August 30th, 2013

WE DID IT!! WOO HOO!! The boys are so very excited. All three boys have the 13 Articles of Faith memorized. ( Videos to come) Andrea and her friend made an ice cream tracking chart for the boys, so as they memorized each one, we got to put a scoop on top of the cone. I am not a big on giving food as a reward for things, but Rex and I decided that since the boys worked so hard and memorized all the Articles of Faith that we would take them to our favorite dessert stop, Kiwi Loco.  They are so very proud!

In other news, Evelyn had her 4 month check up. She is long and skinny * sound familiar, Liz?* She is 27 inches long ( 98%) and 13 pounds ( 38%)  She is strong and healthy.

August 6th, 2013

Yesterday was our first day of school. It is going very very well, and I think after revamping our schedule a few times, we are getting closer to getting down a routine that really works for us.

Here are the boys' first day of school pictures!

 

 My little sweet heart.

 

 

My little tough guy.

 

 

 

 

 Big kid, moving onto 2nd grade school work!

 

 

 Mr. Trenton, starting mostly 6th grade work now. Time flies!

 

 

 Class Picture -- not all of us totally in the picture, but hey, we tried.

 

 

 Lots of organizing, planning and keeping things in order!

 

We have a goal set for all of us to read 300 books all together, by January 1st, 2014.

 

We are already almost done with Stuart Little. Then, we move onto Little House on the Prairie.

 

 

June 15th, 2013

 

Something pretty to look at today.

 

Today was overall a good day. We are gearing up to start school again. The boys and I started planning out our curriculum, and figuring out what they wanted to learn. Benji is excited to start "kindergarten" this school year. There is a lot to plan and do now with 3 boys in full swing with school. We were going to start tomorrow, but I still have a lot to plan and organize.

 

We are planning to have  yard sale soon, so that is in the process, and the piles of useless stuff are mounting. I like getting rid of stuff. I am not a fan of "stuff" at all. I am ready to have my house back and not so much "stuff" hanging around.

 

On the down turn of things today, I am so sick of having animals. I love animals, but I am done with them in my house. After these dogs, we are done having pets until the children are out of the house. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but it is just too much.

 

I hope tomorrow is emotionally better for me. Some days are harder than others trying to deal with everything life throws at you. But it is all a process. I think part of my poopy mood today has to do with not feeling well. My eye infection is getting better, but it is draining still.

 

Tomorrow is another day.

Nature!

This week we are studying weather. One of our experiments was how it rains. We did the experiment above with shaving cream, water, and food coloring. It was awesome!


Along with the experiments,   we are taking some tips from the Charlotte Mason curriculum and observing nature. The boys started nature journals today. we are going to try every day to sit out side, regardless of weather, to observe nature. They can draw, write .. what  ever they want in their journals. It is exciting!

 

The boys really enjoyed taking in nature and actually observing what is that is going on around them. 

This picture...........DON'T ask. It was not fun, but we made it through and the boys were cute! 

Joe's Big Day!

 Joe's graduation day. 

 Getting his "diploma" and a citizenship award. 

 

Joe and Miss Allen. 

Honestly, the kid was so checked out and done with school, he could have cared less. We have all kind of moved on and are ready to start a brand new chapter in out lives. The boys are excited to be homeschooled, and have already started helping me plan out or days and our curriculum for our school days. 

To all those out there considering the home school ways, I got a lot of information from the video here.   Also, another great link is the Thomas Jefferson Education site  . 

Both have a lot of information and are very insightful.  

Homeschooling.. Maybe......

I have always contemplated homeschooling the boys at least for a while, or maybe clear up to 12th grade. I never realized how vast the world of home schooling was until the past two days. There are SO many online classes, un schooling, book schooling ect... I am up in the air with what I want to do still or even if we will home school. I talked to Trenton about trying 2nd grade at home, and he is on board. I explained that it would be a lot different from going to school, but that kid knows a lot more than I give him credit for. " I know I wont see my friends as much mommy, and we wont get to do competitions for box tops or raffle tickets, but that's ok, I'll be home with you" I know, any kid would LOVE it, stay home, sleep in, lounge... but really it would give a lot more free time to do hands on activities, and one on one time. I found one school that I really am leaning towards so far. It is Connections Academy. This place looks awesome!

each school year, they send you a computer and access to the internet just for that student to do his or her work on, all your text books and supplies and it's ALL FOR FREE! He would even be able to join in live chat once a week with other students and teachers, constant contact with teachers for him and me, elective classes, even clubs and what not for kids to join. I could ramble on forever, but I wont. Check out the site ~ Let me know your thoughts.

PS I think I would still enroll him in music class at Jefferson Elementary once a week so he could see his friends and get the traditional "classroom" environment. We will see how it goes. I have until April to decide.