So...what is P.O.O.L. School??

P.O.O.L. School is the name of our school -and our last name- but what does each letter stand for? Let me first explain that for the first 3 years of homeschooling we were 'Mistletoe Academy' because we lived on Mistletoe Circle and I just thought that was the cutest street name ever! Once we moved to AR I knew I needed a new name, but nothing was coming to me. I wish I could say I spent a week fasting and praying for a profound name, but truth is my inspiration came from a downtown shopping trip! ;) I purchased the cutest 'pool' bag last summer with the letters P.O.O.L. on the side and underneath the letters it says, "Perfect Outlook On Life". I just thought it was too cute AND it had my last name on it, so I had to buy it! [lol]. But once I got it home it hit me...isn't our faith in Jesus Christ & our Christian walk the only way to have a PERFECT outlook on life?! Notice it does not say 'positive' outlook...it says 'perfect'! How can you have a 'perfect' outlook on life without the hope of eternity? Jesus points us to eternal life! HE gives us life...to the full! He gave his life for us! Jesus is the only way to have a perfect outlook on life!

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." John 17:3

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11

Therefore, we want to point our children to JESUS and teach them how to have a perfect outlook on life! Jesus is the foundation of POOL SCHOOL! He is the most important subject! If all I give my children is reading, writing, & arithmetic I fail them as a mother & a teacher.

Our main goal (Greg & I) is to " bring our children up in the training and instruction of the Lord" [Ephesians 6:4]. And to teach our children the commandments...to love God & to love one another! We choose to home school because we want to spend every minute with our children...teaching them and pointing them to Christ.

" These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:6-8

P.O.O.L. School...now you know. ;)

1st Day of Kindergarten!!

We are 'easing' back in to our school schedule a little early this year. I usually begin school the day after Labor Day [because of the heat!], but I wanted to get my routines and new schedule up and running before we jump back in full-force. SO...I decided to start Carolyn this week. She goes to POOL School Kindergarten on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday. She was VERY excited to start! She's such a JOY! Cason read the Bible story to Carolyn & Chloe...he was our 'guest reader'. And of course Chloe thinks she started Kindergarten, too!

Postcard Swap is going well!

It is going a little slower than planned, but it is going well! I'm using the Olde World Style US Maps {from HS in the Woods} to use in our States Notebook. We read/view the postcard, 'study' the state (using the maps & fact sheets), place the worksheets in our States Notebook {a notebook where we collect the info. about each state}, and then hang the postcard on the wall. Here is a pic of the States Notebook:


This is a FUN, easy way to learn about each state. The kids enJOY getting a new postcard in the mail each week. I purchased The Little Man In the Map (we love this book) and it is helping us learn the states by shape alone!

Sketch Tuesday!

This was our first time to participate in Sketch Tuesday and the kids enJOYed it a lot! The assignment was to sketch items found in a first aid kit. Here's what they created:

Cason, age 8

Katelyn, age 11

Carrie, age 5

I'm trying to incorporate more ART into our days. I recently had the opportunity to review an ARTistic Pursuits book {which I love!} and it sparked a quest to motivate my kiddos to be more artsy. We are going to start using our Nature Journal more and instead of me always printing off a sheet to color, I want them to draw the things we see in nature. To help them with sketching I thought the Sketch Tuesday assignments would encourage them to sketch more often. I also found a *super* deal on a beginning drawing program by Barry Stebbing. Barry Stebbing is an artist and owner of How Great Thou Art [Christian art curriculum for home schoolers].

I will give a review of this program once I get it and start using it. For $19.95...it is worth a try! I hope the AFA site keeps it on their site.

Have an ART~filled day! Isn't the weather beautiful!? I LOVE spring!

Music!

Do you want to have regular music lessons, but do not know how, where, when, why?
Check this out...Classics for Kids A FREE {love free!} classical music site complete with 'composer of the month', music, activity sheets, lesson plans {to teach music concepts}, & LOTS more! Super fun, educational, & FREE! Yippppeee!

This month's composer is Gioachino Rossini. This week we listened to the William Tell Overture and completed the activity sheets,which introduce Rossini and includes the story of William Tell. There is also a fun color sheet that teaches musical dynamics. EnJOY!

Learn the States Postcard Swap!

I'm SO excited!! We are a part of a postcard swap! Our Adventures in Education started a “Learn the States” Postcard Swap and we are pleased to represent the great state of Oklahoma {Arkansas was taken, so we chose our neighbor}. We drive through OK on our way to TX, so it will be easy to get our postcards. Each family represents one of the 50 states and we will receive a new postcard each week for 50 weeks!

My plan is to put up a large map of the United States, and
connect each postcard that we receive to it’s corresponding state with a piece of yarn {see picture on the left, courtesy of proteacher.com}. Also, we will color-in each state on our Sonlight markable map. This will be a great way to learn the location of each state.


I have always wanted to participate in a postcard swap...what a fun way to learn the states! Everyone loves to get mail. :) I'll post each time we get a new postcard.

S*N*O*W!

Last week was a true Winter Wonderland for us! We received 5-8" of snow and it stayed on the ground ALL week...still has not completely melted! It started snowing on Saturday night [Jan. 2] and continued, on-and-off, all week! Local schools were out all week, so we delayed our 'back-to-school' schedule.

So we started back up this week and it's been nice to get back on a schedule. Oh, by the way, I have a new schedule [yes, another schedule!] for this semester. I like to look at my schedule and revise it often ~another blessing of homeschooling...if something isn't working, tweak it! I'll post our new schedule soon.

Here are the beautiful ~*~SNOW~*~ pics: