Week 5

Nathan learned about the letter 'B' this week.  We made some butterflies:

And found hidden balloons with numbers to practice counting:

And, finally, blew some bubbles:

Samuel and I played another phonics game this week and he beat me again (fair and square!).  He loved this game and had his older brother play it with him later.  :)

We went to a park while Hunter and Lily were at their class this week.  It was gorgeous out.  The twins had their own fun--they came out with many baggies of goo!

For our Konos work, we learned about plants this week.  We made some plant bookmarks:

Painted with leaves we found outside:

*Notice the wonderful picture behind the kids--this was Samuel's masterpiece*

Finally, we enjoyed a field trip to the arboretum to do some bark rubbings.  The highlight was seeing 2 deer on the path, though!!

Week 4

Nathan learned about the letter T this week.  I saw his tongue peeking out a lot this week so he must be working hard!  :)  Working on his tree:

Sorting and graphing different kinds of transportation:

Adding teeth to our mouth (and eating a few "teeth", too!):

Brushing eggs after we soaked them in different kinds of liquids to show the effect on our teeth:

Finally, making a triangle after we watched The Greedy Triangle on youtube.  :)  He loved his little triangle guy!!

I usually give the kids a coloring sheet in the morning to work on while we go through our morning together time.  Hunter LOVES this time and works hard on coloring his sheet so I took his picture.  :)

In Konos this week, we talked about Animal Classification.  We gathered some stuffed animals to sort and Nathan joined right in!

 Making animal masks (Samuel refused to participate so he has no picture--since it was just a craft, I didn't force it since we save those battles for the 3 R's):

On Friday, we got outside to do some work:

Samuel and I played a phonics game this week and he beat me 3x so he was thrilled (and no, I didn't let him win!).  You can also see his glasses--he seems to enjoy wearing them for school!

We had a field trip to Old Macdonald's Farm this week since we were learning about animals.  This goat loved the attention!!

We got to see some ducks swim underwater and that seemed to be a thrill!  It was a beautiful day!!

Today, we had a homeschool family fun day to attend. I love this picture because it captures their personalities so well--ha!

So far, so good with this school year.  Samuel was sick one day this week but he actually got his schoolwork done before he felt ill so that worked out.  The twins said their 'Plastics and Goo' class was hard this week but they were excited to bring home crystals.  We are getting things done and I think we are making progress, too.

Week 3

Nathan learned about the letter 'M' this week!  Here is with the Goodnight Moon sensory box.  Cinders loves this as much as Nathan does.  :)

It's hard to make shapes when you are trying to eat the whole bag of marshmallows! 

Stamping craters on the moon he painted:

Sorting and graphing M&Ms:

Samuel is bundled up for reading--it was a cold week!

We started our homeschool assistance classes this week.  Hunter and Lily are taking 'Plastics and Goo' so the other 2 kids have to keep busy with me for an hour.  We took a walk and explored a puddle this past week.  We'll need a new plan this week, though!

Hunter and Lily showing their "monster snot" and "foam" off after class.  It was a hit!

The kids and I did some baking and cooking this week, too.  We made gingerbread and english muffin pizzas.  They love to help in the kitchen!

I actually can't remember when this picture was taken but I thought I'd share a marshmallow-toasting picture at Grandma and Papa Kreger's house.  :)

Finally for this week, Hunter and Brian had a camping and canoe trip with Scouts.  

The night cooled off to 36 degrees while they camped so they were happy to have a fire and hot chocolate!  :)

Hunter helped crack eggs for Shipwreck breakfast--which I hear he ate, too!!  Amazing for him.

Stopping at a sandbar for lunch:

Back to the canoe!  Hunter and Brian both enjoyed the experience of canoeing so maybe they'll take the rest of us out sometime.  :)

Week 2

Nathan learned about the letter 'C' this week (we're not learning letters in order).  I made some cloud dough for his sensory bin and everyone loved it!

It made a good mess, though.  I texted this picture to Brian and he congratulated me on being creative.  We didn't get it back out the rest of the week but we were busy so maybe that's why.  :)

Nathan used some corks (purchased by my Dad at Adventureland!) to paint some fall leaves on a tree.  We are ready for fall!  

*Nathan has nonstop bedhead, apparently.*  

Snapped a picture of Hunter spread out enjoying the cool morning.  He often does his schoolwork in my room but the weather is so awesome right now!

 Samuel working hard on handwriting.  He threw a bit of a fit early in the week about writing a whole line (gasp!) but by the end, he was showing great progress in his letters.  Samuel has said he HATES being woken up in the morning for school and I've noticed sometimes school goes better with him in the afternoon.  So, I am thinking of changing school up for him but continue waking him up, anyway--but maybe look at different ways to wake him that aren't as annoying as an older brother.  :)  We'll see if he can adjust.

Lily working on her math quiz.  She likes to do the book work and then input it into the computer.  Geometry is a struggle but she can often figure out her basic math mistakes if she just gives it another try.  

Hunter has finished his first spelling lesson with his new curriculum. I was really curious to see how the testing went.  He did ok--19/29 right.  I think with continued work, this method will help him see how words are spelled.

Dark picture showing the twins experimenting with measurement this week.  It's another aspect of our study on orderliness. 

This was the week of doctor appointments!!  I am thankful Brian's parents were able to watch the kids time and again.  The 3 older kids got their eyes checked and we found out that Samuel needs glasses for his schoolwork/reading.  I'm excited to see how this helps him.  He could also use work on convergence, which is something Hunter had therapy for so we can do group review on that.

One (hopefully the last) HOT day so we spent the afternoon soaking in the sun and the pool.  I am hoping that's it and the fall weather is here now!