Fullfilling Week

We have just completed our third week of home school. This week we focused on phonics, math, handwriting, and read alouds. My son's phonics studies are really going well. Last year we really hit some walls with reading and phonics, so we took a summer break(3 months). This seemed to really help. He is ready now and anxious to start reading. We are using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann. We tried other programs without success. This is a perfect fit for my ds.
We are on our third Little House book, On the Banks of Plum Creek. My ds truly loves these books.
After our torture of a first week of home school, we took a more relaxed approach. We achieved much. I am more relaxed, my ds is more relaxed. We are enjoying our learning time together.
We start with AO on Tuesday. Excitement, nervousness abounds.
I am still not overly happy with our children's Bible book. I have tried three and they seem to be toooo watered down. I will keep looking.
I have found a couple of devotional books that we enjoy, Little Visits With God by Allan Hart Jahsmann and Martin P. Simon. It was first written in 1957. It has a short devotional with Scripture readings, questions, and a prayer. Quite a gem. For my little toddlers, Focus on the Family has a devotional book called Playtime Devotions written by Christine Harder Tangvald. The twins love this book.
I hope this past week has been a blessed week for everyone. Remember to follow Him in all you do.

Fay

Fay just wants to stay. This week has mostly been about waiting for Fay- Tropical Storm Fay that is. She finally arrived Wednesday night and still is here. Maybe by Saturday they say she will be gone. Limbs are everywhere, trees are down, many without electricity, and did I forget about the flooding? Rain, Rain, Rain.....with wind gusts sometimes as high as 50 mph. Oh tornadoes too. We go through hurricane threats every year, living on the coast you expect it, but this girl Fay is different. She won't leave! Home schooling has been a bust this week, except for our Bible study and free readings, we have done nothing else.
Rain, Rain, go away, my sons and I want to go out to play.

Start of Our Home School Journey

First week of home school.

Our first day of home school was Monday. We are using August as a "prep and review" time and also as a adjustment time for both my 6 yr old ds and the family. We will start Ambleside online curriculum September 1st. Well, today is Friday, we survived the first week. It has been both a blessing and tiring. Having the younger twins made it a challenge. Nap times seem to be the best time for phonics and readings. Handwriting and some math concepts were done during the twins playtime with frequent breaks for my 6 yr old ds. Wednesday we started eating breakfast and doing our Bible lesson, memory verse, and work on our Bible timeline before the twins got up. This was around 6:30 am. I know this is early, but he has started to wake up at 6:15am last week, so I decided to take advantage of it. Besides, it is our special time together. Also, he has had breakfast, dressed, morning hygiene done, and his bed made before the twins wake up.
I am finding that it is taking longer to do some of the review work. Alot of the review work is textbook based. It is okay, but boring. We are concentrating on proper formation of letters and numbers when doing copy work, this has been slow going, but coming along. Review of math concepts also is mostly textbook based. Next week, I am going to do more living math, maybe even start our math curriculum early. It is more hands-on based.
I am finding the days are flying by. The TV is not turned on at all til maybe 3 or 4 pm and that is a movie for the twins. My computer time is down to practically zero during the day, except today, we finished early and the twins are still napping. I get up at 6am, but I think next week I will start getting up around 5:30 am, so I can have some "me" time.
Anyway, that about does it for our first week of home school. Boy, this post got lengthy fast. Many blessings.

Water Break

A friend of mine gave us the double pull cart a few weeks back. Once I got my bike back into riding condition, we were off. Early mornings are all we can do for now, heat and humidity to high. We are having a blast.

Little Dynamites

Our Mommy says we are little dynamites.

Whatever do you mean?

We just are just exploring our world.

See, how curious we are?

No, we would never think to turn the water on and have it go all over the floor.

No, not your little pumpkins.

Besides, have we broken anything?



Okay, okay......but at least it was not your good lampshade.

Planning For Homeschool

Research, research, research, this is what has consumed much of the last year and this year. Prepping and planning for our first year of home schooling. We have chosen our curriculum, bought the books, set up the spaces. Are we ready? As I thought about this question another question came to mind. What do we want for our home school? Well, let me give it a try----unhurried meals ,mornings in the park, praising our Lord with song and dance, tickles, art, snuggles on the couch while reading worthy books , conversation, building a fort, biking, writing, joy in the simple things, humbling of the heart, and gratitude. Yes, I think that is what we want as a family for our home school.

Our home school journey starts August 11th, 2008. Many Blessings.