Kids are really loving school.  Jacob is so proud that he has memorized the American's Creed!  He currently working on long division, writing friendly letters, spelling, memorizing a poem called "The Sandpiper", learning about the Native Americans and learning many different species of insects.  He really loves science.  I am loving learning right along side of him.  Matt found a game at Goodwill the other week called Risk that we played with Jacob.  It helped him learn his continents w

     Evelyn is excited that we finally got to start reading Fun With Pets  in reading.  We're also working on easy addition and subtraction facts, phonics rules, memorizing a couple poems and writing in cursive.  Today she wrote her name in cursive for the very first time.  

     Aiden hasn't really been to keen on wanting to do his school work, so I usually have to wait for it to be his idea.  I did find out that if I call his "work" a test, he is more likely to want to do it.  He saw Jacob taking a test the other day and I told him to be quiet b/c Jacob was taking a test and then he said he wanted to take one too.  He just wants to do what the big kids are doing.

Note this was supposed to be published in fall of 2012...oops!

Week 2 Down...

     Yesterday we finished our second week of school.  Overall, it went pretty well.  The past couple of days were a little stressful.  Jacob seems to be struggling with two-digit multiplication.  I was kind of feeling like maybe I wasn't teaching him well enough so I started to get discouraged.  Then I realized that we could spend extra time on it until he gets it, unlike in regular school.  So the last 2 days this week, we did math for an hour and a half.  I thought for sure it would set us behind in our schedule with our other subjects, but we still finished everything by 3.  I guess I am still of the mindset that we need to be done at a certain time.  I think that will take some time for me to realize that it's okay if we "go over" the time I think we should be done.
     Evelyn had a fuller schedule this week and loved it!  She is very excited to start her reading book next week as well.  I am so glad we made the decision to homeschool.  I am loving having the kids at home and I really enjoy watching them learn.  I pray I (and they) will continue to feel this way.
   This week in preschool we introduced the letter A.  We didn't really do too much with it because Aiden doesn't like to sit for too long and it has to be his idea to want to do school.  He & Claire did color alligators that were shaped like the letter A.  I guess my only real expectation for this year with Aiden is to be able to recognize all the letters.  He is only 3.  We had "A" themed snacks all week: Alphabits, applesauce and animal crackers.  I did get Aiden to sing the ABC's with me a few times yesterday and we read a couple "A" books this week as well.  Yesterday I made this thing to help the little ones work on fine motor skills.  You just cut little holes in a lid of a plastic container and they push little balls through the holes.  I wasn't sure how they would like it, but they LOVED it!  Had to make another one so they could each have their own.  They played with these things for about an hour.

     Today we're enjoying the day off of school.  I thought it would be nice to have a long holiday weekend.  Jacob and Matt are having an "unofficial" geography lesson though by playing Risk.  Jacob is having a lot of fun and I am hoping that will help him remember his continents/oceans for his test next week.

Message From The Principal

Kids thought it was funny to walk into the school room this morning and find a message from the principal on the board.

Learning & Love & Laughter

     Well, Friday we wrapped up our first day of school.  We survived!!  The week went pretty smoothly, except for Friday, which was a big surprise.  I thought that since Matt was home it would be much easier.  Well, it was....kind of.  He mopped the floors for me and laid the little ones down for naps after lunch.  Jacob just got so distracted, constantly wanting to know what Matt was doing.  So we' ll have to work on that.  Plus I don't think it helped that they knew they were going to Grandma & Poppo's (Matt's parents) for the weekend.  They LOVE going there!!  They were originally going to just stay Saturday night, but my wonderful mother-in-law said, "Why not bring them over Friday night instead?"  We've learned to accept when those opportunities arise...with 4 kids we don't get too many offers to watch ALL kids ALL weekend.  They even kept Cerianna (our niece), so all the grandkids got to play together all weekend...so nice!  Here is a pic she sent of all of them having a picnic

     So what did we do on our kid-free weekend?  We ate dinner at Carraba's.  Slightly pricey, but oh so delicious!!  Our dinner was FREE b/c we had a few gift cards to cover it!!!  Doesn't get much better than that!  It was our first time there and we'll definitely visit again...need a gift idea for us??  LOL!  Then we did a little bit if shopping and came home.  In the morning we walked to the bake shop (we ran out of milk, so what else were we to do for breakfast?  ;) ).  Then we ran a few errands...the car battery died in the Walmart parking lot so we didn't get everything done, but thankfully got that taken care of and it didn't hinder the rest of our weekend plans.  We went golfing in Clyde...I don't golf, but I love to ride along in the golf cart.  We ate lunch on the golf course and that was fun.  Maybe some day when I have nothing else to do I may try golfing, it seems relaxing...but I don't forsee that happening anytime in the near future.  Although I did see a pair of sweet ladies golf shoes in the shop.  After golfing, we went to some friends' house for a bonfire with a bunch of other couples.  So many laughs were had that night...my face hurt from laughing so much!  Laughter is definitely a good medicine!  We had such a great time and blessed with such great friends.      

Sunday was my mom's birthday so we went over there in the evening to celebrate with her.  We visited and my brother in law made homemade ice cream.  I made a delicious apple crisp to go with that.  It was a fun time and here are some family pics.   

   My family :)

Me, Mom, Jaclyn (sister)

The girls...Grace (sister's dog), Jaclyn, Evelyn, me, Mom, Claire

Our beautiful kids- Jacob (9), Evelyn (6), Aiden (3 1/2), Claire (23 mos)

My family!!!  Love them!!

Day 2...

     I'm pretty sure I won't be doing a daily log of our home school activities, but I had a few things I wanted to share today.  No one rushed through their chores in 15 minutes like they did yesterday.  Hmmm??  First day excitement must be over.  I did, however, make progress with Aiden.  This is so exciting for me.  We did more than puzzles.  He actually colored is ABC paper, let me read 2 books to him (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom! & Dr. Suess' ABC's), and he even let me sing the alphabet!!  He usually hates when I sing (wonder why?).  He also was very interested in Evelyn's poetry lesson.  This is a big improvement from yesterday!
     Evelyn finished all of her lessons before lunch and was mad that there was nothing else for her to do.  Her reading unit start next week so hopefully that will keep her more occupied.  I'm also assuming that since it's only the first week, the curriculum is kind of taking it easy on her.  I sure hope so, for her sake.  She was very excited to learn that she will be doing her first art project on Friday...that will add some time to her lessons as well, thank goodness!
     Today in science with Jacob, we planted some flower seeds in pots.  We also observed our bug trap we set yesterday.  We saw an ant, am earthworm, a sow bug, a slug and a spider.  Not really my cup of tea, but Jacob loves being able to learn by touching and seeing.  So that is all that matters.  Tomorrow I have a little scavenger hunt planned for him in the backyard and plan on having him take Aiden along with him to "help" find the things on the list.  I forgot to take pictures of us setting the bug trap yesterday and today I forgot to take pictures again!  Tomorrow may be the lucky day!
     I did take some pictures of snack time this morning though.  This week is intro to the alphabet for Aiden's preschool lesson.  We had........Alphabits!!  You have no idea how long and hard I searched for these.  The grocery stores in our town do not carry them.  After 3 cities, I finally found a box!!!

(Please excuse the mess on the floor...the kitchen has become the place where the kids do their puzzles and games in between lessons, while I'm working with another child.)

And of course, Alphabits are fun for the older kids too.

A New Adventure...

     For those of you who don't know, we've chosen to home school the kids this year.  We don't really have anything against the school system in general.  There were actually a lot of factors that went into making this decision.  We decided that for this time in our life, it is what's best for our family.  Of course, there are many out there that are critical...mainly because they are uneducated about it.  (I can say that because I, myself, was once one of those uneducated, critical people ;))  I'm not saying I'm fully educated on the whole issue or that I am by any means an expert, I am just more open-minded now.

     Today was our first day of school.  The original plan wasn't to start until after Labor Day, but the kids have been begging to start for the past few weeks.  So we decided to start early.  This way we can schedule days "off" for fun play dates (yes, they will still get to socialize with other kids), field trips or the occasional lazy day. 

     Jacob is 9 years old and in 4th grade this year.  He is so smart and can memorize the most random facts in no time.  He is most excited about science this year.  We will be doing a lot of hands on activities- which is perfect because that's right up his alley.  Here is a pic of him on his first day.   He's super excited, can't you tell?   His favorite thing about his first day:  digging in the dirt to make a bug trap.

     Evelyn is 6 and in 1st grade.  She is also very smart and told me her first day was too easy.  She was upset b/c Jacob has more subjects than her.  I may have to add more work for her.  We'll see, it's only the first week so hopefully it will become a little more challenging for her.  Here's Ev's picture- she's trying hard not to act too excited.  Her favorite thing about her first day: writing cursive "e's".  

     And if I'm not already taking on enough by homeschooling 2 kids, I thought I would try and do an informal preschool with Aiden.  He's only 3, but I didn't want him to feel left out.  Today did not go as I had planned for him...started out good (puzzles are always fun), but when it came to coloring and story time he had a meltdown.  I'm not forcing anything on him.  I'll keep trying, when he's ready he'll let me know.  He wanted a pic too on the first day.  Here's a pic of him and Claire (23 mos) working on their puzzles this morning.  

     And another pic of Aiden, he wanted to say cheese again.  

     Here's a rundown of our daily schedule.  I get the kids up at 7:30.  They get dressed, brush their teeth and I do the girls' hair.  We then eat breakfast.  At 8:00 we start chores: make bed, clean room, and whatever the daily chores are (today was tearing sheets off their beds and running them downstairs for me to wash- so obviously they didn't make their beds today since that would have been pointless.)  Then once chores are done, they have free time until school starts at 9.  On a typical day, I have to prod them to do their chores- not today!  They were done (chores done correctly, too) in 15 minutes.  They were sitting at their desks at 8:15..."We're ready, Mom!"  I told them that Mom had chores too so they would have to wait til 9.  You would have thought I told them there would be no Christmas this year.  Thank goodness a good friend gave me a poster for each of them to fill out...it was called "All About me."  Perfect!  I told them they could work on that while I finished up my stuff.  They were elated.  Fast forward to 9- school's in session.  They got to share their poster with "the class".  Aiden didn't want to do his, so I will attempt that with him tomorrow.  We took an hour lunch break at 11:30-12:30 and were done with school for the day at 2.  Here's a pic of their "desk" waiting for them on the first day.  

   Where do we do school?

(See the paper chain along the wall?  That's counting down to our Christmas trip to Tennessee.  It goes halfway around the room.)

Here's the preschool table.

And I will leave you with the picture they saw when they walked into the school room this morning.  They thought it was hilarious!

Homemade Fruit Snacks

So today we attempted to make our own fruit snacks.  Well, they turned out pretty darn good!  Granted I only got 19 of them.  But they are bigger than ones you buy in the store (about 2-3 times bigger).  These have no added sugar or preservatives, which is what I love most.  To get about 40 of them, it would cost you a little over $3.  This does not include the cost of the molds.  I got 2 trays for $1.  I used 2 packs of gelatin, but if you want a firmer snack, I would suggest using 3 packs (that would in turn make your cost a little more).  These ones were still firm enough to come out of the mold without any damage.  And they passed the kid test- they LOVE them!  

Here's the link with the recipe I used:   http://www.mommysavers.com/c/t/164335/dollar-store-crafts-homemade-fruit-snacks-from-100-juice

Holy cow!  It's been over a year since I've posted anything.  Hoping to get back into doing that again.  The kids are hilarious these days!  Claire's finally walking, Aiden's potty trained, Evelyn's in kindergarten and Jacob is in his first year or E-league baseball.  When we're not running all over the place we love just hanging out as a family playing a game or watching a movie.  Hopefully I'll be able to add some recent pictures and more detailed updates in the next few days.  Kind of forgot how to get on here since it's been so long.  Too late to add anything tonight.  Matt's going into work tomorrow so the alarm will be going off before 5 in the morning.  I'm am thankful, however for the extra money that the overtime will give us.  Well, it's off to bed for this Momma...morning comes all too quickly!