Suzie's Bear Encounter

Suzie has been really lucky all summer with not getting attacked by the bears. She's been having a ball barking like crazy and chasing them off. Well, today she wasn't so lucky. This bear fought back and Suzie got a little too close. Now she has a gaping slash above her eye. This picture was taken after I cleaned it all up, put antibiotic ointment on it and super-glued it back together. It was pretty big before that. Poor thing. Too bad the nearest Vet is like 4 hours away. Hopefully I got it cleaned out good enough and her body's able to handle the rest.

She was such a good patient. She didn't fuss or jerk away from me the whole time. She just looked at me with those big brown eyes and trusted me to take care of it. It was really sweet. She's resting at my feet now and getting lots of loves from the girls.

I thought for sure I was going to have to send Alexis outside while I took care of the wound. She got pretty hysterical about the whole thing and was just sure Suzie was going to whine. She told me she couldn't listen if Suzie started to whine. She had worked herself up into an absolute frenzy before I had even started. I sent her to her bed and she covered her ears. I was finished with the whole thing before she even realized I had started. I wonder what those emotions are going to be like when she's a teenager. Yikes.

Bike Riding

Kaitlyn says, "Take a picture of me for Grandma. She can see me on my bike." As if Grandma had never seen her on her bike before. Kids are so funny :)

Yesterday was the first day in almost two weeks that is wasn't raining. We escaped our travel trailer and took a much-needed bike ride around Hyder. Besides the fact that it was really cold, and we ended up pulling our hands into our sleeves while we rode, it was a pleasant ride. We visited a few friends and stopped to take a picture of one of our favorite houses here in Hyder.

We love the way this looks. How cute is that hen house? Don't mess with the rooster though. He's pretty scary looking.....no, seriously.

We're all getting really excited at the thought of going home soon. Anthony's job is wrapping up here and should be done by the end of the month. And, I've officially caught the end-of-seasonitis. At least, that's what the guys here call it :). Hyder's gorgeous and the people are great, but I definitely miss home (and it's getting way too cold).

Our Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2012-2013

Part of the Cornerstone Confessions Titus 2 Tuesday Linky Party
and the Parent 'Hood link up.

This post may seem a little past due, but for us year-round homeschoolers, it's right on schedule. The way we do our schooling is we take each subject at the pace each of the girls needs. So, for Alexis, who HATES math, we go slower in that subject than we do in Bible, which she LOVES. Although, even at the slower pace, we're still ahead of where she would be if she were in traditional school. We're coming upon the time that we're starting to order new curriculum in the areas where she's finishing up her 2nd grade work.  We'll be transitioning over the next 3 months. By the time January hits, we will be into her 3rd grade studies in all her subjects. Woot, woot! In traditional school, she would have just started 2nd grade last month.

Of course, Kailtyn not wanting to be outdone has done a great job on her preschool work and is now ready to start her Kindergarten material (a year early). Woot, woot! Katie!

So, without further ado......here are our curriculum choices for Kindergarten and 3rd grade:

Kindergarten

{BIBLE}

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We chose the Explorer's Bible Study - Beginnings because we loved the curriculum so much with Alexis. This one is great for little ones who can't read on their own yet. Rated for ages 2-5. It's so good that Alexis has asked me if she can read the lessons to Kaitlyn. She does a wonderful job playing teacher, and Kaitlyn gets most of the answers correct when it's Mommy's turn to see how well Alexis taught and Kaitlyn listened. It is great!

{MATH}

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We chose the Saxon Math K, Home Study Kit because we have not been very happy with the Horizon Math Curriculum and thought we'd give this one a try. We also got the Manipulatives Kit to go with it.

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I am really hoping we have more luck with this curriculum than the Horizon's. We'll test it out for awhile and then maybe I'll do a write-up on it.

{LANGUAGE ARTS}

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We're going to give these a try this year for Kaitlyn's Kindergarten Language Arts. I have not used them before but have heard wonderful things about them from some other homeschooling moms. 

{HANDWRITING}

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This will be our 3rd time using Handwriting Without Tears. It is fantastic! Both the girls have done well with it, so I'm just ordering Kaitlyn the next level of it. She's so excited.

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3rd Grade

{BIBLE}

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Again, we LOVE-LOVE Explorer's Bible Study. Alexis is so excited to start her new study that she can barely stand it.

{MATH}

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I have two homeschooling friends who have used Teaching Textbooks for their children and they could not say enough good things about it. One of them had a student that was great at math and one that hated math - it worked very well for both of them. The one that hated math came to not hate it and did quite well. We're going to give it a try because the Horizons Math is complete drudgery for Alexis. She HATES it. Poor thing. I was also told that it is advisable to have the student do the placement test first because the program seems to be a year behind - so Alexis may place in the 4th grade math program instead of the 3rd. Hence- the two different pictures above :)

{LANGUAGE ARTS}

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Again, this curriculum came highly recommended by a friend who uses it with two of her daughters. They just LOVE it. Alexis is really excited that the first book she gets to read for this program is about a horse. She's practically over the moon :)

{GEOGRAPHY}

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Alexis has been wanting to do the states and capitals for a while now so I promised her that when we were done with our current geography study we would do that. Of course, you have to have some mapping, graphing, and all that good stuff as well :)

{HISTORY}

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We are really enjoying Volume I of this curriculum series. Both girls like listening to the lessons, doing the activities, and working on the timeline poster. We can't wait to start Volume II.

{SCIENCE}

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Everyone I've talked to about Apologia has told me it is an excellent science curriculum. I can't even find a bad review of it either. So, we will be starting Zoology 1 for 3rd grade.

{SPANISH}

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We will be continuing our study of Spanish using ¡El Español Fácil! It teaches kids the language through conversation, activities, and songs. The girls seem to enjoy it and Alexis does really well at memorizing the vocabulary.

{COMPUTER SKILLS}

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For 3rd grade we're going to be doing two different things for computers. Of course we'll be continuing to learn keyboarding/typing (whichever you like to call it). But, we're adding some computer programming this year as well. In this day and age, it's going to be essential for the girls to know a bit about computer programming. As always, it's easier if you get them started early.

{LATIN}

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Anthony and I discussed it and we've come to the decision that it would be best for the girls to having a working knowledge of Latin. I think Dorothy Sayers says it best when she said, 

"I will say at once, quite firmly, that the best grounding for education is the Latin grammar. I say this not because Latin is traditional and medieval, but simply because even a rudimentary knowledge of Latin cuts down the labor and pains of learning almost any other subject by at least 50 percent."

{ART}

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I Can Do All Things art program is what we've chosen for this year's art study. It includes drawing lessons, color, penmanship, art appreciation, rules, measurements, painting, academia, and creativity. I really think both the girls are going to enjoy it.

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That's the rundown for what we'll be using next in our homeschooling adventure. You can feel the excitement and anticipation in the air as the girls get closer and closer in each of their subjects to moving on to the next level. I love that they reach new levels at different times in each of their subjects. It's easier on the pocketbook and the excitement lasts longer :)