Food Allergies and Science Experiments

In our last chapter in Science a few years sgo, we had instructions to complete an experiment with eggs.

In case you were not aware, I have 3 children allergic to eggs :/

So normally I would just skip the experiment/activity. Like when Saxon 1 calls for using peanuts... we have peanut allergies, too... obviously we just SKIP it or find a substitute (in that case we used jelly beans in plastic Easter eggs).

This recent experiment though seemed pretty safe because if it was done correctly the kids would have no need to come in contact with the eggs.  So we tried it;)



YAY!!

The hesitation (and nervous fussing) was magnified due to the eggs being present:/ And during this 1st attempt both girls (and possibly Nate as well) were WAY behind me... so they could see but not be anywhere near the eggs:)

I am thankful for my children's healthy respect of some of these food they are allergic to since they can (and have) made them ill. So they DO need to be super cautious about knowing what ingredients are in foods they are planning to eat. AND knowing what foods are lingering around them... ie, peanut shells near playgrounds, scrambled egg leftovers in the sink, or even a gallon of milk in the fridge when we have company.

But there should also be a healthy balance that I am constantly striving to model. I don't want their allergies to unnecessarily limit them! Like not going to the park because of the peanut shells. Or not wanting to touch a cart at the grocery store because what residue might be leftover from the person before us (who gave their noisy kiddo a peanut butter snack at the store).

Thankfully.... with taking some necessary precautions, like warnings NOT to touch the egg:) Or to step back, just in case the egg flies... LOL! We had a fun time with this experiment and grew a little bit with our food allergies, too.

The Perfect Purple Pencil Sharpener

In the busyness of the classroom, there are very few items that a teacher can rely on consistently to bring peace during the day. And for me there is nothing more aggravating than having students constantly sharpening pencils with the loud scraping or machine like noises. Or having the pencils that they do sharp not completely sharpen... so yes, more noise, distraction and kids off task.

In our small classroom of four, a pencil sharpener brought our chaos into sanity about a year and a half ago! Our little red beauty has served us well.... and others, too! Yes, others! We have sharpened friends' pencils to our house. Pencils from church groups. Pencils for my husband's work related events.

We were recently asked if we wanted to try out the newest color... purple!! We eagerly agreed because we know the quality of our red sharpener and the fun (and peace) it has brought into our classroom space. After sharpening the first pencil we were reminded of how much we love these sharpeners!

The biggest thing with these sharpeners is the ease of use (safe and easy for the kids to use),

The durability and simplicity,

The consistency,

And the cool colors!!!

What a great way to bring sanity saving and fun into a classroom of ANY size!

Classroom Friendly Supplies is also committed to make shopping with them simple and painless:) They have multiple of different colors and quantities available. Even a sharpener for those thick pencils for those little hands! And FREE shipping!

They must speak "teacher" !

Get your PURPLE (or red, green, blue, pink, or black) sharpener at Classroom Friendly Supplies!

**We are grateful for Classroom Friendly Supplies for the opportunity to do this review of their new purple sharpener! We have accurately shared our opinion of this product with no compensation besides being able to keep the new purple sharpener!

 

Our 2015 -2016 Curriculum Choices

One of the best (and most intimidating) parts of home schooling for the homeschooling parents is choosing curriculum! There is just soooo much out there! And each family and kid is soo unique! What are our goals? What will fit us? How can I do this for the best price;)

So I am sharing these choices as what I really have hoped and prayed will fit us this year! Thankfully, while my kids are very different, we can do (and re-use) a lot of the same materials and just tweak them a bit to fit each kids' strengths and aid their weaknesses! And I've learned through the years that sometimes a curriculum works for us and sometimes it doesn't.... just finish it, drop and replace or let it go:)

What we are doing together...

Over the summer as I prayed for our new school year and began looking through curriculum (and saw my oldest grow taller), I really began to ask what I needed to do to really give my kids a strong spiritual foundation. For years we have included devotion, Bible reading and memorization, character development, and lots of great application. So this year we will continue doing those things... like we will be reading Psalms looking for what it teaches about God, continuing to use Our 24 Family Ways as a guide to point us to better character, creating prayer cards to be more diligent in prayer and adding in Apology Who is God? as our weekly Bible Study. I am excited!

Looking through the dividers to see the world in different ways (colors) like our lesson described.

Memory Work is done together during our "together time". We began learning the verses from Apology Who is God. We are also working through the Medieval Vertias Press Timeline Cards, science facts, and memorizing portions of various Shakespeare plays using How to Teach Your Child Shakespeare.

We are using our favorite friend SOTW for history:) This year we are diving into the Medieval world with Story of the World, Volume 2. The challenge for us is making it work with 3 different levels. It's honestly our spine and then we add in encyclopedias, resource books, and projects at the kids' levels. Another challenge for me is finding corresponding literature at the kids' levels and what they enjoy; I use a couple of different lists to help, like The Well Trained Mind, Tapestry of Grace  and Ambleside Online reading lists.

For now our guide for science is Anna's science book How the Earth Works. I have divided it into 18 weeks of reading and study. Chris and Lydia will follow along with similar topics in the Usborne Science Encyclopedia and supplemental library books. Anna's book includes hands-on experiments with almost every page, so we'll pick one (or two a week). We'll follow a similar 18 week schedule/assignments with How the Universe Works and Apologia's Astronomy book after Christmas!

I am also hoping to do "nature study" once a week using Handbook of Nature Study by Comstock and the free resources for the Outdoor Hour Challenge.

Alone the older kids are going to do Daily Grams as independent work throughout the week. Together I am excited to be supplementing it with Fix-IT Grammar by IEW! We are using vol.2 Robin Hood and after our first week I feel this is a really great fit for us. Not only are we learning grammar, but applying it to passages that need to be corrected.... which unfortunately, is the way many yearly exams test grammar skills. I love fun it is to do together and so far they are asking to do their short assignment each day! 

Writing is always a challenge for us. The kids write narrations, summaries and (now) outlines as they read science, history and literature. So they are writing constantly.... it's just not in a formal manner and while I will look over their work, I often don't correct every error in their daily work. It's a record of their reading and ability to process what they've read and learned. So we needed something to push them to be better writers without being another writing assignment. I decided to follow The Well Trained Mind in using Writing Strands 3... it looks a little simplistic, especially since they've been used to IEW topical assignments. I do hope to get IEW Medieval Writings to supplement.... we probably won't do all the writing projects from there, but pick and choose what fits us best.

An opportunity came our way at the beginning of the summer, a homeschooling family with our group offered to teach some horse basics and learning to ride lessons. We were thrilled since the girls had been asking and asking. They diligently study their horse units so they can have those sections quizzed and checked off by our leader. They are working towards going on a trail ride sometime in the fall ( or whenever they are ready).

Our county home school group meets every Friday for all sorts of activities like field trips, holiday parties, service/ministry opportunities, PE, and 4-H! The kids have made friends in the group and I truly love the support, encouragement and fellowship I get to have with the other homeschooling families.

What we do individually (but sometimes together)...

Some silliness while on a nature hike

Anna (6th)
Math - Saxon 8/7 with DIVE
Spelling - Spelling Power and Word Roots
Grammar - Daily Grams 6
Reading - Literature suggested by WTM, AO and TOG for Medieval
Spanish - Rosetta Stone 

Logic - Reading Detective

Music - piano lessons

Chris (4th)
Math - Saxon 6/5 with DIVE
Spelling - Spelling Power
Grammar - Daily Grams 4/5
Reading -  Literature suggested by WTM, AO and TOG for Medieval
Spanish - Rosetta Stone  
Logic - Think-It-Through Tiles.... eventually Building Thinking Skills and Reading Detective 
Music - piano lessons 

Lydia (3rd/4th)
Math - Saxon 6/5 with DIVE
Spelling - Spelling Power
Grammar - Daily Grams 4
Reading -  Literature suggested by WTM, AO and TOG for Medieval
Spanish - Rosetta Stone 
Logic - Think-It-Through Tiles.... eventually Building Thinking Skills and Reading Detective 
Photography Basics and enter local contests


Nate (K)
Reading - Letter Factory Set of DVDs, OPGTR and AlphaPhonics
Math - Saxon 1
Logic - eventually....Think-It-Through Tiles (totally thrift-ed these... a great find!!!)
Reliability with chores
Completing tasks
Following directions
Polite Manners
Tying Shoes

Linking up to ihomeschoolnetwork.com

Our 2014-2015 Curriculum Wrap -Up

As I am working towards putting together a new semester... a mixture of "yippeee" and "ugh"... I can't help but look back at last year.

The new texts and the very used books (thrifty to the core!).

The huge amazing curriculum that I got to borrow, that just didn't fit:/

The simple text that I really thought I hated, that turned out to be exactly what we needed:)

History
Our biggest change last year was Tapestry of Grace, Year 1 that I go to borrow from a super generous friend (curriculum and a lot of resource books). I had heard from lots of different places how great TOG was and I really looked forward to covering the same topics with the kids while challenging them at their own levels. Oh! And it's all planned out, so all I needed was to find the books and go!!!

Except...

it didn't! I mean it did have ALL it said, but it didn't. The Bible study were more readings with questions and didn't have assignments for each week. So one we we'd read a few chapters, another week there was nothing and the following week there was 20 chapters, which made planning Bible each week a challenge:/

Often you hear people calling TOG "a buffet". And while some can handle seeing all the vocabulary, topics, readings, alternate readings, and projects in front of them, it was overwhelming to see all the things that the kids and I WEREN'T going to do each week:/ Our priorities were in different areas and I just couldn't find the time or understand the need for doing each one.

So went back to Story of the World, vol 1.... sort of:) I used TOG's schedule and some of the resources, but kept SOTW as the core:/ The main reason was because TOG didn't have a single source that we could read together before jumping into the deeper resources.

One thing I LOVED about TOG, Vol 1 though was that it really did help us look into the biblical world. There were insights that really have stuck with me. And I am amazed how much knowledge about the nations around Israel that we got to explore and learn!!

And I loved the reading/literature ideas. We read a lot of the books that TOG suggested! Many of the books that were suggested for the different stages really didn't fit the kids' levels or interests... so the ones I had seen on many different "must read" lists, I read aloud:)

Honestly, I really wouldn't have known if TOG was a good fit for our family if I hadn't had the chance to use it!! Again, I found the resources they suggested to be awesome, it just didn't fit the way my brain works and the goals I have right now with our time together. Great books though! And having volume 1 during the Ancients study was awesome for us.


Science

Another resource new to us  last year was Christian Kids Explore Biology. From the description and Table of Contents it looked like it covered everything we wanted. When I finally had it in my hands I was frustrated with the simple lessons and how the human body was just a week or two of one page lessons.Thankfully I had planned to use it as the spine and then add in science books and encyclopedias (suggested from Well Trained Mind).

It ended up being exactly what we needed. It gave us structure we could do all together, but then we added in a LOT at the kids' level and different projects. With the resources and the spine it just all came together!

I am thankful I can look back on last year with relief... LOL!! We had a great year and pushed through to accomplish all I had wanted by completing the Ancients and Biology well... even with some materials I wasn't sure would work for us;) They ended up working in their own way, by us tweaking them to fit us better!!

And some memorable pictures of our year!

Trying to complete normal tasks without use of the thumb to grasp.

Dissecting an owl pellet.

Exploring a battle ship.

Listening to Nate read sight words from a reader!

Discovering planes, ships and plants at the Air and Space Museum.

Finding the different types of plant roots.... in the yard, of course;)

Lots of photography and visits to the "bird zoo" (we've been 4x since Christmas, gotta love an annual pass)!

Happy 9th Chris!

Chris celebrated his birthday quietly in November... well, sort of quietly:/

We had planned to do a family trip to the museum, until a toothache hit Chris the Monday before Thanksgiving :( Last February, he had a really deep cavity filled and I really thought that this pain meant that the tooth was finally infected and ready to go. I brought him into the dental clinic we use that day and they said it had to pulled by an oral surgeon. Chris was laying on the floor in pain (after a dose of pain medicine) as the surgeon told me over the phone he couldn't be seen until January!!

The "mommy" in me went to "momma bear" mode and I started calling around to get something done a little more quickly... like before Thanksgiving. Wisdom and advice from friends led me to a great pediatric dentist who took a LOT more time with us, took better x-rays and sent us to some great people.

Thankfully the "tooth issue" was resolved for a while at the university dental clinic:)

He had another "flare up" this February and was in severe pain for almost a week! Way too long! When we got to our dentist they immediately got a better x-ray that confirmed everyone's minds. Chris needed a root canal. So we're currently in the process of the procedure and he is doing awesome!

But now onto CHRIS....  what a great year he had!!

There was a big difference for us early in the spring... it started with me just being intentional about spending time with him... getting to know him more, sitting to read with him one-on-one and just us learning to "get" each other. Through this process I really began to see that Chris and I are probably a little more similar than sometimes I'd like to think. When we need to tidy our rooms but we'll spend hours in our room looking through old books, finding (and messing) with forgotten treasures... basically everything except cleaning:)  And we're also really good at looking like we're busy when we're really procrastinating on something we really don't want to do... like a math lesson or a work-related email that needs attention:/

Another super part of his year was him stepping out in his growing faith. The first part was being willing to say all the books of the Bible at the end-of-year RA meeting. It wasn't just knowing the books because some of the other boys had worked hard to memorize them as well.... he was willing to do it in front of everyone.

Soon after, during a church invitation he walked forward to make a profession of faith. On June 1st, Chris was baptized by his Grandaddy at our church;) It was a big day... but just another step of this little guy growing up.

When school started in September, Christopher was eager to volunteer for a leadership role in our home school 4-H Club. While he's definitely still growing into the role that he wanted to do, he stepped up!!

Finally, soccer!! The age group Chris was in put him as one of the "older" kids... in fact, he was probably the oldest kid on our team. But he rose to the occasion! He was a tough team player! And he was able to go to the "all star team" (a first for our family)!

It was at the all star game that he learned some perseverance and pushed through to the end. Our team was one of the youngest and those little guys played their heart out in the first game. Honestly, I didn't think Chris really played his best.... it was a team effort but he had some pretty big errors:( The kids had a LONG wait until their 2nd game... long, like 4 hours!

That final game was tough and the kids knew they had already "lost" the tournament.
It went into overtime,
Then a tied shoot out that Chris sat to watch because he wasn't in the first round of goal-makers.
Then "sudden death"... 3 or 4 more players were chosen. The 1st to make a goal, won the game.
They chose Chris to go...

And he made it! And they celebrated!

Chris ran around fir a second and then ran towards the coach... he's literally "in the air" here.

It's been an awesome year, Chris!! We are soo proud of you! All the challenges and ways you've pushed yourself. We've had some beautiful moments when I just get a peek into who God is molding you to be. And then other moments when I remind myself that you're still just a boy... learning, growing, and trying to figure it all out, too!

His favorites:


Color : Orange

Food: Pepperoni Pizza

Treat:  Chocolate Break-Up
Subject: Art
Animal: Siberian Tiger

Do inside: LEGOs
Outside Activity: Explore in the woods & water
Toys: LEGOs
Restaurant: O'Charleys
Book: Star Wars comic books
Movie: Star Wars
TV Show: Wild Kratts, Ben 10 (when allowed)
Interests: Marine life

Goals for his 9th year: Build a LEGO town

When you ask him what he wants to be when he "grows up" he'll respond " a Marine soldier"!

Merry Christmas & Learning from the Biblical Ladies

We will post a year update sometime next week, but I just wanted to share our CHRISTmas greetings!!

And share the Christmas nugget I've had on my heart for the last few weeks....

Sometime in our Advent studies and Sunday morning sermons the conversation between Elizabeth and Mary in Luke 1!

And behold, even your relative Elizabeth 

has also conceived a son in her old age; 

and she who was called barren 

is now in her sixth month.

For nothing will be impossible with God.” 

And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; 

may it be done to me according to your word.” 

And the angel departed from her.

Although we've had a pretty "quiet" year, we've had plenty that has come before us that has been hard and some things just really seemed (and still seem) "impossible". I'm not going to share the who/when/where/whats but only want to go back to the Christmas Story and see the HOPE that is there.

For years Elizabeth had struggled with infertility, wanting a baby, having a natural God-given desire to mother a child. And in His time God allows that to happen in a miraculous way that fits into His plan. She is overwhelmed with joy. And when confronted with Mary's part she gets just a glimpse of understanding of who her own child will become, that he has a role in the bigger picture of God's plan of redeeming the world.

Speaking of that plan, people for generations before Elizabeth were also waiting and wanting. They were looking for one that God had promised centuries beforehand that was going to rescue His people, all those willing to make Him Lord.

I continue reading in the conversation and I am confronted with Mary's response. Obviously she is humble, but what strikes me is her willingness! She didn't ask to be the Mother of the Savior!! She didn't ask to carry the burden of a basically unwed mother within a society that could have cast stones at her... not words, real stones to kill her like the law would have allowed.

But she accepted it, willingly. And we see her at the crucifixion of Christ... a faithful, willing, and devoted mother.

I am definitely NOT saying that my struggles are made right because I've decided to "give them to the Lord" and be used by Him during the hard times. Or that my struggles compare in scope to these great biblical women.

But what I am suggesting is that maybe, just maybe, having an attitude and outlook that is focused on the Lord and trusting Him to work it all out in His time (while being faithful to do what I am supposed to be doing... like Gal 6:4,5 NLT) would help. I can still walk in faithfulness and joy and not let the situation weigh me down even when it feels like it's staring me down or holding me back. 

Maybe, just maybe, if I'm willing to trust and be used these struggles will one day seem soo distant and temporary and I will be able to see how God used these times to bring me or others to closer to Himself.... which has been His plan all along.

I just have to check my words and deeds and see if they demonstrate a heart that is willing to see struggles as not impossible to God but a means to fulfill His great plan. I have to be willing to confess when it's my heart and plans that are trying to lead instead of being lead by the Lord. 

Isn't it crazy how this simple event still carries soo much power! It's life-changing on the big Redemptive scale and on the small my life scale. 

Praying that in where ever life has lead you, that you would see the HOPE of the Christmas Story... that you can believe in the impossible and be willing to trust God... through the good times and bad! 

Merry CHRISTmas!! 

Tiny (but determined) Talk Tuesday

I think Nate is already showing promise as a lawyer.


Nate (4 yrs): Mom, do you want me to get in an accident and the police to come when I drive  a car?

Mom: No.

Nate: Well then... I need to watch Mickey Mouse Club because that tells me how to drive stuff.


LOL!! A very convincing argument, aimed straight at this mom's desire to protect her children. He is good! And extremely persistent.

On the tough side of Nate's "gift" of argument... is the argument part! Phew!

Teaching and trying to mold his heart  (his desires and then his words)  every.single.conversation  all.day.long  is exhausting.

It makes me thankful for the mommy wisdom God has allowed me to be exposed to these last few months through a conference, carving out time for reading my Bible, some pretty inspiring blogs and godly motherhood books.

Now just to continue to apply all that wisdom into our days.  Not to grow weary, but to press on! Love, correct, love, referee an argument, love, guide, love, cook dinner, love, bathe, read, love, snuggle and tuck them in for the night;)

You will always harvest what you plant... 

 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. 

At just the right time we will reap 

a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Galatians 6:7b,9

Throwback Thursday

Lydia has begun the process of outgrowing her short hair. When growing out hair it always has to go through some "shaggy" stages:)

Last weekend as Lydia was busy carving her pumpkin, she asked for her hair to be "put up". I was excited and played around with her hair a bit:)

Obviously, I was working quickly (before she changed her mind) and without a good comb and brush (yay for Saturdays!)... but I had to take a picture because her little face reminded me of this...

June 2008

Awe! Cute to see what has and hasn't changed in my sweet Lydia's face!!

Wordless Wednesday: Annual Pumpkin Carving

Our annual tradition:)

All drama:) Anything to get a laugh from his siblings!

And this year was soo awesome with the kids doing ALL the work...

and I did the clean up that was pretty simple since we worked outside!!

The girls worked for almost 2 hours on their pumpkin! They finally rested on their tummies.

More Tiny Talk

Nate was looking at our world map in the school room and said,"See that really big orange spot on the map?"

Me: "Yes, Russia."

Nate responded,"No, it's Mississippi because it is so big!"

****************************************

Lydia: "I'm on chapter 9 of Mr. Popper's Penguins. You know it's kind of a "how-to" book."

Me: "Really, a "how-to"?"

Lydia: "Yes, how to keep penguins in your house."


****************************************

An afternoon TV show for Nate is sometimes a necessary evil so we can finish that last bit of home schooling. One afternoon the Roku was needing new batteries so Nate had to choose a DVD.

Nate was NOT please with any of the choices in the kids' DVDs. He opened the adult drawer and found Gilligan's Island! Excitedly, he ran around the house telling the other kids what he was going to watch and then instructing us what episode to turn on.

He's an old soul:)

****************************************

One morning while working hard we all stopped to listen to the rain beat the house. A very hard rain!

Anna started the conversation, "Oh, wow look at the rain coming down. Do you think that it's going to flood today?"

Lydia was next,"Don't you remember? God promised He wouldn't flood the Earth again."

Chris replied to Lydia,"Oh, yeah. But there still are floods that happen in just certain places."

Then Nate chimes in,"Maybe God forgot?"

I am thankful daily for the conversations I get to have with the kids and that I get to watch them "make sense" of the world. They want to understand and to have all the dots connect. They want a logical explanation and pattern. It's exciting! And also challenging as I get to see (and hear) their thoughts and encourage them to understand what we can about God and His ways.


What are your kids saying?

Throwback Thursday

I'm kind of in the "throwback" kind of mood lately :)

I just get soo wrapped up in TODAY that sometimes I miss out on "right now". Like today while trying to "school" the kids, they were just soo stinkn' giggly. The giggles that start because "nothing was funny but everything was funny". And I tried to be patient and play along... really, I did. And I loved the smiles and the laughter. But I was caught up in the tasks of the DAY and not the goofy kiddos in front of me.

If I can only hold onto those precious giggly kids... not always be pushing to the next task!

A picture from 2008 at Scott and Bea's wedding!  It's truly unbelievable that they've been married 6 years...

and that those sweet little chubby faces were so young, acting soo grown!

Those 6 years went WAY too FAST!

It's That Time Again

Oh, no.....

not, again.

Is it really???










Yep!














Time to get ready....

colorful jersey?

just as colorful socks? (really??)

shorts?

shin guards?

cleats?




Did anyone think of water?








We've practiced and scrimmaged each other.

We are all dressed up! Lined up! Zipped up! Taped up!

Ready and waiting!!!

And here comes the ball!!

We've waited all summer. We're ready to work hard

to taste victory!

LOL!!

October is soccer month in our area!! I have 3 kids playing this year, Anna, Chris, and Lydia, on two different teams!

Brian is co-coaching an 8 and under team that Chris and Lydia play on. So far they have really shown improvement! I really like soccer, so I'm so excited that they love playing and are really working hard this year. And we have a really sweet group of kids (and parents) on our team this year which makes it even more enjoyable!!


I have to share a story about Chris as the goalie! We played a tough team this week that was constantly shooting at the goal. Chris scares me because he comes soo far out of the goal. Anyway, for one attempt, there was a crowd of kids and I saw one the forwards kick hard right towards the goal. And at first I couldn't see Chris in the group of kiddies. It was then I saw him behind everyone catch the soccer ball right in his chest and bear hug it! He ran it towards the side of the goalie box and threw it to a team member to take down field!! He's really done well as a forward and goalie this year!

And yes, there was picture above of Lydia in goal. I don't think she likes the goal as much as Chris, but she has done very well in there, too!! She's also doing well as a forward and mid-fielder... I would love for her to score her 1st goal this year:)

Anna is playing on a 10 and under team. Thankfully she has a great coach who we attend church with and are friends with (that was a BIG answer to prayer since she couldn't be on her daddy's team any longer). Her team played well for their first game:) I loved how she really went after the ball and got it down field twice to attempt to score! That's my girl!

And yes, it means a month of late night dinners (planned ahead so we can actually eat something when we get home). And some other, awesome events we miss (always a bummer!). Some cool, damp nights. Grass cuttings dragged into the van. Stinky uniforms that need to be washed in 24 hours.

But we always have a good time!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday in the School Room

A question asked in the schoolroom, "Who is Sargon the Great?"

And answered by one smarty pants 10 yr old, "I know who that is! Its Willie Roberson's great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather."

**************************************************

The question asked by the teacher-Momma, "What do we call it when a ruler uses an army to make people obey the laws?"

Chris confidently shouted out, "Dictation!!"

**************************************************
And this didn't take place in the schoolroom, but the items destroyed were created in there by one tired momma the night before the class:/

The afternoon after the destroying event....

In a forget moment of cuteness, I may have said to my dog, "Jack, you're such a good dog!"

Lydia snuggling Jack responded, "Jack is always good."

Me: "Yeah, like when he ripped up my children's church craft this morning [as we were getting ready for church, where the previously mentioned craft was going to be crafted]."

Sweet Lydia's gentle answer,"Well, everyone makes mistakes!"

Yep! We all do!


What are you all "talking" about today? 

My Students...

We LOVE starting our school year with our "Back-to-school" pictures! Eagerly the kids decorated their "grade" signs days before we actually started learning;) It's kind of a tradition now for the kids to paint/color them whatever they want:) And it's a physical sign that school is about to start.

This year we did all the prep work but didn't actually get the pictures on that first morning,
or the second,
or the third, fourth, fifth
or not even on the sixth!
Nope... on a random day during the 3rd week, we finally got it together to get the kids dressed nicely and all the smiles on;)

And honestly, I was disappointed that none of us really were ready for pictures during any of those days.... I still saw the need for them. It will be awesome looking back a year from now and being able to see how much they have grown:) Or looking back 20 years from now and seeing them all together... longing for those days to have continued a little longer.

So we did the picture thing.. a little late:)

This the crew all together (minus Jack-the dog)! They are super busy, loud, insightful, creative, interested. And can be somewhat distracted, whiny and messy! But they are my sweet little class and we have some crazy, fun and productive days, too!

 




Anna
The 5th Grader

She's our "time clock"!  Often, she will ask "when are we..." or "how much time before we...."! If I show up anywhere early/on-time/5 minutes late it's because Anna has planned our departure so we can be "on-time".

Often she is also the "guinea pig"... as all first-borns seem to be:) Thankfully she is a hard-worker and sees some of  the material or tasks I give her as a challenge and does her best to complete it.











 


Chris
The 3rd Grader

The "artist"! Chris is our resident drawing creator! He loves drawing and often will be sketching away as we read. It's always fun to listen to him explain the drawings from reading time. Often they are a narration of a part of the story.

The "distracted one". Oh Chris, my Chris! There are some days he finishes assignments so efficiently with enthusiasm. And then other days when the math lesson drags on for hours (or at least it seems). If I could just figure how to help make every day the former, we'd be good to go;)












Lydia
The 2nd/3rd Grader


The "peacemaker". I'm not sure if all 3rd borns are as peacemaking as our Lydia, but I am thankful for her personality. She balances not getting walked over with compromising with her siblings so that everyone gets a little of what they wanted. And I'm praying that this isn't just a stage:)

Lydia also pushes herself to "keep up" with her older two siblings. For her it's motivating to finish work before them or to do the same projects. Or even not get as many wrong on the spelling test. While this is a GREAT quality it's also can cause extra pressure and discouragement, especially in the afternoon following an intensive morning school. And she really is keeping up!









Nate
The Pre-Ker


The "sponge". It is not unusual to hear this little guy answer a question that was asked of an older sibling. He's heard and been around schooling his whole life. And now we know he was just hanging out to absorb it all:)


The "attention getter". The youngest of 4 has to be loud (just for survival) and Nate fits that description well. Even his normal talking voice is loud. When it's not his words getting him into trouble; it's his antics and mischief made just for some attention!










Let's just say that the school room is NEVER boring... it's lively and full of busy little kids working and playing hard!!

Yep! Another crazy year!