wordless wednesday

Not-Back-to-School Party

Today, while all of the other kids are heading back to school with new supplies and backpacks, we spent the day at the pool with our homeschool friends celebrating not going back to school.
The day included a visit from the local truancy officer to find out who/what we were doing and the fire department.  One of our sweet five year old friends got stuck in the cinder-block walled bathroom when the deadbolt lock broke.  Sweet girl sang worship songs to her mama through the door until the fire department arrived to cut the door open.  I asked her if I could buy her a sonic slush, but she requested a Starbucks instead.
The girls had a blast while the boys spent the day with a friend from the gym.  They are recovering from strep, so they are not up to be around others quite yet.

birthday girl

On Monday, my sweet baby girl turned 8 and is ready to enter third grade.  Daddy and I made sweet rolls (instead of her request of pancakes) for breakfast and Daddy took the day off.  I offered to teach a class at the church and took the boys, while Daddy and the girls went to the pool.  For dinner, she requested chicken and dumplings, her favorite meal.  Afterwards, we had cupcakes and cuddled on the couch to watch the movie Epic.  It was a low-key day with lots of family time.  We will celebrate her birthday with friends this weekend.

Your favorites:
food- Chicken and dumplings
color- hot pink
book - American Girl Series
movie- Turbo
things to do - play games

little man's first birthday party

Harrison celebrated his first birthday with family on Gigi and PopPop's front porch.  We enjoyed cupcakes, sandwiches, fruit, lemonade and tea. He received his first ball, trucks, books, a puzzle, and lots of diapers (per Mommy's request).  He rounded out the day with his cake, which he did not tear into, which makes LE the only one to actually enjoy their smash cake.  He took a very early nap and was super happy when guests arrived.  He got loved on by lots of cousins, aunts and uncles, Mommy, Daddy, sisters and big brother grandparents and his two great-grandmothers.   

classroom 2013-'14

We aren't planning to begin school until after Labor Day.  We haven't done any school work for weeks now (except piano, reading and field trips).  The girls needed a break and I did too.  So, I have been filling my days with de-cluttering, donating, buying and selling.

There isn't much of a change this school year as far as the layout of the classroom (last years' room) except we took the easel out of the room and installed a white board on the wall.  (The easel is in the shed, Boo's "playhouse".) Ben took down the chandelier (since a Realtor would classify the room as a dining room) and installed a ceiling fan.  We brought the floor pillows from the living room for lounging and reading.  I took down the large maps that we could only see when we climbed on top of a stool, we prefer a globe.  I also turned the bulletin boards sideways.
I am sure this year will probably be the last year the girls will use the antique school desks.  No worry I will save them for the boys, but have already been scouring Pinterest for ideas for when I am home schooling  four instead of just two.

Happy First Birthday Sweet Boy!

Yes, I know I am late.  I have been trying to upload a picture of his birth all week and then I didn't get his one year portraits done until this weekend.  (This is the raw print, Daddy will edit them tomorrow and I will post the "real" ones.
After three kids we finally got the strong, silent type.   To get a smile, you have to earn that smile.  Boo and Daddy seem to make him smile more than anyone else.  And he is a Daddy's boy.  The girls call him Harry and R2 calls him Hank.  We like the latter.
He began to take his first steps two weeks ago and is beginning to venture out own his own more often.
He is still a very picky eater.  He likes puffs, yogurt, whole milk (only a bottle when he hasn't eaten well at dinner), applesauce, bananas, fruit blends, squash and sweet potatoes. He only drinks from a straw, no sippy cups here.
He has mastered climbing the stairs and has a sixth sense for when someone has left the gate open.  He has crawled to the top of the stairs unnoticed multiple times and began to cry when he gets to the top and realizes he is alone.  He waves when he sees the car (b/c that is a huge ritual in our house now when Daddy or I leave, R2 and girls follow us to the garage and wave until we drive off).
He is the easiest-going baby, but when he gets mad, he has a temper.  He sleeps through the night unless he doesn't get a 2nd nap, then he usually wakes up around midnight.
He already has figured out about balls and cars.  He loves to throw anything and expects anyone nearby to retrieve it.
We love you so much sweet boy.  I am so grateful God had bigger plans than we did.

curriculum '13-'14

If you have been into any retail store in the past two weeks then you know it is my 2nd most favorite time of the year, school supplies have hit the aisles!!  I am not sure why I am excited this year b/c I don't need anything really, but I'm sure there is something I cannot live without.

As of yesterday, all of our curriculum has been ordered and as of this morning last years' curriculum has been filed away, sold on craigslist or loaned to a fellow homeschooler.

There isn't much changes as far as curriculum this year.  I'm feeling more confident in our choices and I love what the kids are doing.

Landry, age 8, reads above grade level, math at grade level, writes in cursive
Math - Math U See, Gamma
Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears, level 3, cursive
Spelling - Spelling Workout D
Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 3000 book 3
Logic - Mind Benders A1
*English - Shurley English (finishing up Book 1)
*History - Story of the World Vol 1.  Ancient Times (finishing soon and then will be onto The Middle Ages)
*Science - Exploring Creation with Botany
*Art - Art Treasury
**Piano - Alfred's Basic Piano Library Level 1B
*Responsibility - Lessons in Responsibility for Girls (home economics)

Bella, age 6, reads above grade level, math at grade level, writes in print
Math - Math U See, Alpha
Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears, level 1, print
Spelling - ABeka
Phonics - ABeka Language 1 and Letters and Sounds 1 - I chose to restart Boo in 1st grade using the ABeka curriculum b/c she is a strong reader, but she has trouble spelling phonetically and with all of the special rules.  When I taught private school this is curriculum I used and it worked.
Logic - Dr. DooRiddle
*English - Shurley English (finishing up Book 1)
*History - Story of the World Vol 1.  Ancient Times (finishing soon and then will be onto The Middle Ages)
*Science - Exploring Creation with Botany
*Art - Art Treasury
**Piano - Music for Little Mozarts
*Responsibility - Lessons in Responsibility for Girls (home economics)

*These are the subjects the girls work on together.  All other subjects they have their individualized lessons for.
**Piano - the girls still go to Miss Ashley once a week for piano lessons.

art in the park

One of my friends in our homeschool group has begun offering art in the park once a month.  This was our first time to be able to participate and 3/4 of the kiddos had fun being artsy.  The big girls enjoyed splatter painting and R2 had a blast at his very own table painting.  Afterwards the kids were let loose to wash the paint off at the local sprinkler park.

Beginning of the Birthday Season

This past weekend marked the beginning of RFS birthday season.  HR is first, then Landry, Mommy and Daddy's birthdays all fall in less than a 5 week period.  We started celebrating early by taking the girls to Fiesta Texas on Saturday, cashing in our Read To Succeed tickets, the girls and I earned this past school year.  A friend gave me an extra ticket and we thought we were off for a cheap family weekend.  Umm, no.  $18 to park your car, $15 for a locker (to hold our clothes while we "enjoyed" the "free" water park), $15+ a person for lunch in the park (b/c you cannot take in food or drinks to the park).
Oh, it was so hot, so crowded and not worth the price of parking.  We of course traumatized (unintentionally) the girls by taking them on the log ride, the one with a 40ft drop as our first ride.  Every ride after that, including the train that takes you from one side of the park to the other was met with trepidation.  I think we scarred them for life, but its all good b/c now we can mark that off our list and never, ever have to do Fiesta TX again.  In all seriousness, the girls said they enjoyed themselves, but I guess we are now theme park snobs b/c nothing can possibly compare to the mouse.