Jacob's Report on the Arctic Wolves

Arctic Wolves

The arctic wolf is well-suited for the harsh cold of the Arctic Circle. They live on the wild tundra and roam the icy plains in a pack. They only go in dens when they mate, two at a time. When they are not mating, they huddle close together to keep warm. They live in forests and sleep there. They only leave the safety of the trees for hunting and mating.

It is true that wolves eat meat, but they also eat berries and plants. They hunt caribou, moose, rodents, and birds. Pups eat by licking the adult’s jaw after they go hunting. The adult wolf brings up the food and the pups eat the predigested food.

When wolves go hunting, they go as a pack. For example, wolves may prey on moose. They look for sick or old moose. Once they find one, the wolves advance on their future dinner. The other moose dash away. Since the old moose runs slower, the wolves’ strong, thin legs catch the moose. They circle around it. They bite it in the stomach and other places till it loses enough blood that it dies. The wolves eat the moose where they caught it. Afterwards, if there are leftovers, they bring the meat home and bury it for later.

Wolves have a dominance order in the pack. They are separated by strength mostly. The strongest members of the pack are the alpha male and female. These two mate in mating season (which is in summer). The next wolves in line behind the alphas are the noble wolves. Then, there are the wolves at the bottom of the list. On a hunt, the lower ranking wolves watch the pups. Pups have their own dominance order too. Wolves fight with one another to earn dominance. How high the wolf holds its tail explains what rank the wolf is.

Reproducing is very important, even though only two wolves mate. The alpha male and female dig a den and have babies in their den. A litter is normally 5-15 pups. Wolves are born blind and develop sight 2 weeks later. The alpha male and female return to the pack a few weeks later, with the pups. The whole pack is in charge of the pups. Wolf parents are one of the best in the world because they never let their pups out of their sight.

Wolves are important to the ecosystem and they are dying off because humans are hunting too many of them. We should try not to kill so many wolves. Wolves are great animals. Let’s try to save them!

School is still in session

While Grandma Saunders visited this week, she took some pictures while school was in session. She also stepped in to give math lessons, read with the kids, and grade assignments. It was so wonderful to have her with us. We wish her visit could have lasted longer so that we could benefit from more of her talents. Our plan is to have Grandma teach us how to sew when we visit her in January. Don't you think pajama pants would be a fitting school uniform?

Sometimes Daddy is the substitute teacher when Mommy is busy (or fed up). They really like it when he does the science lessons.

For recess, these kids like to play Legos or Wii. In fact, we've started calling recess "Wii-cess."

Grandma got to hear MANY concerts this week, especially by Emma. The kids have worked so hard on their Christmas songs. Hopefully we can incorporate their music into our Christmas pageant this year.

We've moved the keyboard into Emma's bedroom because she likes to play so much. She kept bugging Jacob every time she wanted to practice in his room.

Hannah Smith’s Day

Hannah Smith’s Day
By Emma Saunders

The sweet, plump, strawberries exploded in my mouth. Some of the juice leaked onto my chin. I was having a picnic with my fairest friend Elizabeth. She laughed blissfully. “Ilts lnot blunny (It’s not funny)!” I mumbled, with my mouth full. Just then, a strange noise interrupted our conversation. I woke from my dream, startled. What could it be? Phew! It was only the cockerel crowing, which means get up and get ready!

I put on my petticoat, stockings, garters, a 2nd petticoat, a 3rd petticoat, waistcoat, coif, apron, pocket, and shoes. Then, I had to be about my chores. I needed to milk the goats. I marched to the goat pin. “Oh, Mary!” I exclaimed. “The goats have escaped! How could they have got out?” I thought.

I had to hurry to fetch them. I looked by rocks, bushes, thick shrubbery, and then I looked in a near-by field. There, nibbling grass, were the goats. I brought them home, and started milking them. I got kicked while milking Mamma Goat. “Ouch!” I yelped, gripping my forearm. I had a mark to show Mam and Pa.

I finished milking just in time to hear Mam call, “Hannah, breakfast!” I hurried to breakfast so I could serve it. Pa said the blessing. I served Mam and Pa first, then myself. After a hard morning’s chores, the oatmeal and bread sure tasted excellent.

Joseph Marksons’ Day

Joseph Marksons’ Day

A strange light stung Joseph’s face, burning his closed eyes. He woke up. The light was just the early morning sun. Joseph climbed out off his straw mattress and stretched. He walked over to his wooden chest of clothes. Mam, his mother, helped him put on his clothes. “First the stockings then the garters.” mumbled Joseph, as he put them on. “How now, Mam?”

“I am well.” responded Mam. Joseph put on his breeches and doublet. He tied his shoes and Mam put the points in. Joseph snatched his hat off the hook, grabbed the yoke, and ran to the spring. He dunked the buckets under the chilly water and pulled them out. The weight of the water was so heavy Joseph almost spilled it. But he wasn’t thinking about the weight. He was thinking about the traps he had set up in the forest.

Joseph returned the water to Mam and started to run deep into the forest. Joseph thought how much his family needed the game he planned to catch. On his way, Joseph saw Jacob and Mary Hopkins playing ninepins. He wished he could join them in the game.

As Joseph walked into the forest, his breeches were cut by thorns. Winter air bit at his bare skin. Joseph saw a grove where one of his snares was set. Nothing was caught in the snare though. Joseph groaned. He lumbered over to the next snare, by a large oak tree. One baby blue jay was caught in the snare. Joseph got a little happier.

“Time for snare number three.” he thought. His third snare was near a rabbit hole. In that trap, was a big, plump rabbit. Joseph was overjoyed. He darted home, collecting firewood as he went. He walked inside and gave Mam the firewood.



“How now?” asked Pa.

“I caught big game, Pa!” Joseph cried. Pa hopped up from the chair he was sitting in and grabbed his knife. They started towards the forest.

On their way, Goodman Smith, a neighbor, asked, “How now, Goodman Marksons?”

“My wee boy has found big game for our family this winter.” explained Pa.
Goodman Smith nodded and bid, “Fare thee well.”

Joseph led Pa to the bird and rabbit. Pa cut the rope off and slung them over his shoulder. The two of them started home, very happy. Joseph could imagine the warm taste this rabbit would give. Not only that, but rye harvesting was tomorrow. Maybe he could impress Pa and make him think he was a man. Joseph was very satisfied.

More Sketches

We sketched goats today. I realize it's an odd subject, but next week you'll understand why. Can you guess who sketched which goat?

A:

B:


C:

Thanksgiving Acrostic Poems

Emma's -

Thankful for family
Hearty friends
Amazing turkey for the feast
Numerous cousins to play with
Kind and loving brother
Shelby's fluffy coat
Great grandparents
Interesting parents
Vases full of flowers
Intense video game I can play
Newborn babies to hold
Giving service to friends and family

Jacob's -

Thankful for turkey to eat
Happily singing songs with family and friends
Appetizing rolls and turkey
Non-nutritious pumpkin pie
Kindly playing with cousins
Slamming Tate into the couch
Growing larger around the waist
Ignoring pain as I'm tackled
Vexing parents all around
Ignighting fireworks in the street
Now we run around the house
Giving thanks to all

Audrey's -

Tasty treats satisfy my sweet tooth.
Homemade temptations abound.
All my loved ones gathered together.
Napping and snoozing through the day.
Kids play happily with each other.
Satisfied sighs escape smiling lips.
Gluttony excused, even encouraged.
Intoxicating aromas fill the air.
Vast amounts of food cover tables and counters.
Infectous laughter envelopes the group.
Nostalgic tales warm full hearts.
Gratitude fills my soul.

Turkey Art

I recently rearranged our homeschool schedule to allow more time for art. For today's lesson, we talked about sketching animals with pencils on construction paper. We learned that a sketch is a "silent line" that can be erased and manipulated. We also found that drawing is more manageable when we follow these 5 basic steps:

1. Start the drawing using basic shapes.
2. Add the major features of the animal.
3. Incorporate detail to make the figure more realistic.
4. Color and shade.
5. Sign the work.

Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, we focused on drawing turkeys. Here is a sample of our work:

Jake's -

Emma's -

Audrey's -

A Day In the Life: Making Molly's "Pilgrims"

A Day In the Life: Making Molly's "Pilgrims"

The Leaf Pile

The Leaf Pile

“WEEEEEE!” I screamed, as I jumped into a gigantic leaf pile. It was a cool November day. We were at the Toledo Zoo with Papa and Lala. I stood up and said, “You try it, Jacob!”

Jacob lurched into the colorful leaves. Some were still green! I joined in. Standing up, Jacob threw some leaves on me. Then, Dad pushed him in again, causing him to topple over me.

“Get off of me!” I squeaked.

“What?” he questioned.

“Get off of me! I yelled. He got up. I gasped for air, and then I wiped the leaves off of me. We kept on jumping and playing in the leaves for about 3 minutes. Luckily, Jacob didn’t fall over me again.

“Let’s take pictures now!”Papa said. ”You guys can go first.”

“Oh, the joy.” Jacob murmured.

We positioned ourselves in the pile of leaves. “1, 2, 3, CLICK!”Papa counted. The flash went off. He took 2 more. Next, Papa and Lala posed in the pile.

“Click!”The camera snapped the picture. Papa got up, but Lala just lay there, silently, gazing at the sky, with a sweet smile on her face. Then, Jacob threw some leaves on her. Lala finally got up, wiped herself off, and laughed. We went to the next station.

THE END

Starving Sunday by Jacob Saunders

Starving Sunday

I was dying. I felt like I hadn’t eaten for the past week. Mom passed back a bag of pretzels. I snatched them away without looking up from my Nintendo DS. I opened the bag and tossed three pretzels into my mouth.

“When are we going to eat lunch?” I asked.

“We’re going to snack instead of eating lunch because we don’t have time to stop. We'd miss all the Kirtland tours.”explained Dad.

I groaned. Then, my face light up like a light bulb. I had just beaten Magma Leader Maxie on my video game.

My sister, Emma, was also pecking away at her GameBoy. My family was driving to Kirtland, Ohio with my Lala and Papa. We were close. When we got there, we took a tour around Kirtland. It was very peaceful and beautiful. Next, we went to the Kirtland Temple. I wasn’t as impressed because it didn’t have the same peaceful feeling Historic Kirtland did.

Once we got back to the car, I flipped on my DS and started playing again. We got to our hotel in Cleveland and I was famished. I walked to the elevator and went into the warm hotel. When we all got in our room, we unpacked and decided where to go for dinner. I suggested The Hard Rock Café. Everyone agreed.

We devoured our food and sucked down our sodas until we were stuffed.

We got back to the hotel and changed into our bathing suits. My sister and I swam in the pool while the adults sat in the Jacuzzi. I impressed Papa by walking on the lane line. When we were done, we changed into our pajamas and watched Kung-Fu Panda. It was hilarious! After the movie, I climbed into my sleeping bag and went out like a light bulb.

Summarizing Formula

We slowly worked our way back into the school mode this morning once Lala and Papa left for Phoenix. I wanted the kids to write about some of the amazing experiences we had this weekend, but I knew they needed to ease into writing after our break. We watched some new movies during our hiatus from school. I challenged the kids to briefly summarize what they saw using the most important details. I reviewed a story summarizing formula I used with my second graders:

Somebody
Wanted
Because
But
So
Then

Here is an example of how it works using the story of Cinderella:

Cinderella (SOMEBODY), a poor but lovely maiden, dreamed (WANTED) of attending a royal ball so (BECAUSE) she could meet a handsome prince. Unfortunately (BUT), Cinderella's evil stepmother and stepsisters prevented her from going by ruining the ball gown she worked tirelessly to make. Just when Cinderella though all was lost, (SO) a fairy godmother cast a spell that magically changed Cinderella's life. (THEN) Dressed in a beautiful gown, Cinderella rushed to the ball and met the prince of her dreams. They fell in love at first sight and the prince rescued Cinderella from her wicked family.

I found that this formula can really help kids focus their summaries and uncover the most important events in a story. It's a hard activity, but I was proud of how the kids performed.

Here is Emma's summary of High School Musical 3:

Troy, a senior attending East High, wanted to make decisions for himself, because he wished for his own future. His dad wanted him to go to UofA and play basket ball, while his teacher wanted him to go to Julliard and do drama. Troy finally decided to pick his own future. He found a college that would let him do both basket ball and drama and be close to his girlfriend, Gabriella. In the end, Troy was able to have it all.

Here is Jacob's summary of Kung Fu Panda:

Po, an enormous and flabby panda, dreamed of being a Kung-Fu master because he loved Kung-Fu. But, he was a noodle-maker and had physical limitations due to his fatness. So, he went to the Dragon Warrior contest (to watch and sell noodles). He accidentally flew into the contest and was chosen to be the Dragon Warrior. With LOTS of training using food as his motivation Po battled Ti-lon, an evil panther, and won. In the end, Po found confidence in himself.

Emma's Halloween Story

Emma has been working on dialogue and word choice. Here is a spooky story she wrote for her cousins:

It’s the Great Pumpkin!
by Emma Saunders

“Where are my flower shoes?” asked 4-year-old Grace, nervously.

“I don’t know!” Jaiden and Emma declared, looking under the table.

“If Grace doesn’t find her shoes, she can use mine.” 3-year-old Ava commented.

“Ah! Here they are!” said Grace. “Rachel was playing with them. Now can we go on our walk?”

“Sure!” laughed Emma, who was eight (almost nine). She put 1-year-old Rachel in her stroller. “Are we ALL ready now?” she asked, exhausted from going up and down, up and down, up and down (you get the point).

“Yes!” they all shouted.

“I want to go, too.” cried Tucker, who was two years old.

“Sorry, Tucker, this is the girls walk, and you just went with Papa, Mario, Tim, Rick, and Jacob.” Emma managed to say, half-way out the door.

They were in Arizona, going on a Halloween walk. Rick, Audrey, Jacob, Emma, and their dog, Shelby, lived in Ohio, but were visiting for a couple of weeks.

“Wait, take some snacks.” hollered Papa, from upstairs.

“And be back by 7:00, will you?” called Lala.

“Okay!” said Grace and Ava at the same time. They giggled, quietly.

Rachel started to cry, probably because she wasn’t getting any attention. So Emma picked her up and tickled her, which made her laugh. Then Emma put Rachel back in her stroller and they started walking.

“Where are we going?” Jaiden asked thoughtfully.

“Well, I thought we could go look for the Great Pumpkin in a pumpkin patch and get some pumpkins to carve when we get back.” Emma said.

“Yay!” they all shouted.

“And when we get back, we could all go trick-or-treating.” declared Emma.

They looked and looked and looked and looked, but they couldn’t find the Great Pumpkin. They looked in trees, bushes, under and over pumpkins, vines, and weeds. They even climbed trees! Grace, Jaiden and Emma leaned up against a tree. “Sorry guys, but I don’t really think we’re going to find the Great Pumpkin.” Emma said, holding Rachel, a sweat bead ran down her cheek.

“Me too.” Jaiden declared.

“Me three.” Grace said.

They waited for Ava to say “Me four,” but they could only hear the cool wind sigh in their ears. Then they heard a scream! So they spun around, terrified. It was Ava!

“Jaiden, hold Rachel. Here!” cried Emma. Then, in the blink of an eye, she sprinted to Ava, picked her up, and ran back with Ava in her arms.

“Are you OK?” Emma asked. “Please, don’t ever, ever do that agai-”

“What is that?” asked Grace, pointing to the pumpkin patch.

Another shriek tore from Ava’s lips.

“Shhhh!” Jaiden said. “Run to the trees!” And they did so.

Then, a large figure started to take shape in the patch. Ava gasped. The figure came to the trees calling, “Jaiden, Ava, Gracie, Rachel, and Emma! Where are you?”

Phew! It was only Papa looking for them.

“Papa!” they yelled excitedly.

“There you are.” he said. “I’ve been looking all over for you. It’s time to go trick-or-treating.”

“Yay!” the girls sang.

Then Ava looked back to the pumpkin patch, and there stood the Great Pumpkin. “Hey, Guys! It’s the Great Pumpkin.” she whispered. They all looked back and the Great Pumpkin winked.

“Bye.” The Great Pumpkin said, and then disappeared.

“Wow!” they murmured, as they quietly departed.

The End



About the Author:

Emma Saunders lives in Perrysburg, Ohio with her mom (Audrey), dad (Richard), brother (Jacob), and dog (Shelby). Jacob and Emma take swim lessons and karate at The Fort Meigs YMCA. Emma’s mom, Audrey, teaches Jake and Emma at homeschool while Richard works as a doctor at St. Vincent’s Mercy Medical Center. Richard also acts as a substitute when Audrey isn’t there. Emma’s extended family lives in Arizona and Utah. Emma misses her family dearly and hopes to see them soon.

Jacob's Short Story

Jake LOVES to write. In fact, he's in the process of writing two books at the moment. In homeschool we're working on focusing our writing topics. The following is a short story Jake wrote about our dinner party last Sunday:

Steeles vs. Saunders

Ding Dong! I shut my book, The Invisible Man, and dashed to the door. I opened it. The Steeles stood, smiling at me. I welcomed them in as the crisp October air kissed my face. Once inside, they put their shoes by the door.

“Come on Max and Griffin!” I said. We ran up the stairs and into my room. I crawled under my bed and pulled out the box full of Nerf guns and bullets.

“Sweet!” said Max, as he grabbed the Long-Shot. I picked up the pistol, loaded it, and shot Griffin in the chest. He laughed. Grabbing another pistol, he shot me back.

“Let’s have teams. Jacob, Griffin, you guys get the closet and I get the bed.” said Max as the Long-Shot clicked. Griffin and I grabbed bullets and dove into the closet just as a bullet whizzed past my ear. We quickly built a fort to protect ourselves and returned fire. Click! Click! Click! Griffin got shot. I got shot. Max got shot. We loved it!

After about ten minutes I said, “Cease fire. Switch weapons!” Bullets lay everywhere. We picked them up and loaded our weapons. Max traded weapons with me. I also picked up a squishy ball and threw it at Griffin. “Open fire!” I shouted, and shot Max in the chest.

The shooting and trading went on for about an hour and forty-five minutes. We only stopped to eat, and then we went back to shooting each other. After the final trade, we put Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom into the DVD player in my room. Completely drained of our strength, we flopped onto the giant beanbag and watched the movie. We all had a great time.

Jake's Review of Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight

Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Tarabitha, brings a new adventure for us to read in Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight. Parzival, a boy just entering manhood, sets out to be a knight in King Author’s Round Table, so he can be like his dead father, Gahmuret. As Parzival is on his quest, he deafest the Red Knight, takes the Red Knight’s armor, and keeps it for himself.

Parzival is trained by Gurnemahz an old friend of his father. Gurnemahz trains Parzival all the techniques he will need while he is a knight. Parzival travels to a kingdom under siege and helps free the city. After the battle, Parzival marries Queen Condwiramures, the Queen of the freed city. Then, Parzival goes out into the place where he was raised to find his mother. Parzival stumbles across the Kingdom of Wild Mountain. Wild Mountain gives Parzival nothing but trouble. Parzival decides to leave Wild Mountain and becomes cursed for not asking “the question”. For two long years, Parzival wanders the Wilderness and in that miserable time, Parzival is reunited with his long, lost brother. Then, Parzival is set free of his curse. Parzival finds the Wild Mountain castle again and asks “the question”. Later, Parzival is reunited with his wife and his newborn boy twins whom he has never seen before.

I recommend Parzival the Quest of the Grail Knight to those who love to read about knights and action. Parzival the Quest of the Grail Knight is full of fantasy, sorrow, and adventure. Readers will not be disappointed!

Hieroglyphs

As part of our ancient Egyptian studies, we tried our hand at hieroglyphics today. Below is a sample of our work. Can you decipher our messages?

577 Foundation

Friday we went to the 577 Foundation for a field trip.

I had to trick the kids into going, but it was well worth the trouble. We viewed the community gardens, all of which are grown organically.

Marigolds grow heartily this time of year, and the last of the tomatoes are dropping of the vines.

I was so tempted to pocket a sample!

The kid-friendly garden features a hideout...

...and a hidden treehouse.

We also explored a wild grass maze created by children for children.

We followed a wooded path down to the Maumee River...

...and climbed the trees in the small orchard.

The kids and I loved observing a diligent squirrel busily gathering food for his storehouse. He would knock the apples from the tree and jump precariously from branch to branch.

In the winter months, birds come to feed here. The bird blind is a great place to watch the birds and other critters. We got lucky and saw a rabbit, a dove, and a bright red cardinal.

Another great feature of this place was the biodome greenhouse.

It functions year-round and houses many tropical and desert plants.

The cacti made the kids feel a little homesick.

Humbled

Rick took his turn as teacher today while I taught a couple classes at the Y. I didn't leave him lesson plans, but I did tell him to work on the next lessons in math and introduce cell structure. When I got home, Rick had made a model of a cell with items from around the house. Plus, he got out my cheap little microscope from Walgreens and had the kids looking at slides. The kids now know more about cell structure than I do!

Curriculum

Some people have asked us what methods we're relying on to homeschool. The best answer I can give is that we use an eclectic approach to teaching the kids. I need more structure than the unschoolers, but I don't care for the rigidity of classical education. I'm taking a little bit from here, there, and everywhere. Here's a breakdown of what we're using currently:

Saxon for Math
Spivey and The Most Creative Writing Lessons Ever for Writing
Spalding for Speech, Spelling, Writing, and Reading
The Story of the World for Social Studies

Of course, we supplement heavily from the hundreds of books we already have. Plus we use the Internet, libraries, community resources, etc.

Spelling Champs

I'm happy to report that the kids are back on track with their spelling. Last week I gave them a Morrison-McCall diagnostic test to see where I should start them on the Ayer's list. Ironically, they both got the same score. The test indicated that they were both at the 6th grade level so I decided to start them on the same spelling list to make things easier on all of us. Since we were on a field trip Friday, we had to postpone their first test until today (Saturday). They both scored 100%.

First Day

We’re too cool for school – Glenwood School that is! Today we opened The Saunders Academy (as named by our children). We accomplished a great deal, despite the fact that I had to work in the morning. Here is a breakdown of our day:

6:30 – Shelby and I went “dogging”.

7:30 – We returned, woke the kids, and had a shower (Shelby too).

8:45 – The kids and I drove to the Y (they read their respective books while waiting for my class to start).

9:30 – We all taught Discover and Learn. Jake and Emma were a huge hit with the little ones.

12:00 – We arrived home for lunch, unloaded the dishwasher, and started the laundry.

12:30 – We practiced and discussed the First Article of Faith (after a prayer of course).

12:45 – We reviewed Spelling rules and entered 20 new words into our Spelling notebooks.

1:30 – Adverbs lesson

1:50 – Vocabulary Building

2:15 – Math (Emma worked on multiplication and Jake worked with prime numbers).

2:45 – Jake’s piano lesson, Emma at the computer for math games

3:15 – Social Studies (Ohio history, President William Henry Harrison)

3:45 – Emma’s piano lesson, Jake created playing cards for our Ohio history game

4:15 – Poetry Reading and review of the day

5:00 – Swim Lessons

*Tomorrow we’ll include science, writing, and cooking!

Getting Organized

Today was one of the last I’ll be able to call my own for a while, so I treated myself to a little shopping spree. After teaching my little Explorers, I drove up to Savers in Toledo for a book hunt. Boy did I score some deals! I found some great old textbooks for enhancing our studies. I also bought some step-by-step drawing books and several young adult paperbacks (many of them Newberry winners).

Last night we made our weekly trip to Costco and bought some heavy duty shelving, a dry erase board, and composition books. Rick got right to work putting things together, so now our classroom is about ready. All we need now is the stamp of approval from the Rossford Superintendent…

Validation

Emma brought home her new spelling list today. She has 12 required words plus 2 additional *challenge words:

1. pond
2. luck
3. drop
4. lot
5. rub
6. does
7. drum
8. sock
9. hunt
10. crop
11. shut
12. won

*dodge
*dusk

These are first grade words. I know this because I taught both first and second grade. Emma is in the 3rd grade!!! How is she to progress as a speller, reader, and writer with words like these?

It gets better. Here's a sample of Jake's 5th grade list:

-mood
-dew
-boast
-rule

Not one of his 15 words has more than 1 syllable. Is this acceptable?

I'm feeling more confident about our decision to homeschool all the time.

Motivation

I know that my children deserve more intellectual enrichment than they’re currently getting.

I want my children to enjoy learning more.

I believe that homeschooling will bring our family closer together.

I want to continue the effective teaching methods they were getting in Arizona (i.e. Spalding).

My children need more safeguarding today than I did as a child.

I don’t want my children to spend most of their time with those whose values are vastly different than ours.

The children and I both need to set aside more time for spiritual learning and development.

I understand my children and their needs better than any other teacher.

I think I can help my children progress faster in their studies through one-on-one help.

Homeschooling is more flexible than the public school schedule.

Jacob and Emma are more excited about learning at home than at their new school.

Values

Breadth of knowledge
Integrity
Optimism
Security
Peace
Family Unity
Charity
Success
Logic
Compassion
Selflessness
Restraint
Respect

Dreams

I want to raise my children to be hard working, intelligent, and compassionate adults.

I want to help other children in need.

I want to broaden my understanding of the scriptures.

I want to leave something tangible behind that reflects who I am (music, a story, artwork, or something).

I want to travel extensively with my family.

I want to participate in a triathlon.

I want to learn how to sew from a pattern.

I want to be debt-free.

I want to sing in a choir again.

I want to learn how to play the guitar.

Goals

•Create a smooth-running home school schedule
•Declutter
•Read more of the classics
•Visit church history sites with my family
•Maintain a home school blog with the kids’ help
•Update my photo albums
•Keep in touch with family and friends
•Go on some sort of field trip every week
•Watch less TV (that goes for everyone)
•Get to the temple once a month
•Plan (and execute) a big vacation back east somewhere
•Teach the kids more about household responsibilities
•Cook more (instead of eating out)
•Exercise or be active with my kids Monday through Saturday