but for the most part it’s SO much better this time around. Pregnancy does tend to cause thyroid function to vary though, and since this is my first pregnancy since being diagnosed with hypothyroidism, we’ve been keeping an eye on that and adjusting my meds as needed. I’m sure that has added to those first trimester sleepy episodes…thus, the lacking in posts.

I do have some posts that I’ve been working on. We’ve had a couple more birthdays and I need to get those up. I hope to get a few other things posted as well. For the family and friends who check here often to see how we’re doing, thank you for your patience. It is appreciated.

More coming soon!!!
~Michele

Author: Unknown

Today I am thankful for a warm house that protects us from the weather.  We’ve had a couple of cold, rainy and VERY windy days and I laid in bed last night thinking about all the people who don’t have that luxury.  It might not be the house of my dreams, but it’s solid, warm and OURS.  Gotta love that…and be thankful for it.

But there’s one type of debt we’ll never be able to pay back—and that’s the debt we owe to the millions of veterans who have put their lives on the line for our freedom. From the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, more than one million veterans have sacrificed their lives to protect our country and what it stands for.

Thank you to all of our service men and women that have sacrificed and given so much for our great country.  Thank you to all of the families that support those service members as well.  Your dedication does not go unnoticed.

I am thankful today for the U.S. Marine Corp…especially thankful for my dad. 

Praying today for all the Marines and for a few specifically that are currently deployed.