The 2nd Blog-iversary post!

For the 2nd blog-iversary, I posted my Homeschooler's "Rap"! 

To read the lyrics, you can click through to the original blog post, or if you can't view the video, click the link above it! ^_^ Enjoy!

Without further ado:

Homeschooler's "Rap"

Beautiful Blessings - 11/23/15 & 11/24/15

~ Our first real snow!!!!

~ Waking up to screeches of pure joy from the kids!

~ The pure joy of the neighbor kids who never saw snow before!

~ Declaring a morning of snow/Christmas movies! "Its a Wonderful Life", "Muppets Christmas Carol", and "White Christmas"!

~ Our new spice and jelly cabinet!

~ Setting aside Christmas presents with Mom!

~ Plotting ideas about presents I would like to give!

~ 30 days till Christmas!!!!

~ Singing Christmas carols with my sisters!

~ Counting down the days till we get our Christmas tree!

Beautiful Blessings - 8/26/15

~ Flying to Africa in the Little Tyke's playcube! I love listening to their adventures in flight! Heehee!!!! I think the plane is about to crash though XD
~ Listening to the katydids and crickets sing "When the Saints Go Marching In"! Seriously! Thats the rythm that they are doing! They are so talented that they even have the echo ;~)

~ Finding beautiful patterns and textures in the yarn!

~ L-Jo and T-bug making sure that even Turtlebunny gets to play Bingo!
~ Reading 7 chapters in one of my books for history!

Beautiful Blessings - 7/16/15

Long post ahead just to warn ya ;~)

~ Seeing the view from the park where we had a picnic lunch! This snippet of song from Mary Poppins came to mind (Chim-Chim Cher-ee):

"Up where the smoke is
All billowed and curled
'Tween pavement and stars
Is the chimney-sweep world

When there's hardly no day
Nor hardly no night
There's things half in shadow
And half way in light
On the rooftops of London
Coo, what a sight"

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~ Listening to the chimes of a church when it is noon! The Hills are Alive came to mind:

The hills are alive, 

With the sound of music 

With songs they have sung 

For a thousand years

The hills fill my heart,

With the sound of music

My heart wants to sing

Every song it hears

My heart wants to beat

Like the wings of the birds

That rise from the lake to the trees

My heart wants to sigh

Like a chime that flies

From a church on a breeze

To laugh like a brook

When it trips and falls

Over stones on its way

To sing through the night

Like a lark

Who is learning to pray

I go to the hills

When my heart is lonely

I know I will hear

What I've heard before

My heart will be blessed,

With the sound of music

And I'll sing once more.

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~ Discovering where the sidewalk ends!

WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rest from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know,

The place where the sidewalk ends.

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~ Imagining my sisters are Betsy, Tacy, and Tib!

"Holding the plate in one hand and a glass of milk in the other, each little girl would walk carefully out of her house and down the porch steps and out to the middle of the road. Then they would walk up the hill to that bench where Tacy had stood the first night she came. And they would eat supper together." - Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

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~ Spotting the beautiful heart on the dragonfly's wings! To continue with the literary theme:

The Dragon-fly

By Alfred Lord Tennyson

Today I saw the dragon-fly
Come from the wells where he did lie.
An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk: from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.
He dried his wings: like gauze they grew;
Thro' crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew.

------------------------------------

Twas a beautiful day! :~D

Throwback Tuesday: For a Winter's Evening

 For caroling, or a sleigh ride,

for winter strolls through the countryside,

or enjoying gentle snowfalls,

'tis a perfect outfit for a winter evening!

 ~ Winter Wonderland ~

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is a new bird
He sings a love song,
As we go along,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown

He'll say: Are you married?
We'll say: No man,
But you can do the job
When you're in town.

Later on, we'll conspire,
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid,
The plans that we've made,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

A White Thanksgiving!

A friend agreed with me that this should be the song for today:

I'm dreaming of a white Thanksgiving
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear gobblers in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Thanksgiving
With every mashed potato that I roast
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your turkey meat be white! 

Throwback Tuesday: Ribbons down my back

This reminds me of the song, Ribbons Down My Back from Hello Dolly!

I'll be wearing ribbons down my back this summer
Blue and green and streaming in the yellow sky
So if someone special comes my way this summer
He might notice me passing by

And so I'll try to make it easier to find me
In the silliness of July
Because a breeze might stir a rainbow up behind me
That might happen to catch the gentleman's eye

And he might smile and take me by the hand this summer
Making me recall of how lovely love can be
And so I will proudly wear ribbons down my back
Shining in my hair that he might notice me

Homeschooler's "Rap"!

 Today marks the 2nd anniversary of this lovely blog, Home On The Erie Canal!

As tradition, I have a fun Homeschooling post!

The very first post on this blog was a post about 4 Myths About Homeschooling!

Last year I wrote a post about 100 Things Homeschoolers Love!

This year, (drumroll please!), I present the Homeschooler's "Rap"!

(email readers may need to view the video on the website)

Pencils sharpened,

Textbooks bought,

Clean Pajamas,

And hand-me-down socks!

Snazzy Saxon,

Math-U-See,

It's time for the Mystery

Of History!

Composition notebooks,

Geometry tools,

McGuffey Readers,

With golden rules!

Vinegar, baking soda,

for a volcano.

Barometer, thermometer,

For the snow!

Good job stickers,

Smiley face stamps,

Song time now,

Let's all clap our hands!

Paperclips, staplers,

Elmer's Glue,

Cooking, cleaning,

For Home Ec too!

School is done at

Work and play,

We do it on the weekends

And on every day!

Time for a field trip

in the car!

Will we discuss amphibians?

Or the stars?

First, Second,

Third and Fourth,

In these grades we learn

South and North!

Fifth, Sixth,

Seventh and Eighth,

You learn to trust

And walk by Faith!

Ninth, Tenth,

Eleventh, and Twelve

You memorize the Dewey system

And how to shelve!

Being homeschooled

Is the best thing in the world,

No matter if your hair is

Straight or curled!

If you're homeschooled,

Won't you agree,

Being homeschooled is,

The best thing you can be!

Science Saturday: Bees, Wasps, Hornets, and Inchworms!

A wasp nest from last year!

The irony about these topics, is I got a bee/wasp/hornet sting on Wednesday. I guess it was good timing for this post! ;~)

Anyways, a few interesting facts! :~)

• A bee is not a wasp, a wasp is not always a hornet, but hornets are wasps. (A tongue twister indeed!)
• Bees are hairier and rounder than wasps, which tend to be slimmer and smoother.
• Wasps and hornets tend to make nests while bees usually live in trees, man-made hives, or underground (depending on the type.)
• Inchworms have 2 defense systems to prevent from them being eaten. One is blending in with the tree, and if that doesn't work, they can repel from the tree out of reach. When the danger has passed, they climb back up to where they were before.
• They are the caterpillars of the Geometer Moths.
• Inchworms don't have the same number of legs as the average caterpillar.

"Inchworm" with Danny Kaye in "Hans Christian Anderson"

"Inchworm" with Danny Kaye with "The Muppet Show" 

Throwback Tuesday: Eliza Doolittle

"I ain't done nothin' wrong by speaking to the gentleman. I've a right to sell flowers if I keep off the kerb. I'm a respectable girl: so help me, I never spoke to him 'cept so far as to buy a flower off me." 

Audrey Hepburn is the most well-known actress for this part.

Though Julie Andrews had it first.

You can't help but sing:

All I want is a room somewhere,

Far away from the cold night air.
With one enormous chair,
Aow, wouldn't it be loverly?
Lots of choc'lates for me to eat,
Lots of coal makin' lots of 'eat.
Warm face, warm 'ands, warm feet,
Aow, wouldn't it be loverly?
Aow, so loverly sittin' abso-bloomin'-lutely still.
I would never budge 'till spring
Crept over me windowsill.
Someone's 'ead restin' on my knee,
Warm an' tender as 'e can be. 'ho takes good care of me,
Aow, wouldn't it be loverly?
Loverly, loverly, loverly, loverly

Your Great Name - Natalie Grant (Chorus)

Redeemer, my Healer; Lord Almighty

My Savior; Defender; you are my King

Redeemer; my Healer; Lord Almighty

My Savior; Defender; you are my King

Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's 'all as it should be'

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

Forever Reign

You are good You are good
When there’s nothing good in me
You are love You are love
On display for all to see

You are light You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace You are peace
When my fear is crippling
You are true You are true
Even in my wandering

You are joy You are joy
You’re the reason that I sing
You are life You are life
In You death has lost it’s sting

Oh I’m running to Your arms
I’m running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough

Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord You are Lord
All creation will proclaim

You are here You are here
In Your presence I’m made whole
You are God You are God
Of all else I’m letting go

My heart will sing
No other Name
Jesus
Jesus

(Hillsong)