Homeschool my way and The Church in Iraq

Sometimes I get bogged down by the monotony of homeschool. The addition facts, phonograms, the four year old who won't leave me alone, the baby who takes Camilla's pencil when she isn't looking. At those points when I survey my messy house along with everything else I start having visions of public school, and start to think that must be the most wonderful invention on earth. But then I decide to take a week like last week and regroup. Yes, addition facts, and phonograms are important, but they aren't the reason I homeschool. You can learn addition facts and phonograms very successfully at public school, but I homeschool for the things you can't get at public school, the education that goes beyond the classroom. And so on Monday we went to the Milford Nature Center to study biomes and habitats up close.

Mary loved the bobcats who were running around, and playing. You can she is pointing at them.

On wednesday I was able to combine a lesson on sculpture with Veteran 's Day. Afterall some of the most important sculpture in our world is in memorium.
At Veteran's Park

At the Buffalo Soldier momument

A happy baby playing at the park


On Friday we took advantage of a traveling Smithsonian exhibit that strangely ended up in our tiny town, called Journey Stories. The children really enjoyed the many interactive features of the exhibit.

At the entrance to the exhibit in the Geary County Historical Museum

Learning and having fun


Oddly enough on Saturday after coming home from a puppet show at the library, I found a robin's egg intact. It seems very weird to me to find one in November and not the springtime. If anyone would care to enlighten me, I would love to know what it was doing on my lawn.

And so the week ends.

And now for some more news from Jacob.
"This last week was certainly historic in nature for the Church in Iraq.Through a series of small miracles, Elder Paul B. Pieper of the 1st Quorum of the Seventy was cleared to come into the Iraqi Theater to organize the Baghdad Iraq Military District, and bring the keys of thePriesthood to this land for the first time in what is probably centuries. It is indeed wonderful to see the gospel move forward in this part of the world. In the words of Elder Pieper: "The Lord wants this military district organized and the priesthood to be here in Babylon on this occasion. We don't know His plan in detail, but this is His timefor such an event to take place."
There are approximately 1300 members of the Church sprinkled throughout the country of Iraq presently-a combination of military and civilian brothers and sisters. The new Baghdad Iraq Military District has been given the task to organize branches where they are merited and are to continue to utilize groups where needed. Anyway, it is an exciting time to be a member of the Church in Iraq."