Trip to Atl, Pt 1

Can I just tell you how busy this past weekend was??  Gidget and I took a trip to Atlanta where she competed in the Peach State Feis. BTW, she had a great weekend. She walked away with 4 medals and 2 trophies. YEAH Gidget!!!!! We were hoping for a 1st place, but 2 trophies and 4 medals is nothing to shake a stick at. 


We spent about 4 hours in the car getting there. Now I don't know how many have you have been to Atlanta, but the traffic just BITES!!! I am a nervous Nellie when I drive down there. We arrived at our Hotel, The Westin, safe and sound. Now that I am disabled I got to park 5 feet from the door. When the Valet opened the back of my mini van my craft bag (I never leave home without it) fell out and a million seed beads covered the parking lot in a rainbow of colors. The poor guy felt horrible. I told him it wasn't his fault, it was mine for not packing the van. Oh well, lesson learned there. He took our luggage and array of other things to our room on the 20th floor. (Not condusive to a person such as I who has a great fear of heights.) The Valet was still apologizing for the bead fiasco, I let him off the hook with a $10.00 tip. Though I'm afraid of heights, the view from our room was amazing.

 After settling in we then went roaming around the grounds snapping pictures with our brand new Fuji camera around the beautiful hotel grounds.

After we went to the Hotel's restaurant for some dinner. Where I was in price shock. We ordered an appetizer of Truffle Frites, which is basically a way of saying "delicious fancy french fries". They were heaven in our mouth. For our entree we chose this 14.00 plate that had 3 columns, you got to pick one item from each column. The plating was beautiful and the food amazing. Doesn't it look scrumptious??? 

We ended getting a to go container for most of our meal. We then went to registration to check in and get Gidget's competition number for the Feis the following day. We also visited the vendors, where I have to use total will power because I want to but everything. Thus, my Pinterest board Irish Dancing & All Things Irish!!! We had to buy her a number clip for her new dress, a new full length wig,(TOTAL sticker shock for that item), a pair of Diamonte Socks, and new earrings to match her dress. I also bought 2 rings, a vintage movie poster, 2 T-shirts and sock glue. That keeps her socks from falling during competition.( Point deductions!) We then retired to our room where we showered, sewed on her new number clip, did some crafting, goofed around, laughed until we cried. We then sat looking at the night skyline, said our prayers and went to bed. Sleep is important before a Feis, Feis day is long and tiring. It is also exhilerating, fun and nerve wracking. Tune in Wednesday for Feis day. Hoping this finds you and yours well.


God Bless,
Kimmie


Please feel free to check out more pictures on  http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehogan7/
to check out more pics from our trip.


They will also be posted on the new Happy Homeschool Room on FB. Please leave comments on any of the 3 how you like happy home school room. Tell me how I'm doing, what you feel I could be doing things better. Tell me what topics you'd like to see.
Or if you would like feel free to email me at  happyhomeschoolroom@gmail.com
Check back tomorrow for Pt. 2 of our trip so you can see how competition day went. Hoping this finds you and yours well.


God Bless,
Kim

China Blog Button Link

5/8/12


Down on the side bar of my blog you will see a blog button that is red and says China Learning Kit. If you click on it it will take you to a squidoo page that will have a China Kit. The packet content and picture were copied from the squidoo page just to show my readers what the kit contains. I am in no way connected to the seller, have any part in the sales or profits from this kit. I just think that this is a great idea, plus it is affordable. 

What Your Packet Will Contain

• Chinese papercut
• Chinese knot
• Red packet with currency
• Chinese flag
• Postcards
• Bookmark
• Red scarf worn by young Communist students
• An informational brochure about the things in your packet
• Honeycomb lantern
• Stickers                                      
• The above is everything included in your kit. It is $14.00. Payment is made through paypal. I just purchased one and plan to use it for our unit study on China.  Yang Ge, with the help from Jimmie at jimmiescollage.com, created this kit. My kit should arrive in 2-3 weeks. I will share it with you, but you can also read other reviews on the squidoo page. Just click the link. If you order on, please come back and share your thoughts, or pictures of the kiddies with their kit. Hoping you and yours are well.

God Bless,

Kimmie

Gidget's new solo dress

Gidget got her new Irish dance solo dress yesterday. It is BEAUTIFUL!!!! Made by Kimberly Duggan of KDSF dresses. She can be founf on FB; KDSF dresses, and Flickr. I recommend checking out her dresses, Kimberly has been given a gift by God, because shecreates dresses for young girls that make them cry tears of joy anf feel as beautiful as a princess. So naturally I am going to share with you all, my peeps... What did I tell you, just beautiful.

Please all say a prayer for our Gidget, she has a Feis this weekend she has been working so very hard on. A few extra prayer couldn't hurt.

I'll be sure to update you on how it goes.

We are sure she will do well. I plan on being back in a few days to share some other things with you all.
Until then, have a blessed day today.




God Bless,
Kimmie and Gidget

Switched on Schoolhouse GIVEAWAY

       

    I would like to share this with you, please hop on over to the 

http://homeschoolgiveaways.com/. I copied this page from their website so you can check out this awesome giveaway. They have great giveaways for christian based homeschool curriculum all the time. I hope you enjoy!!!!

New Giveaway ~ Win a Switched on Schoolhouse Complete 5-Subject Set - Over $350 Value! Win a Switched-On Schoolhouse® Complete 5 Subject Set~ Over $350 Value! Switched-On Schoolhouse is a comprehensive, Bible-based curriculum that offers computer-based learning for grades 3-12. With 3-D animation, video clips, and other fascinating multimedia, Switched-On Schoolhouse is the perfect homeschool curriculum for today's generation. With this flexible, best-selling curriculum, you can customize student learning to fit individual educational needs. Unlike traditional textbook curriculums with dry, one-dimensional lessons, Switched-On Schoolhouse (SOS) has a diverse, vibrant mix of entertaining lessons, assignments quizzes, and more! Fun-filled lessons are created to captivate students' attention and engage them in learning. Available for grades 3-12, Switched-On Schoolhouse offers five core subjects and a wide variety of electives. With features that enhance content and functionality, this award-winning Christian homeschool curriculum offers ease, accuracy, and quality academics. SOS as well as the other Alpha Omega Publications Curriculum is 20% off now through 4-30-12 at www.heartsathomestore.com! Each Five Subject Set Contains the Following Subjects: Bible - Utilizing the King James Version and the New American Standard Bible, the Bible curriculum covers a variety of biblical material to assist in the development of practical Christian living. The Bible curriculum provides seven major themes: Theology, Attributes of God, Biblical literature, Biblical geography, Christian growth, Christian evidence, and a special emphasis for each grade level. History & Geography - The goal of these courses is to develop students' understanding of and appreciation for God's activity as seen in the record of man and his relationships. The curriculum targets this goal by focusing on six major themes: Geography (World and American), History (World, American, and Religious), Government and Citizenship, Economics, and Social Studies. Language Arts - Because SOS Language Arts is an integrated program, the elementary grades weave skill topics (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking) together within units. In the middle and high school grades, skills are developed unit by unit. The major strands of this Christian homeschool curriculum are detailed as follows: Reading (Vocabulary, Comprehension Skills, Literature Studies), Writing (Spelling, Penmanship, Grammar, Composition), Speaking and Listening, and Special Topics (Visual Media, History of the English Language, The Bible as Literature, Book Reports, Study and Research Skills). Math - Students will develop and build math skills through the use of various question formats, multiple exercise techniques, and fun learning games. Concepts are developed through grade levels to ensure mastery. The curriculum targets this goal by focusing on the major themes of number skills, geometry, algebra, data analysis, and probability. Science - Students focus on the development of observational skills as they study the physical universe God created. The program involves a combination of on- and off-computer assignments including experiments. Grades 3-9 observe each area of science on an individual survey basis, usually unit by unit. Grades 10-12 focus on specific areas of science–Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. The four major strands of this Christian homeschool curriculum are as follows: Life Science (Plants and Animals, Human Anatomy and Personal Care, Biology), Space and Earth Science (Geology, Weather, Space), Physical Science (Chemistry, Physics), Nature of Science (Scientific Method, Experimentation, Technology). Switched on Schoolhouse Features SOS is a Christian homeschool curriculum that makes homeschooling easy and fun. Here's a list of some of the features of Switched on Schoolhouse: Automatic Grading - No more answer keys! Daily Work Report - Quickly view daily student activity, promote student accountability, and print valuable records for documentation. Revised Content - Unlike traditional textbooks, Switched-On Schoolhouse brings your child up-to-date information, more activities, new problems, and text changes. Text-to-Speech - With this voice automated feature, students simply choose a passage or the entire lesson and have it read aloud to them. Enriching Games - Interactive games like Farmer Frank, All Right, and Quiz Bowl provide students with fun ways to master lesson content. Custom Curriculum and Projects - Customize your curriculum by combining, adding, or removing units and assignments. Advanced Lesson Planning - Each child can have a personalized lesson plan to pace him correctly, and it can be modified day by day if needed. Book Reports - In grades 3-8 of the language arts curriculum, student projects feature genre highlights, book lists, and links to additional resources. Built-in Calendar - Assign or unassign school days, exclude date ranges, and add or remove events like field trips and holidays. Individual Weekday Scheduling - With this flexible, schedule-friendly feature, you can easily assign courses to select days of the week. Video Clips - Integrated into the curriculum, videos give students an up-close look at subject topics. Instant Audio Feedback - User-friendly feature that gives immediate audio feedback on answers to questions. Printing Options - Easily print entire lessons, problems, records, vocabulary lists, and assignments that include the student's name. Resource Center - A calculator, interactive periodic table of elements, dictionary, and more! Personalized Journal - Improve writing skills by encouraging daily journaling. Highlighting Tool - Students can choose colors and highlight text for easy studying. Vocabulary Arcade - Master spelling words and vocabulary definitions with educational games. Sound good? Enter to win a full year - ALL subjects! HOW TO ENTER: Comment on the post here to enter! Please note: Your email address will be shared with Hearts at Home, our sister site. We respect your privacy and do not share your email address.  To qualify for this giveaway, you must be subscribed to our Giveaway Blast! Extra Entry: Like Homeschool Giveaways on Facebook Extra Entry: Follow Homeschool Giveaways on Twitter Extra Entry: "Like" Hearts at Home on Facebook Extra Entry: Follow Hearts at Home on Twitter Extra Entry: Share about this Giveaway on Twitter or Facebook (quick icons above post) Extra Entry: Post this giveaway in your favorite forum Extra Entry: Blog about this giveaway Extra Entry: Send an email to your homeschooling friends about this giveaway Be sure to leave a separate comment for each extra entry! Max entries 9 per person! Winner drawn on 4-27-12.

St. Therese

St. Therese is on of my favorite Catholic Saints. I keep a Faith journal and I include her in my daily prayers in my journal. I found this and was so excited with it I just have to share. I hope you find this as wonderful as I do.



NOVENA TO ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX


St. Therese, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from your heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Please ask God to grant me the favor I implore and tell Him I will love Him daily more and more. Help me to always believe as you did, in God's great love for me, so that I might imitate your "Little Way" each day. Amen 

Curriculum for Homeschool

Curriculum for Homeschool

I came across this on yet another of my tireless searches to improve homeschool for next year. Just thought I'd share.
God Bless,
Kimmie

The Challenge

So today while shopping at Barnes and Noble for some books we need for our Ancient Greece study with my dd Bridget, also affectionately known as Gidget, I was presented with a challenge.

While perusing the shelves after we picked up "The Iliad and "The Odyssey", I was pointing out works of literature I had to read growing up and pointing out to my dd that she to would have to read the very same books.

Now I have always loved to read and besides reading Jane Austen (my favorite classic literary) from time to time, I usually don't read much anymore. Though I did recently read "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien, and I loved it. Then Gidget commented that I was lucky, because now I get to read books that are just for fun. Then she said, "I bet you couldn't read a book that isn't just for fun".  Thus, "The Challenge" was born. I said I could read any book she brought to me. She went on a scavenger hunt to pick me out a book. Now the rule was the book had to be a book of literature, not a 400 page book on business taxes or the like. Still even with that rule I was a little scared, and I was right to do so. She came back with a copy of War and Peace by Tolstoy.

Now I really wanted to back out at this point, but pride wouldn't allow that. Plus what kind of example am I setting if I can't read a book I don't care for. Right??

So that's "The Challenge", I am going to read War and Peace. It will probably take me 6 months, but I will read this book. Who knows, I may even enjoy it!!! Hoping this finds you and yours well.

God Bless,

Kimmie