A is for Apple

Samuel learned all about the letter 'A' for preschool so I thought a trip to the Apple Orchard would be a fun way to end the week.  We ended up telling Hunter and Lily that it was their gym class because they were getting worn out from the walking and carrying baskets of apples.  :)  It was a really neat place--the kids enjoyed trying apples and checking out the bees that were making honey.  We ended up with way too many apples but I've already looked at some recipes online!  We plan on going back for pumpkins in another month or so!

*Oh, I forgot to charge my camera battery so everything was taken with my phone, which then had to be cleared of some memory!*

Almost 1 week done!

For some reason, I can't wait until tomorrow to write this post.  I might as well do it while I am thinking of it.  :)  So, almost 1 week down of homeschooling!!  I've learned some things:

Field trips are fun!  Brian had the day off so I could take Samuel for a speech evaluation in the morning.  We decided to take advantage of his presence and go fishing!!  It was a lot of fun!

It's interesting and frustrating to watch the interaction of siblings every day.  Some days they are screaming, crying and hitting over every little thing and some days are like this picture.  Twins sharing a chair, playing Word Girl and intertwining their feet.

Samuel is exhausted.  Pay no attention to his 4T plaid shorts and his 24month long sleeve shirt (which he took from Nathan's drawer).  I did let him wear this all day (=another bonus of homeschool!).  He is loving his preschool activities and is napping on the couch almost every afternoon.

Nathan is a mess!  Oh my goodness, this child can not be trusted.  I am weary because of him.  He's constantly trying to pull on the cat's tail, carry the cat around, hit the cat, eat anything he finds (markers!), throw toys in the toilet, empty dresser drawers, pinch/bite/hit siblings.  Sigh.  I get to the end of the day and feel I've really accomplished something just to have made it through a day with him.  He is my sweet baby and I love him but he will be reminded of this season!  And have I mentioned he's not even 2 yet?????

Otherwise, I've learned that mornings are great--I have time to just breathe before we start at 8:30 (which means we get up early!).  We finish by 10am, at the latest, and that gives us time to go to the library or to my parents' house or just do housework/play outside/etc.  Afternoon school ends up going fast, too.  We usually school from 1-2:30 but it can go longer or shorter.  I've already learned that I need to work on math with Hunter and Lily separately and that our math curriculum isn't fitting me well (nor Hunter).  I've remembered that a bonus of homeschool is going at our own pace and not keeping up with any plan or person or standard.   I've learned that I feel scattered with everyone's papers going everywhere, crayons/markers/etc. being put back crazily and books all around the floor.  I've also learned that Samuel would rather join in the twins' school time rather than do something on his own so I may need to add more activity to his preschool time to get some of the things in that I wanted to do in the afternoon.  Whew!  And that's 1 week!  :)

Day 1

Here comes a long winded post to tell in excruciating detail about my 1st day EVER of homeschooling my children...because someone may care (Grandparents!).  :)

6:30am...Woke up and realized the day had finally arrived!  I got my shower in before Brian left.

7-8am: I ate breakfast with Nathan, got my computer time in and had my quiet time.  

8-8:30am: Fed the other 3 kids and then directed them in getting ready for the day.  That mainly included dressing Nathan and reminding Samuel of what he was doing.

8:30am: Everyone gathered for calendar time.  I was so impressed.  They all sat down of their own accord.  They were excited to start.  And it was so precious that Nathan came and had a seat, too.  He had no clue what was happening, of course.

8:45ish?-9:45am We did all the calendar stuff and then I showed Hunter and Lily their "workfolders" and explained how that would work.  They got right to it--in fact Hunter picked reading as his first activity.  Shock!  I then started preschool with Samuel.  He did not want his siblings watching him so we sat in the hallway by my bedroom.  That worked!  We then went into the kitchen for some painting.  Here we are learning that only God can create something from nothing.

I then showed him how to use the Wikki Stix alphabet cards.  He loved this!

I then showed Samuel his extra work, which is not required.  It's just different activities from my favorite sites that are geared towards preschoolers.  One of the activities was the PowerPoint shows from 1+1+1=1.  He loved those!  He then wanted to spend more play time on the computer, which was fine.  Hunter and Lily also finished all their individual work by 9:45 and I gave them questions on their reading.  It was then just free time until lunch so they were so excited.  In the picture below, the 3 kids are showing off their new water bottles they received as a 1st day of homeschool gift!

Here's Nathan with his own bottle and some sunchips he managed to spill onto the table.  He wasn't too distracting during the morning school time.  I mainly have to make sure he doesn't kill the cat.

10-11am was just free time and I got some housework done.  They spent some time outside, some time on the computer and just free play.

11-11:30am: Lunch (we eat early!) plus clean up

11:30am-12pm: We went outside and this is what really turned my energy level down.  After just 30 minutes, I was exhausted and hot.  Sad, huh? The kids rode bikes, used the swings and blew bubbles.

12-1pm: I let the kids have some TV time while I talked to Brian and played with Nathan.

1-2:30:  I laid Nathan down and we started on 2nd grade!  I let the kids play with Thinking Putty while I read from our history book (American Pioneers and Patriots).  I kept stopping to ask questions because I was doubting whether they were registering anything but they did okay.  We then had geography, which is the picture below.  You can't see it as well but that's the earth with the 7 continents placed haphazardly appropriately.  The kids then hopped, twirled, etc from continent to continent (per Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory's instructions).  This was a lot of fun!

We had poetry, Bible, phonics and math.  Things were going pretty good.  Math was a little hairy.  Someone has a bad attitude about it.  Someone else was comparing the math to last year's math.  Sigh.  I thought it went okay but I don't think it was the favorite part of the day!

Finally, we were ending with our read aloud, which is by genre.  First up is a biography so the curriculum had us do a fun activity!  We picked 5 things to put in a bag to tell others about ourselves.  We then had snack and a read aloud, which was feeling a bit long due to the 4yo's boredom at that point.  He went through his work (coloring and cutting) very quickly so was just hanging around the twins while they did work.  He can't be in his room because Nathan is napping so I need to think of something for him...

So, we were done by 2:30 and Nathan was up a little after 3pm.  I feel exhausted but good!  I think overall it went really well for Day 1.  In fact, I had some moments that I felt were perfect:

1) Hunter read to Lily this morning so she could help him with some words.

2) Hunter read the PowerPoint words to Samuel.

3) Lily blew bubbles for Nathan outside and was so sweet with him!

4) Samuel telling me he was "really good at home today".  :)

Things to think about:
1. I forgot Hunter's glasses all day!  We aren't used to wearing them but they help with reading, at least.  I have to remember that!

2.  Do I need to change up math?  It's only been 1 day but Someone is so resistant to it that the day was kind of going downhill for a bit.

3. What else can Samuel do in the afternoon??

Miscellaneous pictures: Here's the kids looking at their secret code message.  This was just for the twins but Samuel enjoyed checking it out.  It read: "Your teacher loves you!"

Sweet Nathan...giving me all kinds of gray hair but a cutie!

Vision Therapy

Today was our last day of meeting with Audrey for vision therapy!!  We started in February (26 weeks total) so it feel like we've been doing this forever!  It has been emotional and challenging and frustrating and fun.  :)  Hunter said I could take pictures today and he told me I could cry but I didn't.  He was proud.  Ha!  We are going to miss Audrey so much!

Hunter in the waiting room (not for the last time since the kids have yearly check ups at the eye dr.) but this reminds me that Hunter would hide from Audrey each week.  He would usually hide under a table or in the playhouse--there weren't a lot of options.  One week was so funny because he was hiding under the table and Audrey came in, spotted him and sat down at the table like she didn't know he was there.  She then started just chucking puzzle pieces underneath the table at him.  Ha!!  I think the other people thought it seemed crazy but that was the point! 

Audrey and Hunter.  This was the best thing for him because it was an atmosphere of positivity where he continually succeeded {aka not school}.  Audrey remained consistently positive and upbeat, no matter what Hunter's level of enthusiasm was.

Hunter and his parting gifts.  A keychain from the treasure chest, a certificate that we will frame and hang up for him AND a t-shirt.  So fun!  I told him I wanted to take his picture with all his stuff and he chastised me for stopping him in the parking lot.  Ha!  I was just excited and I think he is, too!  We still have 12 weeks of home therapy to get through but no more appointments to run to!

Adventureland

This summer was our 3rd year taking the kids to Adventureland.  It was the 1st year that we've gone without a big chunk of my family.  Usually, my sister and her family goes and my brother and his family goes but they all had other things going on so it was just us and Grandma.  My Dad watched Nathan, which was a huge help because there's not a lot for him to do there.  

Usually it is ninety degrees and humid and miserable but this year it was cool and cloudy.  We were actually cold at one point!!  This really helped me us to not get wiped out so early!  It was also not busy at all--I'm not sure if the weather or the State Fair or the late season made everyone stay away but it was awesome.  Hardly any lines at anything so we were able to ride things repeatedly--even the Raging River!! 

Here are the 4 people that rode the Log Ride.  I was willing but Lily didn't want to so we sat out.  Brian wasn't planning on riding it but Hunter wanted him to so he gave in.  What a trooper!

Okay, this kid can not keep his feet on the ground.  He must be climbing at all times.  It was driving me nuts so this picture is to remember that.  :)

Brian and the kids rode Raging River a second time but my Mom and I sat out and took pictures.  We all rode the 1st time and I've never been so wet on a ride before.  I swear others were getting off the ride looking dry but we were splashed and dunked and went right under the waterfall.  Usually, that's awesome but it was cold out and we remained soaked and shivering the rest of the time!

Lady Luck!  I just like the expressions and body language on this one!

Giant pickles from the pig!  Lily chose popcorn and I don't blame her.  The boys ate all of their pickle--wow!

A stop at the gift shop, naturally. 

 

Brian said to record this moment because he was on a train.  He actually rode quite a few rides this time around--it was impressive.  Neither of us are into rides or amusement parks so this is all for the kids!  I did ride the tilt-a-whirl-type ride but after the 2nd time, I felt sick and was done!

Corn dogs for lunch and the ladies are checking the map to figure out a plan.  Lily loves to know the plan!

Oh this face!  Samuel was asleep within 5 minutes of leaving the park.  He woke up about 30 minutes from home and, unfortunately, threw up.  We think it was the multitude of circle rides + the giant pickle, cotton candy, Icee + a long car ride.  Poor guy.  That was what he remembered when we got home.  Ha!

Our Students

We are not starting school until August 22nd but the blog hop is doing student photos so I had to take them a week early!!  I found the signs here and thought they were too cute.  I asked them all what they were excited about for the 1st year of homeschool.

Lily: "I'm looking forward to math!"

Hunter: "Gym!"

Samuel: "Doing the same things you guys {the twins} are doing!"

 *Lily wants Nathan to answer "recess" and Hunter wants him to say the same thing as him because his favorite word is "Hunter". :)

All 4 kids, ready for a new school year {and new school since this is our 1st homeschool year} and a whole new journey for our family!!!

Linking up with the blog hop again...I've been spending way too much time checking all the posts but it's been a lot of fun!!

Church on the Lake

Every year, Encounter Christian Church has church at Lake McBride with a picnic and swimming to follow.  This is our first summer with ECC so our first trip out there.  The kids were super excited to *finally* go to a beach.  Church was done in small groups on pontoon boats.  Brian is not a big boat person so he stayed behind with Nathan.  The other 3 kids and I enjoyed a nice boat ride and they enjoyed being a part of the church discussion.  :)  We then had a picnic--I think the kids mainly ate fruit and puppy chow--and hit the beach.  Nathan stayed so busy with the sand!!  They all enjoyed the water, which was gross to me so I stayed out.  :)  We then got home and I decided I also dislike sand a whole lot.  Ha!!  We did have a fun time and I think we'll look forward to it every year!!

 3 kids ready for church--they wore swimsuits to church last week, too, for fun day

 Ornery child ready with all the bags it takes for the 6 of us to travel.

 Anxious to get in the water but they had to wait until after lunch!

 These 2 were wanting to get a hold of a goose, I think.  They were walking like geese but I wasn't able to get a picture of that.

 Life jackets for the boat ride!

Lots of fun digging in the sand!

Our 2011-2012 Curriculum Choices

When I was just considering homeschooling, I would go to the "Not" Back to School Blog Hop and read other people's posts on this topic.  This year I actually get to join!

I was am super obsessed with curriculum.  There are so many options and so many of them are great.  I did get advice to not pick/choose too much my 1st year because I might get overwhelmed.  I really tried not to do that but I kind of ended up that way.  It wasn't intentional--I should have stopped looking after I purchased!!  Here's my wordy list of our choices: 

Samuel, 4 years old, preschool:

-I had a book by Heart of Dakota called Little Hands to Heaven from when the twins were 3 or so.  I decided to go with it because it was free and it seemed like a good, basic yet gentle program.  It pretty much includes everything!

-I am adding work from blogs I love just to have something ready for those times I'm working with Hunter and/or Lily and Samuel isn't sure what to do with himself.  Those will come from my fave blogs (1+1+1=1, Homeschool Creations and Confessions of a Homeschooler).  I just printed off a Star Wars preschool pack that I think Samuel will love!!  I also have many, many old workbooks from the twins that have a lot of pages left.

-I will add puzzles, coloring, etc. from my fun cabinet, as well.  I bought a few new learning toys/games for this purpose.

Hunter and Lily, 7 years old:

-After much deliberation and back and forth thinking and stress and talking and etc., I went with Heart of Dakota for these 2, as well.  I still waffle with this decision, honestly. They will be doing Beyond Little Hearts to Heaven.  I liked this curriculum because I could keep the twins together for a big chunk, even though they are so different in learning styles.  It's, again, a very gentle approach and I felt that was important this year since school was kind of a drag last year.  The placement is based on ability and ages instead of a grade level

so that appealed to me.  However, I did buy some other things so we're using this curriculum for history, science, geography, art, Bible, poetry, and reading.  The book selection was a big bonus for me because I could get different levels for my kids, I loved the options and everything was there--their reading and the books I'll be reading aloud.  I'm looking forward to that part!

- Math: We ended up with BJU Math, grade 2.  That was totally from left field if anyone knew what I had been thinking but I'm excited about it.  I needed a program that was mastery instead of spiral because the spiral thing was too overwhelming.  This program seemed to start at a level that seemed, honestly, behind what they had been using at school, but that was perfect for us.  It's very teacher-intensive but right now, that's going to be needed, anyway!! 

-Handwriting will be A Reason for Handwriting Level B, which means we will not start cursive this year.  If they stayed at their school, they would be learning cursive this year and they had talked about that so I was tempted.  However, as Hunter's eyes improve in therapy, his handwriting improves and I think an extra year on manuscript won't hurt.  I haven't forgotten Lily--she said she likes handwriting sheets so I figured she would be fine with it!  This handwriting program is great because it's such a small section each day--I showed Hunter right away.  True story: he used to hide his handwriting sheets in his desk at school last year.  Not his favorite thing.

-Spelling is split up.  I knew right away that I wanted to use All About Spelling because I had read such great things about it and spelling was a pretty difficult subject last year.  It's a program that utilizes a type of teaching called "Orton-Gillingham".  This approach was recommended to me by Hunter's vision therapist and is supposed to help kids that struggle to learn due to dyslexia (which Hunter does not have but those methods still help his own issues).  It's a multi-sensory approach and I knew that would be a big hit.  I started with Level 1 but I did worry that Lily would fly through this because she is just a natural speller.  

I then went to a homeschool convention and my friend and her husband told my husband and I all about this spelling program they had seen.  I resisted looking at it because I already bought something.  However, the next day I decided to check it out and I loved it.  It looks like it will be somewhat independent, which Lily is capable of, and it does have a lot of fun things in the pages.  So, Lily is using A Reason for Spelling.  I still worry it will be too easy but I got the 2nd grade level so we'll see what happens.  They do add challenge words so she'll be doing those for sure!!  

If Hunter loves her spelling, I have an extra workbook.  If Lily loves his spelling, I have extra student materials.  I am set!  Hopefully, we like one or both!!

All 3 kids will be joining in on calendar time and I added some fun  flash cards to review for character training, as well.

We are ready to start (and have started doing some phonics review from the A Reason for Spelling books) but we are waiting until Hunter's vision therapy appointments are done mid-August.  We're so excited!!