Subdivision Summer Swim League

The three oldest have begun their summer swim team competitions....

Chores...

One question I get asked often is 'how does your family handle chores?' So I thought today I would answer that question.

Over the years we have adapted our own method for organizing and getting chores done. Way back when I had a lot of time on my hands I use to print up my own pictures and words on the computer and create stickers then put them on magnets and our chore system was placed on the kitchen refrigerator....

Then I learned about this wonderful company called Family Tools. I took what I had already developed as a system with our family and I adapted it using their P.E.G.S system. Basically this allowed me to free up our refrigerator and it is a great visual reminder for me to check and see what has or hasn't been completed each day. I really do like their pictures.

Now I must stop and say we absolutely do not believe their should be a reward system attached to doing chores around the house. We do not offer allowances or special treats for getting chores done. Our belief has always been that chores are the basic training grounds for learning about charity towards each other and our home and responsibility. Chores are a team effort.

With that being said this is how we have set up our family chore system. The peg board is kept in the kitchen because I need a location with high visibility mostly for reminders, otherwise they would be forgotten. I used my label machine to put every one's names along the left side of the board, and every tag in that row is their personal chores for that day.

If you notice across the top you will see some yellow tags labeled daily chores, weekly chores, meal jobs and two clock tags. The two clock tags separate my day into a morning time zone for chores and an afternoon time zone for chores. I don't put an exact time because our homeschool schedule fluctuates too much. The meal job chores are for dinner time and these are mostly for the four older children.

Then if you notice along the bottom I have rings with different colored tags and chore tags. Each color represents a day of the week. This visual along with the picture tags has been incredibly helpful with my non-readers, all the way down to my four year olds. For us Mondays are purple, Tuesdays are yellow, Wednesdays are blue, Thursdays are red and Fridays are green. So this particular board is set up with Thursday's chores.

A couple years ago when my homeschool doubled and the workload got more intense for the older ones we went from doing all our chores on Monday mornings to spreading them out over the week. The best way I found to organize that task was to purchase some extra sheets of chore pictures/words from Family Tools and place whatever chores I needed done on that certain day. What I did was to take our home and divide it into three zones. The upstairs, main level and basement. Because the main level is the most used area of the house we have dedicated chores to this zone three days per week, then one day goes for upstairs and one goes for downstairs.

Well, I hope you found this helpful and it answers the commonly asked question 'how does your family handle household chores'.

Happy 20th Anniversary

There is no way to take all the fabulous memories over the past 20 years and place them in just one video, but I do hope you enjoy this condensed recap as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you! I love you very much.... H.B.

2010 February Snow

Happy Birthday Reepicheep!

Busy weekend... we celebrated Reepicheep's 4th birthday Saturday.  Boy does time fly by....

Our Lady of Sorrow

A couple years ago we did this simple craft project for Our Lady of Sorrows Feast Day.

In the picture above you will see all the supplies we used. Let me tell you where we got them:

• Square cork board, pieces felt, bag of flowers, paints and fabric glue all came from Walmart
• The Cocktail swords came from my local grocery store
• An outline of the Immaculate Heart came from A Catholic How to Draw

We took the outline and traced then cut a heart and flame out of the felt. Then we laid the felt patterns on top of the cork board and cut out the shape of the immaculate heart.

Then we glued on the hearts. Made seven holes in the fabric and painted the entrances with a dab of red paint.

Then we took the plastic cocktail swords and spray painted them silver.

As they were drying we typed up the seven sorrows and placed them on labels. After the swords were dryed we placed them on the swords.

Here is the finished project. Simple but effective.

Our Square Foot Garden

In an effort for to take another step towards being healthier and going green (ecologically friendly) we started our own version of Square Foot Gardens last year. This year we still continue to enjoy reaping the benefits!!

We turned this into a wonderful school project! The children were responsible for completing a sun gride for each box from Spring until Fall. They also researched 'companion plants' and plotted their gardens on paper before we planted the seeds. Even though it was real sad that gummy stem rot attacked and destroyed Aravis's pumpkin plant it was a great learning experience!

While the plants grew they had to research visitors (good and bad) and find natural methods of repelling those critters that were not welcomed. It was a lot of work but SOOOO rewarding.

Believe - Shamu Show

This summer after a hectic schedule in San Diego with our Great-Grandma (96 years young), Jill was treated to a day of fun at Sea World by her Aunt and Uncle.

This is where God is sooooo good!!!

Anyone who has gone to Sea World knows that it's every child's dream to be chosen to be part of the show with Shamu. Well this time our precious Jill was chosen out of the crowd to be part of the show! The name of the show was called 'Believe' and it was about never loosing sight of our dreams.

The show started out about a young boy who had always wanted to train whales. To remind himself of this dream he carved a tail of a whale out of wood. The boy turned out to be the announcer/trainer - Matt. At some point you will get to see on a big screen a glimpse of the boy. Also in the video you will see Matt giving Jill the necklace with the wooden whale tail as a memento to never forget her dreams for they too can come true!

Apparently there were seven killer whales that played the role of Shamu. The quantity of tricks Jill could do in the show depended on which whale they used. I also would like to thank Doug for taping the show on his camera, and for a fabulous day at Sea World!!!!! We could not have been more stunned and happy. Enjoy the show!!

Unexpected Blessings

On the fourth Sunday of Advent our family was asked to light the Advent wreath right before Mass. So there we were all eight of us on the altar and only by the grace of God did everyone behave themselves. Well apparently our crew made quite an impression....

The following Sunday a lady came up to us after Mass and asked if we were the family that lite the Advent Wreath because she had something to give us. We just figured it was a thank you note of some sort for lighting the wreath. Well that was until Aravis showed back at our van after wards with this large gift box. On the box read the words -- FRAGILE! After we got home we opened our Holy Family gifts then proceeded to open this most unexpected gift.

In addition to this BEAUTIFUL statue of the Madonna, we recieved an authentic artwork of our Lady of Guadeloupe made in Mexico and a CD of Tajci: Christmas Concert Special!! These generous gifts really took our breath away -- AMAZING!!

A couple Sunday's later this generous lady, now affectionately known as 'Granny Jan', came up to us and stated that she was down sizing and had wanted to give her things to a good home. She saw us the Sunday we lite the Advent wreath and just knew that these items would find a wonderful home!!! -- WOW!

God blesses us in the most unexpected and truly beautiful ways doesn't He? From the bottom of our hearts Granny Jan, thank you so much for these precious heirlooms. We will love and cherish them for many many years!!!

The Catch of the Year!!!

Today we weren't sure what the weather was going to do. The weather station on TV kept saying we were suppose to have 70% chance of rain today. After a beautiful sunrise as seen in our Vacation 2007 photo album it did start to rain lightly but we opted to go ahead and head out to the pier and go fishing. Dave was optimistic we would not get rained on for long and I am very happy we decided to go!!



It did rain on us for about 30 minutes but it wasn't heavy and the fishing was well worth the temporary inconveniences! After Aravis made her fantastic catch we didn't think it could get any better until.... as you can see from this photo King Peter caught something very very big!! Daddy had to run over and help him pull it up so that his rod and or line would not break.

After all the excitement of getting this fella out of the water with no broken lines or rods we used our handy identification chart that Dave picked up at the tackle/bait store to figure out what it was we caught. They have a lot of regulations here on the size and number of fish one can keep so the chart came in very handy. On the chart they have a scale to measure sporting value and eating value of each fish. The scale ranks from 1 to 5 with one being the lowest/worst and five being the best/finest. Would anyone like to guess what this beauty is that King Peter caught? A couple hints... it has a sporting value of 4.5. It has an eating value of 5. OK last hint it is one of the most expensive fish you can order on the menu at the finest restaurants....

King Peter caught a 16 inch POMPANO!! It was absolutely beautiful and the boy was in heaven!! I really can't think of any other time that I have seen him so excited. He is still talking about it today. Can you guess what we had for dinner?

After we got home Dave looked up on-line how to prepare and cook both the Red Drum fish and the Pompano fish. Then we took advantage of this learning opportunity and the kids had a brief lesson on dissecting and preparing.

... here Dave is preparing to dissect the Red Drum fish.

... our first Redfish fillets. Well done daddy!!

.. now time to prepare the Pompano which was different than how we had to prepare the Redfish. After filleting the Redfish we dissected it's stomach contents in search for the lost hook. Things got pretty stinky ;-)

... with the Pompano you have to clean out the stomach and guts first before removing heads, tails and fins etc. Then you leave it intack for baking. The only mystery was we were unable to find the hooks in either fish?? Hmmm...

... now it was time to season and bake our fish!

... here was the final product. After baking the Pompano its skin just peeled off effortlessly. Can I just say that the Redfish was fantastic and the Pompano was unbelievable!! Both quite different in texture and flavor.

... here is a very proud King Peter!! It sure was yummy sweet heart -- Thank you God for such a fabulous day!!!

Hey mom what is in that milk?

Gotta love those intense toes and adorable fat rolls!!

What we like to do with color...

If you will notice we are now in 'Ordinary Days' in our liturgical calendar and the vestment colors have gone from white to green. This unspoken use of visual colors that our Church's liturgical calendar wisely uses has opened up many unspoken secrets within our own family. Today I want to briefly touch on this silent secret of using colors!!

I have read in many cases where people use 'colors' to help children with learning disabilities. It is a visual aide that helps the child learn through another sensory input. Well, I think this same modality can be used across the board with all types of persons, children, adolescents, and even adults. It has been over the past three or four years that I have slowly integrated the use of colored visual aides into our home that sends a message without me ever having to say a word.

Here are some examples....

At Knotty Pines Academy the children wear knit shirts that are color coordinated to the Church's liturgical seasons and saints. On school days, this has eliminated the morning dressing battles, and there are no longer delays in starting morning prayers. Plus the children from preschool on up always know what season or saint we are celebrating. On days that we honor martyred Saints they will wear red shirts, and on a days we honor Mary they wear blue shirts, etc. This has turned out to be another wonderful way we can all live our faith.

With our weekly school schedule we have color coded the blocks of times we allow for certain studies throughout the day. This sends a silent message to all the kids so they know where they need to be again without my having to say anything. Each child has their own color codes school supplies and instruction cards in the learning centers. This has enabled the non-readers with more independence and teacher to properly direct after school clean-ups ;-)

Our chore board meal times are color coded according to the day of week. This has served several good purposes. First the non-readers in the family know exactly what day is *theirs* to set up the altar in preparation for prayer times etc. We also have certain chores assigned to certain days and the colors help the children remember without my having to say anything.

We have color coded the children's bathroom towels and certain toiletries. Each child has their own colored toothbrushes, hair brushes and towels. This helps me keep track of who is leaving what where and who did what and who didn't so that I might instruct directly.

What secrets has color coding brought into my home? It has brought order, accountability, unity, sanity and peace.

A Tribute to an Old Friend

Well, today was a very sad day for all of us at our cottage. We had to say goodbye to our 12 year old Lab, Chamois. We adopted her four years ago after moving up here to Georgia. She wasn't with us long but her loyalty and companionship renewed our love for the breed.

Chamois, your presence will definitely be missed!!

Welcome...

...to our family blog. We are a Catholic homeschooling family having the time of our lives on this ever changing journey of living and learning!! In gratitude to the Most Holy Trinity we wanted to create a place to share with distant family and friends, so that they may have glimpses into those trails that we are blessed with daily.

Many have asked where we came up with the name Knotty Pines Trails? It really came to fruition about five years ago when we began to come up with plans for our future hobby farm. Our family absolutely loves anything outdoors including nature walks, fishing, gardening, hiking or camping. Some of our fondest memories have been exploring new trails here in Georgia where there are tons of forests, woods, protected parks and yes even back yards with a lot of acreage. This is when we came up with a couple good names for our future farm and Knotty Pines Trails was voted as the best name for our family. The name has now filtered into all areas of our lives.

Dear visitors as you will come to realize our choice to homeschool has grown over the past decade into a lifestyle of learning that is intertwined with our daily living. This choice completes *our* family and in no way is judgmental against other methods of educating children. We welcome all readers and comments. Our prayer is that we might inspire others along their journeys!

My husband, Dave and I are the proud parents and educators of our six beautiful children. The name of our homeschool is Knotty Pines Academy Homeschool. Initially, our teaching methods were heavily influenced by a wonderful educator called Charlotte Mason, but over the years we have come to know, be inspired and adapt several other educational methods like child-centered rabbit trails (unit studies), some classical ideas, Montessori materials can be found sprinkled throughout the elementary years to reinforce learning skills, and we use quite a bit of creative art elements that add amazing beauty and richness to our all lesson blocks.

We aim to create a loving and nurturing environment that will guide our children to their fullest potential as self-confident, creative and caring individuals who embrace learning, think for themselves and positively influence the world around them. We strive to seek "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is lovely and whatever is gracious..." because all beauty and truth originate in God the Creator.

We also strive daily with "... all our hearts, minds, souls and strength to know, love and serve the Lord our God" (Deut. 6:5), His one true Church (Matt. 16:18, Acts 15), in union with the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). This total devotion in combination with all our humanity forms who and what we are so please remember our opinions and thoughts are just that – our own and our intent is never to offend anyone.