Gifts From The Sea

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved to travel with her family. Her favorite destination was an island in Southwest Florida. Here she ran and played, sang songs as she walked on the beach, and told God that her hearts desire would be to call this enchanting place home. 

It was on this island where she discovered precious gifts from the sea. It was the place  where she learned to look closely at God's creation and discover it's mysteries. She fell in love with the creatures of the sea and the beauty all around. 

She learned to appreciate the gracefulness of the dolphin, and the clumsiness of the baby sea turtle. She admired the creatures, great and small as she sang to the One who had made them all. 

These gifts from the sea, be they shelled or have wings stole her heart as she knew they'd been created to do. They always delighted, and she never grew tired of watching closely and learning. 

From the Great Blue Heron and the American Bald Eagle - to the plain Brown Pelican, Sea Gull, and even the smaller Ruddy Turnstone she was captivated by the wildlife of the island she loved. 

Each of the creatures held their own majesty. The obvious majesty of the Bald Eagle, and the understated elegance as that of the smallest sea shells she collected - all pointed her to towards their Maker. 

Living creatures full of beauty - exquisite detail held distinction from another. Each one designed by the Master Himself with unique, awe-inspiring qualities.

Each one yet another remarkable gift from the sea. 

This was the place where she began her fervent prayer. It was as innocent as it was sincere, and she boldly made her request known to God. As she ran across the sand, she asked Him for her a family of her own, with whom she could one day share the love of this special place. She delighted in His creation, and opened her heart to the Creator. 

Many years later, she stands on the beach with the family she loves, as they explore together

 the wonders of  God's creation and the precious gifts from the sea. 

Psalm 37:4

"Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart." 

Now I am grown and although I am grateful He has blessed me with the desires of my heart - 

I've experienced the true joy which comes from aligning my heart with His will for my life; 

and for that I am forever grateful. 

In teaching my children I must remember: 

Mark 10: 14b

"Permit the little children to come unto me; do not hinder them; 

for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." 

Counting Gifts to #1000 and beyond 

170. my daily gifts from the sea 

171. dreams realized 

172. earnest prayers of a child

173. sharing with my own children 

174. hearing their prayers 

175. all the wonderful birds in our area

176. simple pleasures of sand between the toes 

177. singing on the beach 

178. the grace of dolphins 

179.  wonders that never cease

180. Remembering Child-like Faith

   

Let's Hear It For the Boys - All Five of Them - Our Week

Oh what a fun week we had! We've participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count this year, but just because it only lasted for a few days doesn't mean we are finished with counting bird. We've enjoyed it so much, and I like the idea of logging our bird count and using a scientific method of doing so, that we've decided to just keep right on counting. 

Standing in awe of gulls who are desperately seeking crackers! 

The littles had crackers and got them all stirred up - Like a scene from The Birds 

Suffice it to say - we got an up-close look at these gulls! 

 People We're Seeing & Places We're going:

We had a visit this week from some special friends - Hyacynth Worth from UnderCover Mother 

and her two adorable little "helpers" came for a stay and a "field trip" to the beach. 

It was nice to have younger boys around again - mine are getting big so quickly. Being with her boys made me realize just how quickly that is. I don't want to miss a moment of their growing up. I'm so thankful to be homeschooling our three boys and proud of the little men they are becoming. 

Hyacynth and I enjoyed listening to the vivid imagination of this all male crew as they played a bustling game of Pirates. We were impressed with how well the boys played together even though there was a significant difference in age. 

We found fossilized sharks teeth - the boys excavated several crab holes - and Hyacynth and I took turns chasing after her active, curious two year old. My oldest was awed by the fact that the toddler obviously understood everything going on around him and even mastered ipod skills in a short time. 

The social skills and character training of this particular crowd is progressing rather well. 

We are learning: 

    

Cooking 101 - Our Cooking class at home includes science, math, home economics, and critical thinking as we explore recipes, plan meals, budget the shopping, and even use coupons to get the best deals. The boys are enjoying the time we spend together in the kitchen and learning about what it takes to feed a family, learning kitchen safety, and to follow instructions. 

Be sure to join our Link UP on Tuesdays (open all week) 

Kids in the Kitchen - Link your family friendly recipes and/or posts of your cuties cooking

Carrie Raab from Young Living Oil Lady  is joining me as we host this weekly link up

You can read an interview with her here - about cooking with healthy essential oils! 

Earth and Animal Science:

We are always busy Exploring God's Creation - in our nature study during the backyard bird count

 - we discovered this American Kestrel - He continues to visit our yard - we like that A LOT

he is "North America's Littlest Falcon"   You can read about him here on the FREE site by Cornell U. 

Exploring God's Creation- How we do it: We used the Cornell site (link above) to help identify other birds we found - We gather nature journals and pencils - We bring cameras and binoculars - We find a spot to sit or walk (as quietly as possible) We put on our "listening ears" to hear bird calls - We bring a bird field guide - and we watch carefully. The boys can draw/ sketch while we sit - we talk quietly if no birds are present - When they show up we get quiet and still - We observe - take pictures - and watch carefully. Later we finish looking up information and adding to the nature journal/ sketch books. Even when we are not "bird watching" or on a nature hike - we keep our eyes open for special bird species. Today a Great Blue Heron landed in the back yard. We all ran to see it excitedly. Yesterday we saw an Osprey flying by with a fish in his mouth. We've even had Bald Eagles land in the yard! 

(I'm hoping to get a better picture this week - he's high up on a dark cloudy WINDY day) 

History - Geography - Language Arts - Science:

We are using the Trail Guide to Learning Series from GeoMatters and loving it! 

You can WIN a full $150 Set of the Paths of Exploration 

which covers 2nd - 6th grade 

(although I'm successfully adapting it to fit even my Kindergarten and 1st grade students) 

Win a set on Adventurez In ChildRearing Here - Easy entry! 

We are also learning about the History of the United States by reading the Constitution, the Mayflower Compact, and other critical documents forged by our Nations founders. You can gain access to this information through MomsMustardSeeds and Founders Academy on the link here where you'll find access not only to the documents  themselves but FREE video feed discussing the reasons behind them and how they are still vital in today's society. If we do not understand our past and from where we have  come - how can we understand where we need to go in the future? I do hope you'll join us for 

Freedom Fridays and link up with MomsMustardSeeds to share what you're learning.It's Free! 

My boys continue to be awed by the likes of Ben Franklin, Thomas Paine, George Washington , 

John and Abigail Adams  more as we study documents like "Common Sense" 

and read through supplemental books from the Trail Guide to Learning Series. The combination 

of these resources is really bringing home the big picture for my boys. They're "getting it"! 

I'm proud of my boys! We're starting the day with Scripture - filling the day with exploration and adventure - and ending the day with Scripture and love. I'm happy watching them grow! 

Joy Pockets & Thankful Thursday: 


Watching them grow * Seeing gentle spirits form (even when they have to back up and try again)
Birds and the look of awe and utter amazement in the eyes of my boys seeing them close up * Enjoying the interest of my children as they learn to value their Freedom * Hearing them recite Bible verses I too learned as a child * Healthy boys splashing in the water and digging on the beach * Friends 

3 in 30 Goals: 


As you can see - we've been busy! I'm still drinking my water and getting more exercise. We are spending more time in the outdoors on our bird watching and beach walks.
My blog is going well - I got my Linky up and running for Kids in the Kitchen 
My devotional time with the kids is awesome. We're opening up more and more dialogue in our home through our studies and I love seeing the boys grow spiritually. My personal devotional study in Ephesians is going well - my post was featured on Good Morning Girls! (I'm counting that for both quiet time success and blog success) ;)

Linking with: 

    

  

Teach Them Diligently - Geo Matters Giveaway!

Deut 6:7  "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, 

and thou shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house."

I am thrilled about the upcoming Teach Them Diligently Convention !!!

Are you planning to come for this epic event? 

Registration is only $40  and gives you access to some of  

"homeschool's best of the best" speakers, teachers, and preachers! 

There is a star studded cast of speakers and workshops to choose from including:

Jeannie Fulbright, Ann Dunagan, Ken Ham, Senator Jim Demint and many more

(go here to see a full list of convention speakers) 

I'm excited to be going and looking forward to these awesome speakers and meeting up 

with a whole lot of  homeschool moms and other bloggers - let us know if you are 

planning to attend so we can include you in the blogger and mommy meet-ups. 

Can't wait - Can't wait - Can't wait! 

- I  DO hope you'll join me -

Now. . . . . . . . 

I am absolutely beside myself to have the honor of giving away what I consider to be 

one of the best giveaways - like- ever

You've heard me brag before about the Geo Matters Curriculum, 

and you know there isn't much more that we love around here besides exploring. 

Well - this week I'm giving away 

(drum-roll) 

The

Paths of Exploration 

The value of this curriculum, in my opinion, is far above the $150.00 cost! 

Not only does it include a full year's course for your 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, but it is adaptable for 

2nd and 6th grade as well. Not only does this Geo Matters curriculum teach geography, but also science, history, language skills, and the arts. It takes your students on a journey to discover the how's and why's 

of our nations beginning. They learn about our countries greatest explorers in a way that motivates them to learn more. The goal of Paths of Exploration and the other Trail Guide to Learning series is to "teach your children How to think and not just What to think." 

My children love it! 

I love it! 

From my personal experience in our home, I can tell you that it works.

I love the dialogue this program has opened up in our home as we read stories from real books

(not just text books) about people from history and then do more of the hands on activities, science projects, or related lapbooks to solidify their learning experience. They are not just reading about a certain character, but about where they are from, more details about the state and the surrounding circumstances - history comes alive for them as the learning unfolds in this manner and they begin to understand the bigger picture. 

*I have been provided a free ticket to the awesome TTD convention for helping to promote them, I am not receiving any compensation otherwise and the prize is drawn randomly using the Punch Tab program

For your chance to win curriculum from GeoMatters: 

Leave a comment below and let me know why you'd like to win! 

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