Taking a Break

Thanks for coming to check out Quinsmomma!  

I started this blog to have a neat scrapbook of all our homeschooling adventures and a way to share our life with family and friends.  It turned into so much more than that - it became a way to connect with other homeschooling families to share tips and resources, an outlet for many of my hobbies and interests like gardening, cooking, nature, and crafting, a way to try out free homeschooling supplies and curriculum and let others know about products and resources to help them in their homeschooling.  Unfortunately all that really added up in time and commitments.  Time that I would really like to spend doing all that cool stuff instead of writing about it.  So I've decided to take a bit of a blogging break.  I may be back soon and then feel silly for making such a big deal about my break. I just need a little time off.  In the meantime, please feel free to look around.

You can find some good resources about/for homeschooling HERE.

Great curriculum choices for preschool, more presschool, and fourth grade.

Homeschooling products we reviewed for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine are HERE.

And try poking around in the labels area on the side bar to see if anything interests you. 

Hope to be refreshed and back posting soon - until then - Enjoy!

 

A Visit With Santa

Do you take your kids to visit with Santa and get their picture taken?  We trekked to the mall yesterday for our annual photo with Santa.  This event is one of my favorites.  I think I might even enjoy it more than the kids.  We try to go during the day on a week day so we don't have to wait in line.  The kids get to tell Santa what they are wishing for and they get a reminder from Santa to behave, be nice to their siblings, and listen to Mommy and Daddy (at least that's what our Santa always says).  Then we go out to eat.

This year we got a classic picture:

used with permission

 

Weekly-Wrap-up: Runny Noses, Sore Throats, and Coughs

Wondering where we've been all week?  We have ALL been sick.  It started with Baby C, then next came Little M and me, then Ms. Q.  I really hate seeing my babies sick. We were scheduled to be off school this week anyway but I didn't plan on spending it in bed!  We had some trips planned and I had some planning to finish but that didn't happen.  We all snuggled in bed together and watched alot of movies.  We are all feeling a little better today, mostly just tired, so hopefully we'll be able to go pumpkin picking tomorrow as planned.  Fingers crossed!

Hope your week was better than ours.

Weekly Wrap-up: Rain and a Bathroom Redo

Rain, rain go away, come again another day!  I am starting to feel like such a complainer.  First the weather was too hot now it's too rainy!!  Some thunderstorms broke the heat wave of 100 degree weather we've been having but now it won't stop raining.  We've watched alot of movies on Netflix and we rented some Redbox movies this week too.  It's been nice to snuggle on the couch with the kids and relax though.

Little M enjoying a summer movie marathon

Between raindrops on Saturday and Sunday Little M learned to ride a "big boy bike" with training wheels.  He was really excited and ready to give his tricycle away to Baby C.  Ms. Q is back from zoo camp.  I was hoping to hear more about it but she seems to be starting her teenage attitude a little early.  It seems every question I ask is extremely annoying to her.  She had a great time though and wants to go again next year.

Thursday Ms. Q went to work with Daddy and the boys and I decided to redo the bathroom. Boy were they surprised when they got home!  I wish I had remembered to take some "before" pictures but I was so excited to start the project that it wasn't until I was halfway through that I thought about taking pictures.  Trust me when I say it was the saddest looking room in the house.

This is a picture of the linen closet in the bathroom.  It used to have wooden bi-fold doors but Little M broke one of the doors a few months ago and in the process did something to the rail it goes in.  Therefore we only had one door and it was driving me crazy!  I finally removed the other door.  Then I purchased a pretty shower curtain that matched the bathroom and used a tension shower curtain rod to cover the opening.

Here is an "after" picture of the vanity.  This also only had one door (are you seeing a pattern here?) from someone swinging on it and pulling the door, hinge and all, off the cabinet.  The drawer fronts were white laminate that over the years had bubbled from the steam and begun to peel off.  I painted the drawer fronts, removed the remaining cabinet door and created these covers from pillowcases.  I placed a wooden dowel inside each pillowcase so it would lay flat against the cabinet.  The flowers in the center are decoupaged.  I had a really great time fixing up this little space and the boys were surprisingly helpful.  I have my sights set on some more home improvements...

We are still on summer break next week and hoping for nicer weather!

 

International Homeless Animals' Day

The hosts of the No Ordinary Blog Hop are highlighting an important issue on the hop page this month that I would like to tell you about.  August 20th is International Homeless Animals' day.  All over the world animals are being abandoned.  The reasons vary of course as to why someone would no longer be able to or want to care for their pet.  However, the fact remains that through no fault of their own, many pets find themselves homeless, either left to fend for themselves on the streets or left in shelters.

This issue is something that is very near to my heart.  We adopted our dog Hooch from the Cumberland County SPCA  in 2006.  He was found by animal control wandering in the street and taken to the animal shelter.  No one came to claim him and after two weeks he was available for adoption.  We fell in love with him right away.  His coat was dry, his skin was flaky, his head looked enormous due to his underweight body, he passed gas like nobody's business, and wasn't quite house trained.  But he was perfect to us.  The SPCA conducted an assessment and thought that he would make an excellent pet for a family with young children.  He's been a wonderful addition to our family.  His skin and coat improved immensely after the stress of the shelter was over and he started a healthy diet.   We took him to obedience class and he's house trained now.  He put on about twenty five pounds.  He still passes gas like nobody's business but hey nobody's perfect.  I wonder all the time about the person who let such a great dog get away but I'm thankful that we found him.  I'm thankful for the Cumberland County SPCA and all the hard work they do.  We've started a new tradition in our family.  Every year for Hooch's gotcha day we make a donation to the Cumberland County SPCA.  I hope that it helps the other animals in the shelter find forever homes where they can be loved and taken care.

Here's Hooch and Ms. Q a few weeks after we adopted him

Here he is enjoying his first Christmas with us

This is Hooch today - a bit older and grayer :)

Enjoying an old man nap on the couch while we were camping

If you can, why not take the time to volunteer at your local animal shelter or make a donation.  A little can go a long way for an animal in need.

Weekly Wrap-up: Vacation and Recovery

Ahh vacation.  A time for relaxation and rejuvination.  Yeah right.  Maybe if we went without the children.  But then what fun would a family vacation be without the family?

We had a blast on our vacation this year.  We camped, we swam, we played, we went on tours, we ate, we ate, and we ate some more.  We (meaning I) also visited the laundry mat after Baby C's two days of diarrhea and vomiting and we (meaning Little M and I) visited the emergency room after a playground injury that required stitches.  Since our return earlier this week we have been just hanging around the house.  It's exhausting chasing after Little M and Baby C in unfamiliar territory.  Someone is always wandering off or touching something they shouldn't be.  I don't think I sat down for more than five minutes the entire trip!  Our vacation was great but it's nice to be home.

Here are some of the pictures we took on our summer vacation.

Sleepy Brothers

Before

After

Before

After

WHAT IS THIS??

Little M's big playground boo-boo (5 stitches!!)

Beach Water Slide (Ms. Q on the left)

Christmas in July

And of course no camping trip would be complete without S'mores

 

Weekly Wrap-up: Fun Times and Potty Training

We had a pretty relaxing week this week.  I think we were all recovering from another Birthday Weekend!  We really like birthdays around here.  This post is mostly going to be pictures because, well I like pictures alot too.  And who really wants to read about all the fun we had when they can see it in pictures?

Oh, and before I forget to brag, Little M decided this week he would like to use the potty.  He has a love hate relationship with his potty.  He loves to talk about it, sit on it, even carry it around the house.  But until this week he really hated to "go" in it.  He's asked a number of times to start using the potty but all previous attempts have ended in tears (sometimes his, sometimes mine).  This time it looks like it might stick!  We didn't have official school this week at all.  I really wanted this potty thing to work this time so he had my full attention any, and every, time he needed to go on the potty.  Fingers crossed!!

And now on with the fun:

We spent the weekend at the campground (we have a seasonal site in Cape May Courthouse NJ).  Saturday night was Wildwood Boardwalk Extraordinaire!

Rides

Rides

Momma's yearly dose of funnel cake

And more rides

Ms Q and Fred

Little M fell asleep amid all the noise and lights

Baby C did too

Sunday we went to Sunset Beach where you can hunt around the in sand for Cape May diamonds.  The water current brings alot of pebbles to this beach and polishes them up something sweet.

Next week we are back to the grindstone.  We are switching to our summer schedule with free time in the morning and school after lunch.  Ms. Q is really excited to start a unit on space for science and, as silly as it sounds, I can't wait for our field trip to the post office next week with our homeschool group.  Little M will not have any Tot School because after lunch is his nap time.  He will start Preschool in September.  I guess that's it for now.

 

What I Have Learned

We are finishing up our third year homeschooling.  Although I would not consider myself anywhere near an expert or even a veteran homeschooling parent, a recent post from a new homeschooling parent in our homeschooling group email list got me thinking about a few things I've learned over these last three years.  When we started homeschooling I didn't really know anything about homeschooling and I certainly didn't know anyone who actually did it.  You can read about why we made the choice to remove Ms. Q from public school HERE.  So we started our homeschooling adventure re-creating school at home.  I purchased the same books Ms. Q was using in school and we set up a pretty rigid schedule.  I spent alot of time and effort "teaching" Ms. Q and becoming frustrated that she was complaining about it the whole time.

The second year I read up on homeschooling methods and tried things a little differently.  I decided to try out Charlotte Mason's ideas.  I purchased curriculum for homeschoolers, followed a more relaxed schedule, and allowed some child directed learning.  We had much greater success.

This year we are still following our Charlotte Mason/Classical mix approach and have relaxed even more on the scheduling.  We've joined a really great group of other homeschoolers and enjoyed many learning and social opportunities we were missing.  I finally feel comfortable as a homeschooling parent.  I don't worry that Ms. Q might not be learning what her peers in traditional school are learning.  I don't worry that she's "behind in math,"  or doesn't know the rules of kickball.  I feel confident that she's becoming an independent learner, that she seeks out knowledge and will Google anything she wants to know about.  I know that a day at the beach or a trip to the grocery store can provide just as much opportunity for learning as a day of "book work" at home.  I now know what I was missing that first year - there is learning everywhere not just in books.  Homeschooling has become our way of life not just how we spend our weekday mornings.  My advice to that new homeschooling parent looking for help was to do some research on homeschooling methods and check the state laws.  Then take a deep breath and try to relax.  Enjoy the extra time with your children that homeschooling them gives you because they grow up in the blink of an eye.

Weekly Wrap-up: Birthdays and Camping

Phew...and we're back!!  This is my first blog post in almost two weeks!  I was having a bit of withdrawl.  I have a (sorta) good reason.  It was birthday weekend!!!  All three boys had their birthdays this past weekend so we decided to spend the weekend camping.  Baby C turned one on Friday, Little M turned three on Sunday and hubby turned thirty-something on Monday.

Here's alot of pictures to catch up:

Lets start with Saturday the 14th.  Ms. Q had a karate tournament.

Ms. Q doing her open hand form

Ms. Q in white sparring

She won first place in sparring (fighting), second place in forms, and second place in weapons.

Then Sunday Ms. Q and I went with the Girl Scouts to tour the Absecon Lighthouse.

Ms. Q at the top of the lighthouse

The view of Altantic City NJ

Monday we met with our homeschool group to pack supply kits for those in the south effected by tornados.  Then Ms. Q had karate.

Tuesday we ran errands to prepare for our camping trip. 

Wednesday Ms. Q had guitar lessons and Girl Scouts plus I ran even more errands to prepare for camping.  There was really a lot of planning and shopping that went into just a weekend.  I tried to explain to my husband that if we go for two days or two weeks I still have to pack the same things (just more of each item).  He didn't really understand.  But then again all he really did to prepare was to ask me if I remembered to pack his socks.

Thursday I had to take the boys for lead screenings and then it was off to our weekly playgroup.

Finally Friday arrived and Baby C's birthday!  We started the day at Barnes and Noble.  I joined the BN kids club so for each child's birthday they receive a coupon for a free cupcake or big cookie.  Our new tradition is to enjoy this snack and then the birthday child gets to pick out a new book!

Baby C with his Big Cookie

Little M and Ms. Q enjoying their snacks

Then we celebrated Baby C's big ONE!

Baby C's polka dot cupcakes

We left for the campground early Saturday morning.

Little M in the obstacle course

Baby C relaxing in the grass

A quick water balloon fight

We celebrated Fred's birthday on Sunday although his birthday was not until Monday.

Fun new shirts for his gift

We celebrated Little M's big number THREE on Sunday night.

Little M's lemon-lime cupcakes

Opening his gifts

We had a really great time.  We are supposed to have a full week of school this week but Monday morning we met our homeschool group for "sports day" and spent most of the day at the park playing kick ball and the rest of the day working in the garden.

We are having a difficult time getting back into the swing of things but we're working on it!