Friday, May 29, 2015

The Next Chapter/Seuraava luku

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The Mothership Crew has been stationary for a few months, and it is time to get back on the road, again.



We have had a wonderful time in Florida, and we look forward to returning after our travels.



This weekend we will be busy packing up the Mothership, cleaning our condo, and mapping our route north - New England, here we come!

Starting on Monday, keep an eye on our twitter and/or facebook feeds for travel updates.

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Floridan aika loppuu taas, ja on aika meidän suunnata asuntoauton nokka kohti pohjoista. Paljon on työtä edessä viikonloppuna, ennen kuin maanantaina startataan. Päivitän reissua twitterin ja/tai facebookin kautta. Syksyllä takaisin Floridaan!

Monday, May 25, 2015

FPEA 2015 Homeschool Convention

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We just got back from FPEA homeschool convention in Orlando. We had a fantastic weekend. Here are some of our highlights in a random order.

1) We met up with Mr. D! He has become one of our homeschool heroes with his high school math curriculum! I honestly wanted to go grab the loud speaker and tell everyone to go stop by Mr. D's booth! All four of my high schoolers had a fantastic year of Geometry last year, and they are signing up for the summer Algebra II course! Yes! They want to**. If you are not familiar with Mr. D Math, make sure check it out here. (We also enjoyed meeting Mrs. D, and the mini D's:)

** Mr A is not sure - he is still working on finishing 10th grade, and going on a mission's trip this summer, but we are thinking he'll start the class, and if it's too much, he can do it over the fall. Ironically Mr A is missing from the picture, because he was working on his final Geometry exam!




2) This year's Keynote speakers were excellent! We really enjoyed meeting Megan and Steve Scheibner (and some of their eight children) from Characterhealth. Steve shared from his 911 story In My Seat, and I attended Megan's session on finding our children's (and our own) God-stories. Both sessions I laughed and cried.

The Scheibners are passionate about American families, and have a variety of helpful tools to have healthy marriages and families. They have a strong desire to equip today’s parents to raise the next generation of character healthy leaders. You can sign up for email tips, and find their blogs, videos and online store here.





3) We had many great conversations, and enjoyed meeting and visiting with vendors and companies who were exhibiting. The Captain and I met Mary Prather from Homegrown Learners! We've been online friends for many years, and it was so nice to finally meet in person. Her blog is a wonderful resource for homeschoolers, and for those considering homeschooling.

We stopped by the Alpha Omega Publications booth to meet up with old friends. While we aren't using AOP Monarch this year, we will always be grateful for AOP, and friends who directed us to their curriculum (SOS first year). We would not be homeschooling if it wasn't for their material. It served us so well for many years.

One of my highlights was meeting Sarita Holzmann from Sonlight. Little Miss and I have so loved using Core B this past year, the books we have read have become favorites, and it has been such a great fit for us overall. For the teens, too! It was an honor to meet the co-founder of Sonlight, and hear her speak. Such a wonderful, godly lady!




4) Having the convention at the beautiful Gaylord Palms is always a treat. The kids love the outdoor waterpark, the beautiful atrium and fort with turtles and alligators, and having many friends (new and old!) to hang out with!





5) Little Miss lost another tooth while at the convention! She has a way of losing teeth anywhere, but home:)




6) And after the convention we met dear friends for lunch at Celebration. It was a perfect way to end our weekend away!


Thank you, FPEA, for another fantastic convention!


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Vietimme viikonlopun kotikoulukonferenssissa. Oli todella mukava reissu. Hyviä puhujia, paljon materiaalia ja informaatiota, uusia ja vanhoja ystäviä, ja loistava hotelli, missä konferenssi pidettiin. Kotiinlähtiessä vielä treffasimme New Hampshiren aikaiset ystävämme lounaalla. Onnistunut viikonloppu!

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Florida Fun

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Over the weekend we were able to join in on some Florida fun - sailing!

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The Captain used to sail competitively in his younger days, and the our teens had gone to sailing camp in Connecticut a few years ago. And we have an old beat up sail boat in Maine we sometimes take out on the lake. It had been a while though, but our sailors remembered what to do, and had a blast!




I, (Sennie), am a landlubber, but a content one: the beautiful day, fun company, and brilliant colors made this photographer quite snap-happy!


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Viikonloppuna pojat ja Kapteeni pääsivät purjehtimaan pitkästä aikaa, ja kyllä heillä oli kivaa! Valokuvaajakin nautti kauniista päivästä, ihanista ihmisistä ja kirkkaista väreistä. Tuli otettua muutama kuva:)

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Mamma Mia!

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Our Simple Pizza Dough
(Feeds the Mothership Crew +)

2 packages of active dry yeast
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
2 cups of warm water
4 tablespoons of olive oil
5 cups of flour (or a tad more, if flour is flying)

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Another Story/Toinenkin tarina

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Our school days are coming to an end. Some mornings we decide to leave the schoolbooks, and....

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.... take an outing, instead.

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A fun outing, of course!



(Wink.)


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And it pays off: Little Miss picks up a book, and starts reading it to me.

Middle of dinner prep.

Without me forcing begging asking to.

Sweet victory!!!

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Näin kouluvuoden loppupäässä on joskus hyvä jättää kirjat kotiin, ja lähteä pienelle retkelle. Pienelle, kivalle retkelle. Ja jos se päättyy kotona kirjojen ääneen lukemiseen, se on hyvä paussi koulujutuista se. Varsinkin, jos maman ei tarvitse pakoittaa kehoittaa pyytää lukemaan.

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

It's a Beautiful Mess/Kaunista sotkua

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In one of Little Miss' Sonlight homeschool books was a recipe for pancakes. Spending a morning making pancakes becomes school, right?

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The pancakes were delicious. And Little Miss did almost everything by herself. Very little help was required.


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Yhdessä Pikkuneidin kotikoulukirjassa oli pannukakkuresepti. Eikös yksi aamu pannareita tehdessä olekin hyvää koulua? Herkullisia oli, ja hyvin vähän tarvittiin apua:)