Careers- Health Care

The nurses weigh the newborn babies to make sure they are gaining weight

Above, Nurse Jaden gets ready for her day in the nursery.  Below, Nurse Morgan arrives at work and heads to the sink to wash her hands.

Above, Nurse Morgan makes sure the X-Ray machine is in working order

EMTs Jaden and Morgan head to an emergeny in their ambulance

Museums are always fun for us.  This museum was no different- so much to see and do! 

Jaden and Morgan LOVE the sections of the museum that offer a look into real life (i.e. mini grocery store, hospital, etc)  Of course, if they have dolls in the exhibit, that is even more exciting!

Jaden and Morgan took care of the babies in the hospital nursery, gave them baths, weighed them, gave them X-Rays, and made sure they were healthy. 

Then, they got into the ambulance to help an injured person far far away.

Cotton- "The Fabric of Our Lives"

Above, Morgan inspects the raw cotton.

speaking of a bale, the above billboard is self-explanatory.  Below, is what one bale of cotton looks like.

Learning around every turn!  This Cotton display was part of the FW Stock Show.  Lots of interesting facts about how cotton is used.  I love hands-on displays like this one- it was cool to see the actual bale of cotton and feel the boles. 

Cowgirl Museum

Check out this studded saddle!  Talk about fancy!  Below is a old-fashioned stage coach.

Jaden and Morgan riding the bucking bronco.  There was a video recorder that recorded their ride and then played it back with a little twist- They actually appeared to be riding in a real rodeo on a real horse!

Old time jukebox with headphones!

Check out this t.v.!

We had lots of fun learning about cowgirls!  We went to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.  Admission to the Cowgirl museum was free with the stock show ticket purchase! 

The Borrowers

The Secret World of Arrietty comes out at the movie theater tomorrow.  In case you haven't heard about it, it is based on the classic book by Mary Norton called "The Borrowers". 

If you have never read this book to your children, now is the time to dive on in!  It is a cute tale about a family of "borrowers" that live in a "borrowed" house and "borrow" things from the regular-sized house occupants.  If you have ever wondered why you can not find the missing match to a sock or something else that you know you laid right where you could get to it... This may explain it all!!

There is actually a whole series of "The Borrowers" books.  We are planning to read them all, but so far we have read the first one pictured above.  The girls loved the story!

Now, we will be headed to the movie theater to see the story on the big screen!  I can't wait!!  Stay tuned for our feedback after the show!

The Secret World of Arrietty Trailer

2 Sisters Soap Shop

As part of the extras that the girls can do in Girl Scouts, I have helped them set up a business.  It is part of the money management extras. 

For this assignment, they had to calculate how much the supplies would cost, calculate how to price the items, and figure out profit.  It gets even more involved a little later. 

I love that these projects help prepare them for life!  They are learning so many invaluable lessons!

They decided to make laundry soap, since they saw me make some and it looked like fun.  They took bars of organic soap and grated them to a powder.  Then, they added equal parts washing soda and borax.  The soap turned out perfect! 

The hardest part is yet to come: Marketing and Sells!

Awana- Sky Stormer

Jaden has been working hard at AWANA,  She completed her entire 1st level book (Hang Glider) in just 4 months!!!  Each level book is made to last 1 year, so 4 months is amazing!! 

In January, she began her 2nd level book (Sky Stormer).  She plans to finish it this month!  The only things she has left to do are recite the books of the Old Testament, and recite 5 more verses by memory.  Then, she will do her review of the same level book and will move on to her 3rd level book!! 

She wants to finish all 3 books this year.  It is not such a far-fetched dream!  She will have completed the 2nd level book within 2 months, so I don't see why she can't finish the 3rd and final book by May. 

A superstar!!!

Girl Scouts' 100th Anniversary Event: Part 1- Fire Building

At the 100th Anniversary Event of Girl Scouts, there were a lot of fun stations for the girls.  There were a total of 10 stations, and they rotated through every 15 minutes. 

This event was fire building.  The girls learned how to make an a-frame fire and a log cabin (square) fire.  They learned about kindling, among other things.  Do not use green limbs because they will not burn well.  You must find wood that is already dead (not on the tree). 

The last thing they did before they left this station was to light a match.  Very scary, as each girl was able to try to light the match all by themselves.  Luckily for all involved, it all went well =)  Jaden and Morgan both lit their matches like experts and quickly threw the lit matches in to the bucket of water.  Way to go!!

Girl Scouts Uniforms

Here are the girls wearing their Girl Scout uniforms for the first time.  On the front, each girl has the American Flag and the patch for our region- NorthEast Texas.  All of the rest of the patches are ones they have earned.  The patches for their Girl Scout curriculum are on the front of the uniform and the fun patches are on the back. 

Jaden has done all of the items needed for her Wonders of Water patch set, so she has 4 patches on the front of her uniform for that. 

Morgan has done 7 sections of her Daisy curriculum to earn the center piece and 6 petals for her Daisy flower.

On the back, both girls have several patches they earned from wood-working at Lowes.  Plus, they have pins that they earned from building things at Home Depot.  They earned 11 patches yesterday, but I have not added those to their uniform yet.  More fun patches will be earned by both girls as the year progresses.  Fun patches can be earned at Girl Scout events or by doing extra things that are not a part of the Girl Scouts' program. 

Girl Scout Brownie: Painter Badge

Painter Badge for Brownies requires you first get to know famous artists and their work.  I have compiled 5 artists whose work your daughter can study.  She can find the answers to the questions asked on these web-sites. 
Salvador Dali's Work
Diego Rivera's Work
Claude Monet's Work
Vincent Van Gogh's Work
Camille Pissarro's Work

Your Brownie will still have a lot of work to do.  After studying these paintings and painters, she will become a painter as well.  Make sure she has all of the paints and paper she needs, as well as an old shirt to cover her clothes.  Then, let the artist in her show its face!!

Memory Books @ Michaels

If you have a Michaels Craft Store near you, you may want to get over there for some of their events.  They have events for children and adults.  They can give you lots of great ideas.  I love it there!  My girls do, too!!  Today we had the pleasure of attending on of the events for kids.  Jaden and Morgan got to make memory books out of paper bags.  Not only was it a fun event, but it gave us a great idea for more books!!  It was so easy.  The girls made some beautiful books, as you can see.  They are going to use them to put in their photos of the Girl Scouts 100th Anniversary Event they are going to tomorrow. 

They did these with small craft bags, but the bag possibilities are endless!  Imagine using the grocery size bags and making books.  Those would be great for trip memories. 

I wish I had the step by step instructions for you, but I couldn't find a link on the Michaels site.  I will have to find it later and add it.  =)

Don't take my bone!!

Jaden and Morgan decided to try to take Chica's bone from her.  That led to a bunch of cute growling =)

Meet Chica Chula

This is our 5 1/2 month old puppy named Chica (pronounced cheeka, for those who are not Spanish speaking).  She is a long-haired chihuahua.  As you can see by her photo, she fits perfectly into the girls' doll dresses!!  She is only 3 1/2 pounds.  She was the runt of the litter, so she will probably stay small.  She has not grown much at all since we got her 4 months ago!  Her hair is just now starting to grow out, so she should look totally different in another 6 months.  She has brought a lot of love and joy to our house so far.  Even LeCount is warming up to her!

Girl Scouts Brownie: Wonders of Water Part 1

Jaden is a Brownie Girl Scout. Brownies are grade 2 and 3 girls. The Brownie series, is a great addition to a girl's learning. It allows girls to grow and develop new skills and spend time with girls their age.  You can follow this blog as Jaden learns through the Brownie program.  I am hoping this will provide you with ideas on how to help your girls earn their badges. 

Above is the book that I am referring to in this post.  In Part 1 of the book, the girls learn about the way water gets to their homes, and how it leaves.  It is an effort to teach them conservation as well.  Jaden and I went through the chapter page by page.  Then, she drew a picture of how the water gets to the house, and how the it gets to the sewer.  She brainstormed on how she can save water at home as well. 

And, this is what I LOVE about homeschooling- I learn something new everyday as well! 

At the end of the chapter, we watched these informative videos on the San Francisco Sewage System:

Sewer Part 1

Sewer Part 2

In the back of the WOW book, there are the last things the girls must do to earn the badge.  For this one, the girls should think of and write down their 2 favorite things about water and make a water promise.  Once that is complete, you can hand your girls their part 1 water badge!

I hope this post helps you and your Brownie on your Girl Scout journey!

Girl Scouts

Did you know that Girl Scouts has a home school program? Well, if not, here is some big news: They do!! It is called the Juliette program. The pluses for this program are:

1. The girls can go at their own pace

2. You do not have to fit an extra activity into your weekly calendar

3. You can purchase the GS items as you have the money to, or need to.

4. The Juliette girls are still part of district, and can attend any of the girl scout events!

The cost is hardly anything- $12 per person! However, as a parent teaching your girl scout on your own, you will need to pay $12 for yourself as a leader. That is a total of $24. Not bad!

As the leader, you are required to follow a few steps:

1. Register and become a member as a troop leader

2. Sign up for event e-mails, so that you will be notified by your district as events are available

3. Do a background check via the link the district leader provides you- This will allow you to be with your daughter at events as her leader

4. Attend online training to become informed and be the best leader you can be

Now, that's it!  Time to move on to getting started in the program.

Every district has a store where you can purchase all of the items you need.  If you can not, or do not want to go to the Girl Scout store, you can purchase most of the items online. 

The Juliette program is flexible, since your girls can start with whichever books and earn whichever badges they choose.  You, also, do not need to purchase the uniforms right away.  This is perfect for us because money is limited at this time. 

Go at the pace you and your girls wish to go, and enjoy the program! 

My Baby is 5!!

Morgan turned 5 on Sunday!  It is surreal to me that she can be so big!!  Where does the time go?! 
I am glad that she is officially 5, since I have had a hard time convincing folks that she is smarter than her age.  She has been doing 1st and 2nd grade work at home, so at least it won't seem so far fetched now!  The adults that do not homeschool don't understand when I say she is not in preschool... she can't even be in kindergarten at a public school at age 4, so how could she be in 1st grade at 4?!
At church, she is with the kindergartners, so that she can be with kids her own age.  Now, she is finally 5 like the rest of them =)
We celebrated her big day at home with Justin Beiber cupcakes and cake.  She was excited to get a beauty set of things: hair dryer, flat iron, brush, hair spray, and curling iron.  All pretend, of course, but they are real to her =) 

My Unsocialized HomeSchoolers

(Morgan falls asleep reading her book)

It always amazes me to hear people's comments when they hear that my girls are home schooled.  It is a 50-50 reaction.  Some people agree and some disagree with homeschooling. 

Those opposed to homeschooling, usually site the social aspect of staying at home.  My children will become freaks of nature- not able to communicate with people outside of their family- is usually what they say. 

I have had people so adamant that I am wrong tell me stories of children they know who were home schooled and turned into quiet children.  They are so sure that if the children don't go to a school building, they will not develop skills to socialize.  Maybe they will turn into hermits!  Like the lepers of Jesus' time, they will live separate from society, never to see or talk to anyone! 

I tell you, they must not know my children!  If you meet either of my girls, you would never look at them and think those things.  They are faced with more activities than many children their age.  We have a calendar full of them! 

I am making this post for the people who are bent on thinking home schoolers are unsocialized.  Follow my blog, and watch all of the fun we have!  In addition, you will learn some things about what you can do with your own children.  Children are meant to be cherished!  They are only little for so long! 

Service Project #2

The 2nd service project for Jaden's GEMS club is today!  They are decorating boxes for the local food pantry.  The boxes will be filled with food to fill hungry bellies for the holidays.  We filled 2 boxes with food as our contribution.  It included veggies, gravy, jello-o, rice, beans, etc. 

In a couple of hours we will be headed to the GEMS meeting where the girls will decorate and fill boxes.  How fun is that?!

Service Project #1

The girls did their first service project of the school year at the beginning of September.  They visited the seniors at an assisted living center.  They sang songs for them, and then, they passed out cake and juice to everyone.  They had, also, made handmade birthday cards for all of the seniors in the center that were born in September.  What a great experience!

Class #8: Religion

For religion, many of the school books we have center around God as the creator and give value to He who deserves the credit for creating our amazing bodies, lives, universe, etc.  This is something that can not be taught in the public school system.

Jaden is reading some first readers about bible stories.  Dennis Jones has a series of books that offer great illustrations and simple words for each story.  Jaden read "Who will Help?" last night.  This is a book about the good samaritan.  Such an awesome story, and I love that it is made in a way that she can read it and understand it all on her own.  Mary Manz Simon and Dennis Jones are paired up on several of the books. 

In addition, the girls are now in 2 God-centered programs.  One of the programs meets every other week, and the other one meets every week.  Each program teaches about God, the Bible, service, self-worth, and those kinds of values.  They do service projects as well.  Today, they are going to a nursing home to deliver hand-made cards and a cake and to sing for the elderly men and women's birthdays. 

Class #12: Writing

The girls have been doing writing that is included with their reading exercises in Abeka.  I, also, give them printed off sheets from the internet for extra practice.  Their formal writing practice comes from Rod and Staff.  These workbooks are great because they give lots of practice and are a good price!  Morgan is doing the writing book for Grade 1 and Jaden is doing the one for Grade 2.  Jaden is now officially starting to learn cursive.