OK I’ve been meaning to write this little story but we’ve been so busy lately and still battleling colds and allergies and sleepless nights. C’est La Vie!

Recently Natalie completed the first series of lessons in her science module which cover earth science topics such as weather maps, thunderstorms and water cycle. I sat down with her to do the one about the water cycle. It is refreshing to see that even I can learn a thing or two. I mean most of this stuff we know but when you hear it put into words for a child her age it just seems so simple and easy to understand. At the end of the lessons I showed her how we (adults) know the daily temperature and what the weather will be on a given day by going on the weather channel and online at weather.com. and things really clicked for her when I explained the different colors they use to represent rain or snow, etc. Later that day when her dad came home she wanted to show him what she learned so she told him to put on the Weather Channel so she could tell him what the weather would be tonight and tomorrow. He was pretty impressed at how much she retained. We don’t get excited about watching the weather channel but it was exciting to see her trying to read the weather on the map on TV.

We had some rain since that lesson took place and Natalie sat by the window and explained to me that the water will “evaporate into the air and then it will rain again when the clouds get all filled up.” Yes, we all sing praises to T4L and it is well deserved. As parents we try to take advantage of every opportunity to teach our kids lessons that are best learned hands on, but honestly, it can be difficult sometimes. However, when they have an incentive to ask and we (parents) have a little feedback to help us answer questions at their level it is a lot easier to reinforce what they learn and we learn right along with them.

Everyone once in a while Natalie will say “see mom, even you learn on time4learning.” She’s right.

Once again, Natalie just amazes me.  I can’t say it enough, I wish I had T4L when Emily was just learning to read, 8 years ago.  Anyway, Natalie is reading on her own now.  This week she went through about 10 small lessons mostly in the Language Arts curriculum for 1st grade and then a few others in the Language Arts Extention for 1st grade.  In these lessons there are sections where the story is read to her, then it asks her to identify different words and finally it makes her read the story back as each word is highlighted with a click of the mouse.  She did great and really enjoyed reading the stories.  As hard as it is at night (because I’m usually very sleepy) I let her read to me or we share the story.  She also reads to her dad when he’s working in the garage.

I am proud of her progress and her dedication to keep learning and to even go on T4L after being in school all day.  She doesn’t go on everyday, usually on Wednesday because she has a half day and Friday’s because she goes to bed a little later than usual.  The other days are optional.  She also goes one if she is reviewing something in particular that she may be struggling with. We just find one of the lessons to help her through that and so far we’ve been able to find something on T4L to match what they have been doing in class.

We are over our colds, still holding on to a little sinus or allergy issues but otherwise everyone is feeling pretty good and looking forward to our family vacation over the holidays.

Everyone, have safe and healthy week.

Terie

AAHHHH  the last several weeks have been insane!!!  I am sure that I am not the only one….

As if the holiday season is not busy enough I have been chosen for Jury Duty for the month of December.  We have to meet several times a week, and I have not been chosen yet….  we will see…  I am nervous but I know that the Lord will not give me more than I can handle. 

The blessing is that I know that the kids school will be taken care of thanks to T4L, they can log on at grandma’s.The cool thing also is that I was able to tell another lady on Jury duty about T4L.  Her daughter was struggling in public school and she was looking into after school help, maybe this will be the answer for her…I know we have been blessed. 

I hope that all of your holiday preparations are going well.  We are going to try and make a Jesse tree next week….around Jury Duty, Play dress rehearsals, choir and Lego club…..  I will post pictures when we are done.

Hello everyone,

Welcome back to class.  It sure has been a season of colds and stomach bugs, sleepless nights and exhausting days, visits with the doctors—WOW!  I really feel like “super mom.”

Anyway, that’s all done now and we are ready to catch up and get back in gear.  Natalie is looking forward to doing her work online starting today.  She actually told me that she missed not going on her “homework page on t4l”–I guess she can’t get enough.

The one thing I have to say to everyone here is that it is amazing to me how quickly Natalie is learning to read.  I am just amazed and proud to see how well she progressing through letter sounds and words and her ability to read her books to me instead, although I have to admit that she wants to read to me at night and that usually means I fall asleep before she does.

I know that the time she spends on time4learning has been a tremendous help in her learning.  I now I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again, I’m so glad I found this program.

Terie

Hello Everyone,

Well it’s been a while since I felt this crummy, along with my kids. Usually I’m the last one to get the cold. First Natalie, then the baby and finally me. My older children have a perpetual sinus cold through the winter months which I think keeps things at bay for them. Fortunately there is one adult in the house who has not been sick so we still have someone in the right state of mind around here. The good thing is that the baby and Natalie are recovering so that means that this wont go on too long.

We did a couple of lessons on Wednesday and then took the rest of the week off to just enjoy family. It’s been a fun week, despite the cold, sinus pressures and headaches that come with it. I hope everyone is recovering as well in your homes.

By the way, I visited the website about the mayflower history and I really enjoyed the details about the passengers. It’s like taking a ride through history. My older kids will enjoy reading bout it as well. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Until next time, stay safe and continue to enjoy the season of giving thanks.

Terie