The Dauk Is In

Valentine Boxes

2012-02-08T15:35:00.002-07:00

*Please be sure to see previous posts I am catching up again!*

The girls entertained themselves one day this week making their valentine boxes. We also went and picked out their valentine cards. Except for Chiggie who has chosen to make her own this year. They got some really good ones and their party is this Friday!

Bowling Party

2012-02-08T15:30:00.003-07:00

The kids were invited to a home school bowling party on Monday and they had a blast. We actually had not been bowling in quite a while. I was surprised how much the little ones remembered and how well they did. Chiggie even got a decent score without bumpers. Buster was there for the cake and ice cream. Once that was served he was the quietest I have seen him in a very long time.

Room Makeovers

2012-02-08T15:22:00.002-07:00

The girls have needed major room makeovers for nearly 4 months. Last week, they finally got them. The little girls maintained the princess theme with a new wall color, curtains, posters, and accessories. I can assure you it doesn't look quite so "yellow" in person. They love the space. I got rid of quite a few of their toys that were just cluttering the space all together. Our family room doubles as a play area so some of their toys are out there too.

The big girls needed pretty much everything new. They got new beds, headboards, night stands, and bedding. The wall color is a pacific blue and we all love the room.

The room is very large and they definitely have their own space. The colors are bright and go together nicely.

Their toys are all organized and put away as well eliminating constant clutter. Next up is Buster's room. I can't wait. It's going to be so cute!

Absent

2012-02-08T15:20:00.001-07:00

I was on such a roll with blogging lately and then I suppose life got in the way. First it was the computer. It began running incredibly slow. It took a while to finally figure it out, but after disabling a few unnecessary add ons I am pretty sure we're good now. Then a couple of the kids ended up getting decent chest colds. Some recovered quickly but Midge and Buster ended up with Bronchiolitis. They ended up needing breathing treatments and we pretty much stayed home for a week. We're all good now and I have a lot of catching up to do!

Busy Sunday

2012-01-22T16:10:00.003-07:00

Today has been an extremely long day and it's only 4 ! It started way too early at 6:30 am. We were to church by a little after 8 and didn't get home until just after noon. We ate a quick lunch and then drove to Pueblo to do some furniture shopping. We ended up getting the older girls new beds, headboards, and night stands. They had to be ordered so we will pick them up next weekend. This works out because it gives us the time to get the room organized and ready before setting the beds up.

This week should be pretty busy as well. We have to go back to Pueblo tomorrow for a meeting and then we'll be without a car for the rest of the week. The King is taking the SUV so that he can take his exam and get back to work on time. I'm not looking forward to it, but we'll survive. I am so glad this month is almost over!

Progress

2012-01-21T19:15:00.003-07:00

Last week my step dad came and painted our living room for us. It's hard to tell in the pictures but the window wall is a shade darker than the other. I love the colors! It has changed the look of the whole room. I've already picked out curtains that will match and I'm very excited to see how that brings it all together. It feels good to finally be making some progress.

Park Day

2012-01-20T19:00:00.003-07:00

*Per usual I am playing catch up so don't miss the previous posts!*

The weather has been really nice this week and it was warm enough today that we joined several other families for a park afternoon.

Boo is fearless when it comes to climbing and playing. The higher the better.
Midge loves monkey bars of any kind.

They loved playing on the skate ramp. Tea was bummed she forgot her board.

Buster copying big sisters.

Tea balancing her way across the bars.

Chiggie goofing around on the swings. I need one of these at home. Maybe it would put her to sleep at night.

Boo doing more climbing.

Chiggie likes to help out with Buster.

He really liked swinging. I think this was his first time on a regular swing.

Midge climbing the rock wall. My girls have been talking a lot lately about rock climbing. As soon as it gets a bit warmer we need to go hiking.

Another Belt Test

2012-01-20T18:50:00.002-07:00

Yesterday evening Midge and Boo had karate belt testing. As always they did a wonderful job and earned their new belts. Midge is now a green belt and Boo is a purple belt. I am so proud of both of them.

Boo's last time wearing her blue belt.

Midge's last time wearing her purple belt.

Week in Review XVIII

2012-01-20T17:49:00.002-07:00

This week marked the end of our first semester. We are officially half-way done! I think having the first semester under our belts is a confidence booster. This was another busy week.

Chiggie began a unit on David Livingstone in Language Arts. She worked on research and is still reviewing parts of speech on a regular basis. Tea spent the week learning about subjects and predicates and parts of speech as well. She needs a new book to read. Like her big sister she loves to read and I have trouble keeping her stocked up. Midge spent the week on review. She now firmly knows about 40 sight words, which just amazes me. We are also working on hearing sounds. I say a word and she tries to spell it. She likes this a lot and is pretty good at it too.

Bible was more on God meeting our needs. We are also learning about other religions and beliefs. This has been interesting for all of us.

Tea has started Typing Tutor again and is making great progress. I think she was just overwhelmed in the beginning. Chiggie is continuing to just work on speed.

Math was actually fun this week. Chiggie worked on equations, Roman numerals, and time. It's a very nice change from long division. Tea can now add and subtract up to 3 digit numbers with carrying. Midge worked on skip counting and counting by 5's.

In science we wrapped up Mars by building an ecosystem. This was a lot of fun.

They all worked together painting and building. I think it's pretty obvious that they've grown up in Colorado since they made sure to include a forest and mountains!

In history we are finishing several books. We are also talking about the many French and Indian wars. Learning about colonial times is very interesting.

This week was a full one. We had karate belt testing, began a new small group with our church, and enjoyed the warmer weather with a park day.

Old School

2012-01-16T23:33:00.002-07:00

The girls have been playing old school games on the Wii. They are really into Super Mario Bros. I have to admit I "help" them quite a bit. It's fun to see them playing some of the same games I enjoyed as a kid!

Gymnastics Fun

2012-01-16T18:58:00.003-07:00

I am playing catch up with photos so make sure to check frequently as I get caught up ! On Saturday I took the kids to a birthday party at the gym. They had a lot of fun playing in the pit, playing hide and go seek, and jumping on the bouncy trampolines. Buster wasn't too sure of it and mostly watched. It was nice for them to burn off some energy during this winter lull!

Oh Shoot!

2012-01-16T15:28:00.003-07:00

The big girls got bb guns for Christmas and they absolutely love them! Every time their dad is home they make time to practice. When she opened hers, the first thing Tea asked was, "can this thing take down a deer?"

Chiggie has great aim and made it on the board with points right away. Thinking it couldn't be that hard, I gave it a try and was not so lucky. It's hard to hold that still.

It's a great way for them to spend time together and learn safety rules as well!

Week in Review XVI and XVII

2012-01-15T14:39:00.002-07:00

These past two weeks have been some of the most productive weeks we've had all year long. I think the break did us all a lot of good.

Language Arts has been really fun and interesting for Chiggie. She just wrapped up a poetry unit where she got the chance to write several different poems. Her favorite styles were cynquain and limerick. Tea moved on to a new book series and is reading fluently. She also read and enjoyed the book Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry. Midge just finished her last frequency reader. She has memorized about 30 sight words and is ready for bridge books.

The girls have started working on typing every day. It's a great time filler and they do enjoy it. Chiggie is typing 35 wpm with a goal of 40. Tea is still mastering the keyboard.

In Bible we started and finished lesson 8 on why God created us. The lessons are very interesting and the girls are glad to be back with this book.

We are FINALLY finishing long division with Chiggie in math. She has definitely mastered the concept, but it takes so long to complete the lessons. She is moving on to measurements and equations with regular review. Tea has started addition with carrying with no problems. She will finish this math book by the end of next month and start the 2nd grade series with the same curriculum. Midge is adding without the number line and beginning subtraction. She has mastered counting to 100 by 1's, 10's, and 5's and we are beginning to work on 2's.

In history we learned about William Penn, the Pennsylvania Dutch, and are currently knee deep in our daily colony life unit. We are reading If You Lived in Colonial Times, The Courage of Sarah Noble, and Hostage on the Nighthawk. We also have a book of colonial paper dolls to play with. The girls are fascinated with all of their special outfits.

Science has been really fun learning about Mars. The girls drew up plans for an ecosystem and we will be building that this week. I think it's there favorite planet so far. They like learning about the rover as well.

We should be able to make good progress these next couple of months with no breaks scheduled. It's nice to have the focus and there aren't nearly as many distractions as there were a month ago!

January

2012-01-12T18:56:00.002-07:00

January has got to be the longest month ever. Things have slowed down to about a snails pace and it's killing me. While the days are shorter than ever, they actually feel much longer. We are getting tons done in school which does please me. We moved toward a more relaxed schedule and the girls are growing in their independant abilities. When we first started I had to literally sit by each of them for every subject. Now they can work on different subjects all at the same time and just * things that they need help with. This makes Buster a lot happier.

The King has been approved and is just waiting to be assigned a day for his Journeyman's License. This is extremely exciting for us and will open up a whole bunch of opportunities. He likes the company he works for but HATES where he is at right now. The job will only be about another month and we're hoping he finds something local very soon. I can't wait to have a huge celebration when this is all over. It has been a long 4 years!

Whirlwind

2012-01-08T19:55:00.002-07:00

This weekend went by way too fast. I slept awful last night and it took every bit of energy I had to wake everyone up and make it to church on time. I have a head cold that is driving me nuts. The kids have all already had it though so at least I don't have to constantly worry about who will be next. I think today went by so fast because the Bronco game was so intense. The girls even put on their gear and cheered the team on. Poor Buster almost had a heart attack at the end of them game we were clapping and cheering so loud. Wow, go Broncos!

This week should be pretty low key. We have school, karate, and youth group, but that's about it. We were really glad to finally get some snow last night, but it got pretty warm today and it will prabably be melted by tomorrow. I hope to start working on some house projects this week, but we shall see.

Heaven is for Real

2012-01-07T23:57:00.003-07:00

Tonight I took the kids to a church service here in town to hear Todd Burpo, author of Heaven is for Real, speak about their experience. Todd, his wife, and their son Colton were all there. Chiggie and I have both read the book and enjoyed it. I think it was a really good experience for them. I couldn't believe how crowded the service was though. We got there just in time taking up the last 4 seats available. Buster made it about 1/2 way through before he had to go to the nursery. He was great about it though and even smiled and waved good-bye with no tears at all. The band was from Denver and I was really impressed with the music. It was a great way to spend our Saturday night!

Ice Skating

2012-01-06T19:06:00.003-07:00

I will post my week in review tomorrow as I thought today's field trip deserved a post of its own.
We only did our morning subjects, which means we got to take a day off from math, yay! We headed out around 12 and had our skates and were on the ice just a little after 1.

At first even I couldn't believe how slippery the ice felt. I was really wondering how much they would want to skate. Poor Boo's legs were sliding into the splits when she tried to even stand.

They were determined though and an hour later were making their way around the rink much quicker. They definitely have a greater appreciation for figure skaters and hockey players.

It was nice because it was unseasonably warm outside so we never got too cold either. We wore hats and gloves though so that helped too.

I love these kids so much and I'm glad to have these opportunities with them!

Long Week

2012-01-04T16:04:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it is only Wednesday. This has seemed like a really long week. We are going ice skating for a field trip on Friday, so maybe that is why. We've done a great job at getting back into a schedule, but I can't say it hasn't been a little bit sad. On one hand it's nice to be back to normal and on the other hand I do miss that "special" holiday feeling. One of my goals this year is to get out more, so that we have special things to look forward to. That is something that I used to be really good at, but I think I just got busy and eventually it just wasn't the routine anymore.

Another big thing on our to do list this year is fixing up the house. In terms of actual living space this house is HUGE compared to our last house. We have two large living areas and it's very open concept. Most of the walls still need painted so they we can move on with the decor. It sounds easy, it's just coming up with the time between the King working and home schooling. I will be sure to post pics of this along the way!

Moving On

2012-01-02T15:57:00.003-07:00

I think that will be my theme for this year. Moving on. It will be a work in progress, but I know I will be so much happier if I am able to let things go. We started school back up today, and as much as I dreaded the routine of it all, it ended up flowing very smoothly. Midge even had a doctor appointment in the midst of it all and we stayed right on track. I think it really is helping that we turned the family room into a bit of a playroom. It contains the mess and keeps the little ones entertained.

Art today seemed a bit more formal with Tea's new easel. She LOVES painting, drawing, coloring, and creating just about anything. I think being home really has given them more time to explore their interests. Our days will be a bit longer this week because we are taking a trip on Friday to go ice skating! We are all excited.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T23:20:00.003-07:00

We had a relaxing, fun night right here at home. Buster only made it until 9:30 before he called it a night. Chiggie and Tea watched the ball drop with us! I am very excited about 2012!

Recovering

2011-12-28T19:20:00.003-07:00

Our Holiday recovery has seemed slower than normal this year. I think many factors are involved, but we were hit with a stomach virus and several of the kids and myself just haven't felt well. Buster tried to make me feel better by cooking me up a snack, but I just wasn't hungry. Our new family room really is great in the aspect that we are able to have so many toys in there without feeling crowded. That wasn't true in the old house.

I can't believe it is already Wednesday! I am glad we still have a few days of vacation left before we are back to the grind!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:43:00.002-07:00

Final Stretch

2011-12-23T17:18:00.004-07:00

We are definitely in the Christmas home stretch now. We had a great day today. We went out to eat and to the mall. The kids got to see Santa. Only Boo was afraid and she got outta there as quickly as possible. Of course not before placing her order. Tonight we have a dress rehearsal for the Christmas Eve service and then hopefully will have time to watch a movie. I just want to pump the brakes, this is going way too fast!

So Handsome!

2011-12-22T16:40:00.001-07:00

Getting Our Party On

2011-12-22T14:56:00.007-07:00

Please excuse my poor quality cell phone pics! The last couple of days we have been really enjoying the season. We celebrated at Youth Group with reindeer cupcakes which were really cute. The kids also practiced for their Saturday performance. It's going to be so cute!

The older girls also had a Christmas Party here at the house. They made gingerbread houses, enjoyed snacks, listened to Christmas music, and watched Christmas movies. There were 10 kids in the house, but it wasn't too crazy. They had a lot of fun!

If the roads clear up we are going to look at lights tonight. If not, then tomorrow night after our dress rehearsal we will. I can't believe how fast this month has gone!

Cleaning

2011-12-19T13:11:00.002-07:00

It's important to tackle little things like dentist appointments over the break, so today I took Tea to have her teeth cleaned and examined. She did wonderfully. She has one small cavity in a baby tooth, but it is sensitive so we'll go back after Christmas to have it filled. She will also be having her molars sealed that day. It feels good to get these things out of the way.

Week in Review XV

2011-12-17T18:45:00.003-07:00

What a busy week we had. It seemed incredibly long for several reasons I am sure, but mostly because we were so excited to finish up the week and enjoy our two week vacation.

Language Arts was fun this week. Midge read the book The Snowy Day and did several related crafts. She improved even more this week, remembering all of her sight words and such. She also knows her numbers from 0-100 and can identify them when reading. Tea finished Forest Fables and did a poster project about the characters. She also took her 3rd assessment and is ready to move on. We will work on alphabetizing. She understands the concept, but I think practice will improve her speed. Chiggie finished her unit and took assessment 3 as well. She can identify all parts of speech and parts of a letter. She will move onto a poetry unit after the break. She wrote a descriptive paragraph about her best friend this week and her writing is really improving. No more Dick and Jane style for her.

Our Church program is coming along well. If the girls don't know the Christmas story by heart, they never will. Chiggie is the narrator, Tea is an angel, and the little girls are sheep.

Math was just same 'ol this week. Midge learned how to figure the perimeter of an object using counters. She likes to do this a lot. We are working on money and will play around with that even during the break. Tea is moving onto more geometric concepts. She has mastered working with money. We will continue to cement those addition and subtraction facts over the break. Chiggie moved on to division with a double digit divisor and has no trouble. She will be working on division and multiplication facts.

We finished the moon in science. We will continue with our moon charts throughout the month. We didn't get the chance to watch the lunar eclipse when it happened, but we were able to watch a video. The girls really thought it was neat. After the break we will be moving on to Mars.

Pirates were interesting in History. We read Pirate Diary, drew pirates, made pirate flags, and drew a treasure map. We all enjoyed this.

I am so happy that we have come so far and we are able to take a break. It will be so nice to sleep in and get more done around the house! We are also having a Christmas Party/Slumber party for the big kids. I can't wait for the King to be home so the fun can begin!

Week in Review XIV

2011-12-11T13:37:00.003-07:00

Wow! Only 5 more school days until we are out for Christmas Vacation! We are counting down the days. We are having a party for the older girls over the break so that should be fun! Things went very smoothly this past week.

In Language arts Chiggie learned about prepositions. This is the last part of speech she will cover this year. The program we are using covers them each year getting more and more in depth over time. I like this a lot. Tea read the Ox Cart Man and we did a special little mini unit on seasons, both literal and figurative. She made a picture of a tree through all 4 seasons. Midge really cranked it up this week. We worked a lot with sounds. I would say a sound and she would write the corresponding letter. We also read several books that she enjoyed including I Love Chocolate Cake.

Math was a breeze for Tea and Midge with more practice on concepts they have already mastered. Midge really understands the number line and we're working on money. Tea needs to finish this book so we can move on. I want to make sure we don't miss anything important but she needs something more challenging. A couple of days last week she did three lessons and we may do the same this week. Chiggie is doing great, but her work takes longer and keeping her focused is a challenge. We've played around a bit with timing, but the truth is if it's not your favorite than there is no great time for math.

Science was more on the moon. This has been fun. The girls learned about gravity and lack thereof and how much they would weigh on the moon. Next week we will be charting the phases and observing the moon in the sky.

In history we learned about two more colonies, The Carolina's and New Jersey. We have begun our study of pirates. They had to make a list of what they know and when we are done they'll fill it what changed. Their lists were cute!

They have also been doing several holiday related activities I have printed off of Enchanted Learning. This is a great tool for especially Tea. She loves puzzles and most worksheets. It keeps her entertained for sure!

Buster is a Belieber

2011-12-08T19:38:00.003-07:00

More Snow!

2011-12-04T20:20:00.003-07:00

The kids keep peeking out the window to see if it's still snowing. We are supposed to get a decent amount this time. We have had a snowy Fall so far. I love it when it's seasonal. After New Year's....not so much.

Parade of Lights 2011

2011-12-03T21:49:00.004-07:00

Practicing

2011-12-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

Buster has spent all of his bath time lately practicing swimming. I, of course, am always right there watching. He's quite a good little swimmer though...

Week in Review XII and XIII

2011-12-03T17:05:00.004-07:00

Ideas, ideas, and more ideas. The past couple of weeks have left me with so many ideas to ponder. Last week we immensely enjoyed a small break for Thanksgiving. We took three days off which were spent with the King, and we loved every minute of it. The two days that we did school were spent on reading, math facts, and holiday crafting. It was a lot of fun!

This week was back to the grind. In language arts Chiggie is still really liking her writing book. We are seeing progress already. I love the step by step approach. Tea is learning about comma placement and use of quotations. She is reading up a storm and almost finished with Nim's Island. Midge is still pounding away at her phonics. From the beginning of the year she has really progressed.

We are handling Bible a little different for the holiday season. We are focusing on the birth of Christ, music, and their church Christmas pageant. They are enjoying this and so am I.

Chiggie is working with division of decimals in math. Tea is adding 3 digit numbers, learning different measurements, and identifying more complex geometric shapes. Midge is adding with the number line and reading graphs. Things are smooth for now.

We began our study of the moon this week in science. We all love science. I think it's definitely a favorite!

In history we finished up our study of the discovery of the Mississippi River, Peter Stuyvesant and New Amsterdam, and some mapping.

I'm not entirely sure yet, but we have made the decision to go to a 4 day school week. We really need that extra day to schedule things that come up. There are a lot more of those than I had anticipated when we started. We will also probably move towards a more year aroundish type schedule. I'd like to take at least 8 weeks in the summer!

The Apprentice

2011-11-30T20:59:00.004-07:00

"Oh grasshopper, you have so much to learn. Stick with me and you'll be fine!"

Tea vs. The Tree

2011-11-27T20:22:00.002-07:00

Today while playing outside in the "fort", which is really just a big pine tree they like to crawl under, Tea was scraped near the eye with a branch. It got her pretty good. She is giving this sad face for dramatic effect, but I am glad we don't have Christmas pictures scheduled antime soon!

Vacation

2011-11-26T22:48:00.002-07:00

We have had such a wonderful little vacation from "real" life this last week. Thanksgiving was awesome. The meal was delicious and we had a lot of fun playing games and just hanging out. We spent the day Friday putting up all of our decorations both indoor and out. Today I went grocery shopping and we organized a bit more. We finally hung a curtain in front of the laundry room and put up a matching valance in the kitchen. Then tonight the King and I went to see Breaking Dawn. We both really liked it. It has been so nice to have all of this time together and we still have much to look forward to. Next weekend we are going to the parade and the Christmas season will officially begin. I even baked banana bread and more pumpkin roll for the King to take back to work.

First Holiday Season

2011-11-25T21:56:00.005-07:00

It is exciting to be experiencing our first holiday season in the new house. I was a little nervous to decorate this year. I have been decorating the same house for years, so I just knew where everything should go. Surprisingly it went even more smooth than normal. I think it is because we have so much more room here, but I'm not sure. We have a few more things to put finishing touches on, but overall it looks great. I love the feeling of being done and able to just sit back and enjoy the month of December. I like the way the new fireplace looks with the stockings hung. It really makes it feel like home!

Scenes From the Day

2011-11-25T14:31:00.002-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T12:35:00.002-07:00

God

Family

Happy, healthy kids

A new house

And so much more! I hope everyone has a lovely Thanksgiving!

Completion

2011-11-23T21:05:00.002-07:00

The Before

2011-11-21T13:17:00.003-07:00

Every single room in our new house needs painted. Badly. The kitchen isn't even the most needy, but it rose to the top of the priority list because we are in here the most. As you can see it is currently lovely, or not, lime green. Seriously, think sherbet lime green. Not cool. So today it is being painted a lovely sandbar color that matches the counter tops and ties in my Coca-Cola theme. I will post pics as the process continues!

Raking Part II

2011-11-20T16:40:00.003-07:00

Today was another afternoon spent raking and raking and raking. The King also used the leaf vacuum, but it's not really fast enough for me. The kids even had leaf bagging contests. The leaves are off of the trees for the most part and the front now looks like this. I wish I would've thought to take a picture before, but imagine a thick mat of leaves.

We got everything done but the compost area on the side of the house where the trampoline will eventually go. Whew! 35 bags and counting. We have to be done by Wednesday if we want the leaves picked up by the city.

Fastest Day Ever

2011-11-19T17:25:00.002-07:00

With the time change the days just seem to be getting shorter and shorter. We slept in a bit today after a very late night. Everybody was feeling good this morning so we decided to go swimming. We took my little sisters along and it was a great morning to go. It wasn't super crowded and the water was so warm. Buster even enjoyed himself and when it's chilly he doesn't. Afterwards we grabbed lunch and then headed home for naps and resting. Everyone who needed one took a nap and the others played quietly. I got some laundry and cleaning up done which is always a plus. Tomorrow will be very busy with more raking. Will it ever end? I think most of the leaves are at least off of the trees now!

Week in Review XI

2011-11-18T17:17:00.002-07:00

What an interesting week this was. We enjoyed a day on the road, where surprisingly we accomplished everthing we need and then some. We were overscheduled this week, but we enjoyed all of the activies. I have a feeling this is going to be a very busy season for us and managing our time well will be a must.

In language arts it was a huge relief to be back to normal with Chiggie. She is starting a new writing book and works on that each morning while I am working with the little girls on calendar and handwriting. So far we love this book. It breaks the writing process down into very simple steps. She is also doing a literature study on the book Trumpet of the Swan which she is enjoying. She also got all of her spelling words correct with no trouble. Tea read a new story in her Forest Friends book and worked on adjectives and commas. We also worked in spelling with ea words which she grasped quickly. Midge's focus this week was on sharing and being thankful. She read several stories with this theme. Each week she is learning new sight words and while progress is slow at this point she is learning. Both Tea and Midge like working on handwriting and it is a great time filler when I am working with Chiggie.

In Bible we are talking about the Fall and how it effected the earth we live on. The girls have been acting out Bible stories on their own with their barbies as well. I like the book we are using, but might look for something more for Chiggie next year.

I am finally seeing why I feared math the most. It's not that it's really hard, it's just very time consuming at this point. They are all 3 learning new concepts and need one on one. I don't foresee this lasting very long though. Chiggie is learning to solve equations with +,-,/, and *. She is finally liking it I think. Tea is adding 3 digit numbers, money with decimals, and continuing to advance with telling time and fractions.

In history we learned about Marquette and Jolliet along with Peter Stuyvesant. I like that the curriculum we are using covers such a wide variety of topics. The girls enjoy it. We will be learning more about pirates soon and they're very excited for that. We also made pilgrim hat place settings for Thanksgiving. I think they turned out nicely.
We are still talking about planet Earth in science. This week we made advertisements selling the planet. They were very creative. Midge's had several drawings of things from other planets such as volcanoes, craters, and clouds of sulfuric acid with x's through them. It was very cute and shows me how much she is learning. They were all great. We also made edible Earth's. The Crust was chocolate, with a rice krispy treat mantel, and a fireball making the inner and outer core. Of course they loved this and they were pretty tasty.

As a family we are reading Stuart Little. It is much different than the movie and we're liking it a lot so far. Next week we are only doing school on Monday and Tuesday. We are excited for our 5 day vacation!

Testing

2011-11-17T18:39:00.002-07:00

Today Boo and Midge had karate belt testing. They love testing day. Balloons and suckers are involved. Congrats girls. We now have a purple belt and a blue belt!

Raking and Staying Focused

2011-11-14T18:02:00.003-07:00

Today I raked so many leaves it was unbelievable. This weekend's wind storm sped up the leaf dropping process. I wish I could say it's over, but 16 bags later and I would still guess we get at least 6-7 more. The kids were a huge help. They are working to earn money for little Christmas trees for their rooms. They rode their bikes while I raked and then helped me bag. It's nice that they are getting old enough to truly be helpful.

This week is proving to be insane. We have something going on every day and several things on some. From flu-shots to concerts to karate belt testing. I guess we're trying to fit it all in before our vacation next week. We are all very much looking forward to next week, but I'm trying to get the kids to understand that the more we get done now, the more we will be able to relax then.

One Down

2011-11-13T17:03:00.002-07:00

Here is Boo, just before she got sick. One minute happily playing on her scooter, begging to have her picture taken, the next heaving and running a fever. Poor, poor, Boo. She is so very sweet and I hate to see her feel lousy. I can't help but wonder who might be next?

Self Portraits

2011-11-12T13:56:00.001-07:00

Week in Review X

2011-11-11T23:37:00.002-07:00

Only one more week left until Thanksgiving break! School is going great, but it will be nice to have some time off and the King will be home to enjoy it with us!

In Language Arts this week Midge and I read the book Caps For Sale and she loved it. Afterwards she made this neat puppet of herself wearing the caps. She had me draw the face, but she colored all the caps and glued them to "her" head. Tea started her new reader and enjoyed the first story. Chiggie finished up her unit on tall tales and I'm pretty sure we're equally relieved.

In Bible we started discussing the concept of an imperfect word created by a perfect God. I am surprised at how much they are grasping. I'm glad I decided to do a formal Bible study as I am realizing that they really are capable of understanding some of the more complex stories and ideas.

Math continued to be challenging but we made it through. Tea finished book 1 and will start book 2 on Monday. I am pretty sure I have decided to go ahead and start the 2nd grade book after Christmas. She doesn't even seem to find what she's doing challenging, but we can't skip the foundational steps. Midge is adding using the number line and it takes awhile, but she has the concept down. Chiggie is multiplying multiple digit numbers and dividing with remainders. Again, this takes time, but she gets it.

In History we finally finished up our unit on Indians. We made fry bread today to celebrate and it was a success. They loved it with honey. When I asked where they thought the Indians might have gotten honey Midge answered, "Whinnie the Pooh?" It was very cute. We cut our bread out with our gingerbread boy cutters which made it even more fun.

I would say that Science was the favorite this week. We have moved on to planet Earth and are learning all kinds of things. We read The Magic School Bus Inside the Solar System this week and even I learned a lot.

In their spare time the older girls have been working on their drawing with a site they found that gives step by step insructions. They both have a knack for it and came up with some pretty good ones. Here is Tea with her squirrel she drew entirely on her own.

We have several projects next week including finishing our Pilgrim hat place settings and making an edible Earth. Until then we plan to enjoy the relaxation the weekend promises....

School Buddies

2011-11-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Yikes!

2011-11-07T21:40:00.002-07:00

This guy was kickin' it in our game closet. Chiggie was the unfortunate discoverer. Needless to say she won't be going back in there!

Riding

2011-11-07T15:22:00.003-07:00

Midge has been patiently waiting for us to work with her on riding her bike without training wheels. She has a razor scooter that she rides so it really wasn't a big rush. Apparently she got tired of waiting and taught herself. This all happened very shortly after we moved into the new place. I went outside this afternoon and was surprised at how well she really rides. Just another example that kids will do things when they are ready!

Weekend Ramblings

2011-11-06T16:12:00.003-07:00

I think we will call this, the weekend that go away. I had so many plans. I really did. There is just not enough time. Yesterday I attempted some housework and raked leaves. We have many trees now and there are still a lot of leaves that need to fall already. I did manage to get 6 bags though. I will probably end up doing twice that before it's over, but I don't want to let it get too overwhelming.

Today the kids and I went to church and then everyone just had a relaxing day afterwards. A bit too relaxing by the looks of the house. There is a roast with potatoes in the crock pot and rolls raising for dinner so that should be easy. Now I just have to get up the energy to clean up the kitchen. You'd think I would have more energy what with the whole "extra" hour and all...

Week in Review IX

2011-11-04T18:44:00.004-06:00

Overall this was a very smooth week. If I could change anything it would be starting earlier. I know this is an ongoing theme. It is so hard to get up when my nights are so late. Plus, it has been very cold lately and that makes it even harder. We don't ever skip anything, we just end up going later. I like to have our afternoons freed up for other things.

In Language Arts Midge is coming along in her phonics. This week we worked heavily on phonetic sounds. I would lay out all the letter cards, say a word, and she would have to spell it with the letter cards. She does very well with this. We are also working on just plain reading for enjoyment more often. Tea finished up her All About the Farm unit and will move on to Forrest Fables next week. She is also reading at least one chapter book a week. We worked on contractions, pronouns, and apostrophes this week. Chiggie is continuing a unit on Tall Tales. I actually have found it to be confusing. We enjoyed reading Tall Tales, but writing one is a lot harder than it sounds. Separating it from a fairytale or fable is difficult. We will continue through next week. She's also reading a novel for history and starting a new writing curriculum that we both love so far. Whew, LA is heavy right now.

We are still learning about the Trinity in Bible. This was a bit longer of a section so we'll continue with that for the first part of next week.

Only Chiggie is working on typing right now. She is just trying to improve speed as she has mastered the keyboard. Tea was overwhelmed and it wasn't worth it.

Math is getting more difficult every day for all 3 girls. Midge is learning place value and measurements. I think it is easier for her to grasp it than it is for me to explain it. Tea took a test this week on unit 7 and didn't miss a single problem. She is adding and subtracting double digit numbers, working more complex word problems, and beginning to work with fractions. She is great with money problems as well. Chiggie is working with multiplication with carrying, division, prime numbers, factors, and place value in the 100 billions. She is starting to like math.

In history we have now covered the Algonquian, Cherokee, Deleware, and Abenaki Indian tribes. We should finish the section early next week.

Science was fun this week. We finished our chapter on Venus with an experiment with radar. I wasn't sure how well it would work but we forged on and it worked fantastic. Even Boo was able to help.
We made a terrain in abox and then covered it with a gridded paper towel. Using a color coded dowel the girls pushed through the grid and color coded their paper.

This is Tea's fake pout face. She was pretending to be mad about the color she got. Right after I took this picture she was laughing.

Here is Midge's almost finished grid. They were able to tell by their papers what parts of the were flat and where the "mountains" were. I think they all have a solid understanding of how we can sometimes find things out about planets that we can't get safely close enough to see.

Next week I have a few fun crafts planned for the season. I'm glad we are more settled here and things are feeling more organized. I need to get our calendar and seasons board up though, they miss that.

SNOW!

2011-11-03T12:07:00.003-06:00

It's only early November and we have already had two pretty decent snowfalls. Yesterday was just as exciting for the kids as last week was. Luckily this time we didn't lose power at all. The only way we could get Buster to eat his cereal was to turn his highchair to face the window. He wanted to watch the snow falling. Tea helped him get situated. He loves her very much!

After school the girls went outside and built these snowmen. They love having a big yard to play in.

These two crack me up. They informed us the other night at dinner that they are BFF's. I'm happy that they are not only sisters but good friends. I can't imagine a life without siblings.

Chiggie was the engineer behind the project. She is a great leader that way. She is really loving to play outside here too. Hopefully we will have many more snowy days this winter!

Halloween

2011-11-01T21:07:00.003-06:00

Wow, Happy November! It's nice and chilly here and we're expecting snow tomorrow. It feels very seasonal. I'm really looking forward to the holiday season this year even though I am still hopelessly overwhelmed with the whole moving thing.

We had a really fun Halloween, even though the King had to work. We went to a Halloween party on Friday and then trick or treating Monday night.
Midge was a vampire this year. She's not crazy about dressing up. She has sensory issues and doesn't like to wear any make-up. The cape bothered her, but she was a trooper.

Boo made an absolutely adorable Little Bo Peep. She carried her staff the whole time. She is all about the candy!

Tea was a bride this year. This is actually my veil. She looked beautiful! She wore little heels and they didn't slow her down a bit.

Buster was a gorrilla. He was very quiet but on a mission. Once he figured out what was going on he became focused on filling his bucket. He refused to let anyone hold it for him. When his legs got tired he happily hopped into his stroller but still had a death grip on the bucket. He went to bed very happy last night.

Chiggie went all out as a clown this year. We all loved how it turned out. I'm glad she is willing to be so creative.

Week in Review VIII

2011-10-29T23:47:00.004-06:00

We officially completed our first quarter this week. It ended up being a week later than I had planned, but at least we finished.

In Language Arts Chiggie is doing a unit on Tall Tales. She read the story of Paul Bunyan this week and learned all about exaggeration and the such. Over the next two weeks she will be writing a tall tale of her own. Tea finished another story in her series and is continuing to breeze right through. Midge has turned a corner. She is reading phonetically very well. She knows all of the letters both upper and lower case and their sounds. She knows many sight words as well. We just need to work on fluency. All three are doing very well with their handwriting books and seem to like them.

In Bible we started a unit on the Holy Trinity. This concept is difficult to grasp but they are doing well with it.

Math continues to surprise me as an all around wonderful subject for all. Tea is still doing two lessons per day and should finish up book 1 this month. Chiggie is mastering all of her math facts and that is making the entire subject easier and more enjoyable for her. Midge is moving on to basic addition on the number line. She likes math a lot.

In history we are still studying the Indians. We are mostly reading right now, but we did try our hands at making clay pots.

We have almost completed our study of Venus in science. I am definitely ready to move on to Earth. We will do an experiment with radar to wrap it up and move on by Tuesday.

Not having any power for a day and a half was definitely an obstacle this week. We also had a Halloween party to go to on Friday. I was surprised at how focused the girls stayed that day. I am proud to say we stayed on track and even made up for lost time. We are still taking Monday off for Halloween. The King will be home 1/2 day and it will be nice not to feel rushed. We'll extend the other four days a bit to make up for hours lost. We are still on track, I just don't know what illnesses make come this winter and want to have some time stockpiled!

Crazy as Always

2011-10-28T21:04:00.003-06:00

We got our first snow storm of the season on Wednesday. Is was predicted to snow all day with an accumulation of around 4". The problem is the weather forecast is so rarely accurate. When we woke up that morning is was already snowing pretty heavily. It continued all morning and at 11 am we lost power. I figured it would come back fairly soon so we just continued on about our business. At around 1pm it came back on but was back out again by 4pm. I assumed it would be a bit but we would be back up before bed time. We waited and waited. We ate our dinner of takeout pizzas by lantern night. The girls were really getting anxious. It was very dark outside and still snowing heavily. At 7:3o pm I decided to load up some stuff and head over to my mom's house. I was still figuring the power would come on soon, but it was getting really cold and the girls were getting scared.

I kept calling our house throughout the evening hoping the answering machine would pick up and I would know that we had power. Finally around 11pm I gave up calling and we spent the night. When I woke up we called first thing and still no power. We came home anyway and tried to do school the best we could. It was cold in the house and we were really starting to wonder how much longer we would be without heat. All over town we saw the many downed limbs and trees. Even our own yard was littered with twigs and branches. Finally at 2pm the power kicked back on to stay. It took what seemed like forever for things to warm up, but we were just so glad to have lights. I was thrilled to be able to start a load of laundry! There is another storm predicted this Wednesday and I am praying we will not have to go through all of that again!

Sinking In

2011-10-25T23:10:00.002-06:00

The last couple of days have been so much better. After a couple of weeks of complete chaos, I'm finally starting to feel like I have a handle on things. I have been cooking regularly and even baking again. I love my new kitchen. It's a lot bigger than the old one so I enjoy being in there. Things are still pretty crazy around here, but it's definitely coming along. The kids have really enjoyed being outside here. In just 9 days Chiggie has learned to roller blade and Midge to ride a bike without training wheels. There is only one other house on our lane so there is hardly any traffic. Buster is able to play out back on the patio while we do school and he is much happier as well. Just as soon as I find my cables I will upload pictures!

Update

2011-10-22T20:49:00.002-06:00

We moved! I am very excited about our new house. I have taken some pictures but am not able to upload them right now. We ended up taking all of last week off. It was just too much to try and get moved in and home school. The girls have enjoyed their "vacation" immensely but I think they are pretty ready to have their routine back.

Today we went to Colorado Springs for an awesome birthday at It'z for my little sisters. We all had tons of fun. Afterwards we stopped off at Party City and finished up our Halloween costume shopping. This is the latest I have ever been scrambling but the whole move thing really has thrown me off. Then we stopped by some friends new house. They just moved here from GA and it was so nice to see them in their new home all set up. I am excited to have them living nearby!

I hope to post an entry devoted entirely to the move/house very soon!

Week in review VII

2011-10-14T23:45:00.003-06:00

This was a short week as we are taking a fall break. We did school Monday-Thursday and will resume on Tuesday.

Language Arts seemed a bit lighter this week. It worked out because we were able to complete the lesson in only 4 days. Chiggie memorized Psalm 23 for her oral presentation. Tea finished another short story unit and Midge made her own book and learned several new words.
In Bible we finished Who is God part II. I think the girls had some very important questions answered in this unit.

Math is becoming more advanced for all of the girls. We are done with review and introducing new concepts very regularly now. They are all doing great!

In history we began our study of the Indians. We barely scratched the surface with a pretty basic overview, but will go into much more detail next week after our break. The activities that go along with this topic should be a lot of fun.

In science we are still studying Venus. We did a demonstration with flour and butter to show how the hot lava effects the surface of the planet.

I forgot to mention that a couple of weeks ago we added Handwriting Without Tears for all three girls. They have some handwriting in their other subjects but I just didn't feel like it was enough. I am so glad I thought it through and decided to do more. They are enjoying it and I'm noticing better handwriting already!

One Little Monkey

2011-10-08T21:23:00.002-06:00

One little Monkey jumping on my bed.He fell down and bumped his head!

I love this baby!

Week in Review VI

2011-10-07T22:42:00.003-06:00

Week number 7 is now behind us. It's amazing how fast things are going and how much everyone, including myself, is learning. We survived this week with two kids getting a stomach bug and other random craziness.

In Language Arts Chiggie wrote and typed her first researched report. After several weeks of studying Mr. Popper's Penguins she wrapped up with a report on Penguins. She enjoyed this very much. Next up is a fun unit of Tall Tales. Tea read through another book in her series, aced her spelling test, and really enjoyed reading Balto. Her reading is advancing very quickly along with her vocabulary. Midge also read another book in her series and worked on a new set of sight words and new phonetic sounds. She really reacts to the stories we read and that makes things fun.

In Bible the girls made Mobius Strips to reinforce that God has no beginning and no end. We also discussed the attributes of God.

In Typing Chiggie is really gaining proficiency. Tea is moving slowly but I think the practice is good for her.

Math is probably the easiest subject we do. I feared it the most, but it hasn't been bad at all. All three girls have a strong grasp and I love the program we're using. Tea took her unit 5 test with no problems and can add double digit numbers, identify geometric shapes, shade fractions, and count different amounts of money. Midge is beginning basic addition and likes doing "real math."

We started our study of Venus in Science and the girls were fascinated with the facts. Next week we get to do some really neat experiments and that should be fun!

History was very dry with a basic overview of each of the 13 colonies. We didn't really get in to daily life or any of that just location, founders, and landscape. We sucked it up and got it done, but not anything like some of the more interesting topics we have covered. Next week we move on to the Indians of the region. I am very excited for this!

I think for the most part we have found our groove. I like to say we have a "routine" more than a "schedule." We could use to get started a bit sooner in the morning. I don't like when things carry on to the late afternoon.
After baths tonight I cut Boo's bangs. She was Very happy to have them out of her face and she looks so much better.

After that Midge wanted hers done. I ended up cutting 3 or 4 inches off of the back of hers as well. She looks much better as well. Her hair will be much easier to comb and maintain this way.

This boy keeps me on my toes. He is so darn cute. He walks around the house giving us all kisses and asking to go bye, bye. It can be difficult to keep him entertained in the mornings, but I know this will pass. We sure love him to bits!

Laundry Marathon

2011-10-03T17:32:00.002-06:00

We finally got the new dryer today. Amazingly I have not done any laundry since last Sunday! I don't know how we made it but we did. Now tonight after the kids go to bed I'm going to have myself a bit of a laundry party. I don't mind doing laundry nearly as much as I mind folding it and putting it away. I'm actually just relieved to have the dryer and be able to do it at home though.

Today was crazy busy but got in a really good day of school with plenty of extras. It was nice not to have anything we had to do early in the afternoon that made us feel rushed. We were done by 2 so we still went swimming! The weather us supposed to be cooler this week too so I'm hoping we are able to just stay home and get caught up on the house!

October 1st

2011-10-01T22:14:00.002-06:00

I am very happy to see October! The promise of cooler temperatures and the coming holidays is very refreshing. Today was beautiful outside. It could have been a little cooler I suppose, but still very nice. I took the girls to the Apple Days parade and events in a neighboring town and while I can't say it's something we'll do again it was a fun way to get out. Afterwards we went to one of our favorite burger joints and ate outside. When we got home we were all exhausted. Buster took a nap and we all lounged around until he woke up.

This evening we went grocery shopping and then the girls watched a movie while I cleaned and organized the school room. It feels good to have everything under control again. It was a really nice Saturday, especially considering I have a double ear infection. It seems whenever I get congested now my ears don't drain right. I'm feeling better though and will be doing even better when we get our dryer on Monday!

Week in Review V

2011-09-30T17:00:00.002-06:00

I was horrible about taking pictures this week, so you're going to have to take my word for it. This week seemed incredibly long. I'm congested and stayed up way too late several nights and I'm sure both played a part in making for extremely long days. We mustered through though.

Language Arts seems to be going really well for all 3 girls. Chiggie seems to have an intuitive grasp on grammar and even though she's learning some of the formalities they're all things she semi-understood already. Next week is her last week on Mr. Popper's Penguins and then we will be moving on to oral presentations and tall tales. Tea blows me away in this department. She is a great reader and is really loving the Captain Underpants right now. She too, has an intuition about grammar. We will keep her spelling words for one more week though, she needs to practice them more. Midge is doing good as well. She finished another book today and is coming a long way in her handwriting.

In Bible we finished up Lesson 3 and all the girls memorized their verses. This lesson was more story based and I think it will be nice next week to have a couple of activities. Especially the little girls really need the activities.

Typing is same 'ol, same 'ol. Chiggie is working on speed and Tea is still focused on mastering the keyboard.

Math was a big deal this week. All 3 girls' math lessons went from what seemed like pretty major review to much more difficult concepts. They handled it well. Chiggie aced her test and is gaining a confidence she didn't have before. Tea continues doing 2 lessons a day even when her stomach hurts, her big toe hurts, she is seeing double, she has a hangnail etc. Oddly I think it might be the cure as the afore mentioned symptoms alleviate at lunch break. Midge is counting well and has mastered the days of the week and the months of the year.

In History we learned about the colonization of New York and New Hampshire. We started in on the Puritans today and they were surprised to learn that there is a difference between them and the Pilgrims. We will finish them and a couple more colonies next week and then we are all excited to start studying the Native Americans.

Mercury was still our planet in Science. We made salt dough models and the girls covered the surfaces with marks made by their asteroids (rocks). That was fun and easy.

This was also a very busy week. On Monday we went to see the movie Dolphin Tale, on Wednesday Buster had his 18 month well child check,and on Friday we had a get together with some friends and made boats to put in the irrigation ditch. It was fun, but I think we were on overload early on in the week. Futuristically I will try not to have so much so early in the afternoon. We got all of our work done, but it felt rushed at times and I don't like that. We're all excited about the weekend and I can't believe we just finished our 6th week!

My Little Helper

2011-09-25T20:19:00.003-06:00

On Friday our dryer heaved its last hot breath. Actually it nearly lit the house on fire, but either way, it's dead. We had been milkin' it for quite some time now, so I'd be lying if I acted at all surprised. I was not happy about it at ALL. To top it off the place we will buying a replacement from just happens to be closed until Wednesday. Really? Today though, my attitude changed. It is not the end of the world. Much worse could be happening than a few days without a dryer. We decided our best option would be bare minimum at the laundry-mat. I washed a few loads at home and then took several to wash and the ones to dry. Midge begged to come along. She remembered coming last time and just loves to help. I brought her along and I can't believe how much help she is at only 5 years old. She held doors open, folded clothes, threw away trash, and just kept me company. Really it ended up being a blessing. We have plenty of clean laundry for the week and I got to spend time with her.

Week in Review IV

2011-09-23T15:42:00.005-06:00

This week went much better as everyone was feeling better. Midge did have a staph infection on her foot and ended up having to go to the Dr. but it worked out and really didn't affect our day much at all.

In Language Arts Midge has been working for several weeks on making puppets to act out the stories she reads. This week she put a book in order and illustrated it herself. She is such an eager learner. Chiggie did well on her spelling test and got a new word list for next week. She reviewed letter writing and envelope addressing along with more work on grammar.

Tea had a very busy week in Language Arts. She too aced her spelling test. On Monday she made this timeline of her from birth to one. She really enjoyed this activity. She also completed the first story in her literature program and got to put it on her chart. She had really been anticipating this moment.

In Bible we began part 1 of lesson 3:What is God like? Chiggie has taken a new interest in the Chronicles of Narnia (an old obsession) and has decided she will read through the whole series. I have no doubt she will.

In typing Chiggie earned a certificate of touch typing keyboard completion. She is now working on speed. Her accuracy is already 100% so she strives to maintain that as well. Tea is still plugging away. She normally suffers mystery illnesses that recover immediately after typing time.

In math Midge is moving on to more difficult concepts and this pleases her. This week she started basic addition and clock reading. It makes her feel grown up and like she doing real math. Tea continues to blaze through in Math. She steadily moved through two lessons a day and one test this week. She masters concepts very quickly. She will most likely spend the first semester completing 1st grade math and the second semester completing 2nd grade math. Chiggie does exceptional but it is her least favorite. She continues to cement those all important math facts. Like Tea she seems to intuitively understand many concepts, the difference is she doesn't much like to show her work.

In science we wrapped up our study of the sun. We made a sun viewing box (it worked marginally okay) and the girls liked that. I wish I would've had a bigger box! They made sun wheels with facts about the sun and completed their mini-books as well. On Thursday we began studying Mercury. They love learning about actual planets. Midge sometimes mixes our subjects up though. I asked how they thought all of those craters ended up on Mercury and she piped in with an enthusiastic and confident "Squanto!" Hmmmm......

Speaking of Squanto, in history we sailed right through our Pilgrim study. The girls learned a lot and so did I. Chiggie loves reading historical fiction and even tried her hand at writing her own this week.

The older girls continue to love working in their history lap books. Chiggie also does a great deal of journaling. They are both perfectionists and sometimes that gets in the way of them feeling satisfied with what they have done. I just try to get them to see the bigger picture.

Along with school we also went swimming on Monday and had karate both Tuesday and Thursday and both girls earned new belts. Wednesday night was youth group in the new building and that was exciting as well. We're all quite worn out and definitely ready for the weekend.

Belt Testing

2011-09-22T19:39:00.001-06:00

I took some fuzzy, poor quality pictures with my ancient cell phone, but I couldn't even get them to upload. Today both Boo and Midge had karate belt testing. I am so proud of both of them. They are so focused and enjoy it so much. Boo is now an orange belt and Midge is a blue belt. They were both very excited. It's a lot of fun to watch the little kids this age!

Busy is Better

2011-09-21T20:57:00.002-06:00

For now that is. I realize there is a season for everything, but for right now we need to stay busy. It helps me focus. Today was great. We got up and got ready for the day. Then we tackled school. After lunch Buster went down for a nap and we finished up. When he woke up we went to the library and checked out our books for the next week. We came home for just a little bit and then I took the kids to Subway for dinner. They enjoyed that as we very rarely eat inside anywhere. After eating we headed to my Mom's house to pick my sisters up for youth group. I was substituting this week so that was fun too. As soon as we got home, around 8:45, the kids got ready and headed to bed. Now to relax and then get some sleep myself!

Midge's Feet

2011-09-20T11:50:00.003-06:00

Poor Midge's eczema is really bad lately. For some unknown reason summers are particularly hard on her skin. We've been battling it all season long with not a lot of success. I finally waved my flag of defeat yesterday and made her another doctor appointment. Lucky for me the King didn't have to leave until the afternoon so he was able to take her in the morning. It turns out all the scratching has led to yet another staph infection. She was given 2 different antibiotics. 1 to be taken orally and 1 is a cream. I'm hoping we see results very quickly. Nights are definitely the worst. The itching is horrible for her and makes it almost impossible for her to get a good nights sleep. I hope she's better soon and that she outgrows this terrible disease!

Fall Kick-Off and Dedication

2011-09-18T23:05:00.002-06:00

Today was the dedication of the new youth building at our church. The older girls had tons of fun. They got their faces painted and toured the whole building for the first time. It's very exciting to them. It was exciting to me to see our new Sunday School room. I teach the 3-5th graders and their new room is very cool. After the service and festivities we had a Unity Dinner and then released balloons with prayers of praise attached. Poor Tea was upset when she let go of her balloon without her praise card attached correctly. We told her not to worry as we're sure God knows what she is thanful for.

After all that we came home and rested for a good portion of the afternoon. I didn't go to sleep until 4 am the night before and had to be up early so I was exhausted. Buster took a nice nap and the King watched the Bronco game. Luckily they won and he was happy. We had chili, homemade bread, and cinnamon rolls for dinner. It was delicious and very festive. I hate how short our weekends seem, but at least we made the best of this one!

Week in Review III

2011-09-16T16:14:00.005-06:00

This seemed like a very long week. It could be the cold that ravaged through and made two of the girls feel rotten, or the fact that I got hardly any sleep at all, or the rain that cancelled our first field trip could've done the trick. We made do though, and school actually went really well.

In Language Arts: Midge read the second reader in her series and got to put another cover on her chart. This seems almost too easy for her, but I know it's a phase she needs to experience so that she can build on the skills she has mastered. Each week for the next several weeks will focus around one reader. She does very much enjoy the crafty activities. Tea finished her 1st unit and aced her spelling test. She also enjoys the crafty things and will be starting her book studies next week. Chiggie read Mr. Popper's Penguin's and really enjoyed it. She wrote a short story of her own about a penguin. She loves creative writing.

In Bible we completed lesson two. We learned about discerning truth and established Biblical Truth 1: God always tells me what is right and true. The girls memorized their verses and wrote in their journals.

In typing the older girls are still moving through Typer Island. This is fun for them and they never complain.

I realized I skipped Math in last week's review. Math is not Chiggie's favorite subject, but the other two love it. Despite hating the subject entirely Chiggie aced her unit 2 test and moves onto unit 3 on Monday. Tea is doing exceptional in this area. After much thinking I started pulling two lessons a day for her. She moves quickly and accurately and needs very little instruction. Her focus slows her some. For example she took a little longer today because she was holding her pencil with her mouth. Apparently it takes longer to write that way. Once she finishes this curriculum, which should be around Christmas time, we will probably supplement with Spectrum books and then reassess for next year. Midge loves math. She too requires very little instruction and loves anything that she can color.

In History we wrapped up our study on Jamestown. We read a lot of books and really enjoyed them all. Chiggie is even thinking about being Pocahontas for Halloween. They now know what is fact and what is myth in the Pocahontas/John Smith stories. The girls also glued all of their "important people" and facts onto the timeline. I can't imagine long this thing will be by the end of the year. It very well may wrap its way around the room.

In Science we are still studying the sun. The girls loved the experiment this week, which was melting chocolate with a magnifying glass. They were amazed at the power of the sun. Of course we discussed safety but it was neat to see Chiggie burn a hole through her chocolate bar!

While Chiggie answered some more in depth questions and did some more reading the little girls made these vocabulary pages. Tea was quite proud of hers. We turned it in to a bit of a game putting them together and they enjoyed that.

So we are 4 weeks in and not looking back. I thinks it's safe to say we are all enjoying ourselves. Sure, life continues to happen and nothing is ever perfect, but I feel much more relaxed. We are officially halfway through our first quarter!

The Weather

2011-09-14T11:48:00.002-06:00

I cannot think of anything more boring to blog about than the weather, but here I go. The weather is throwing me through a loop big time. Sure summer vacation is over and the school year has begun, but it is still the season of summer right? Well you could've fooled me. With temperatures in the 50's and 60's it feels a lot more like late fall. I really enjoy the season of fall, but this early onset is going to make for a very long cool season. Add to that the fact that it has been rainy almost every single afternoon and we really aren't able to be outside much at all. I am looking forward to mixing up my meal plans a bit with cooler weather meals like chili and stew, but I was hoping to make it until October. At this rate that will never happen!

Jet Lag

2011-09-12T17:54:00.002-06:00

This weekend was way too short. I think having 3 days off last weekend spoiled me. I couldn't believe it was already Sunday last night. When I woke up this morning I was dragging. It really felt like things were moving in slow motion. Amazingly we got everything accomplished, it just felt like it took forever. After we finished up with school we went swimming. We do this every Monday, but last week we were at the State Fair, so we had'nt been in a couple of weeks. The girls love to swim and could stay for hours, but after an hour of chasing Buster I was ready to head out. The evening is going much quicker than the day and now I'm rushing to fit everything in before bed time!

Nigh-Night

2011-09-10T21:16:00.003-06:00

"What, wait, don't go!"
"Take me with you!"

"Fine then!"

After almost 15 months of very little sleep, I am loving Buster being in his crib. He stays there all night long. To the tune of 12 hours. 12 glorious, peaceful, sleep filled hours. I love him more than words could ever describe, but I am enjoying sleeping again!

Week in Review II

2011-09-09T18:59:00.003-06:00

9/6-9/9

We had another great week! It flew by, but I'm sure that had to due with Monday being a holiday.

In Language Arts we are sailing right along. This is a strong area for all 3 girls and something that they enjoy. Chiggie is working on writing dictated passages and is doing very well. Tea got 100% on her very first spelling test and is a quick study on the more advanced phonics rules. Midge loves anything having to do with reading and read the first book in her program all by herself today. She was so proud and happy to glue it to her chart.

In Bible we talked about creation and some of the theories there are. Then they all helped make homemade brownies. We set out the ingredients but they just wouldn't make themselves. Much like the earth and people needed a Creator, the brownies needed us to make them. They were delicious and the girls were very proud of themselves. To prove how proud of them I was I ate half a pan.

The girls picked up where they left off in typing and Chiggie is really sailing along in that department. Her speed and accuracy is improving tremendously with every lesson.

History was once again a favorite this week. We have read/are reading a plethora of books on James Town, Pocahontas, and John Smith. I'm enjoying this as much or more than they are.

The older girls are working on their notebooks and journaling as we go. They are very proud of their history notebooks and love the activities. I love how hands on this study is and couldn't be more pleased so far.
In science we began our study of the sun. We learned how big the sun is in comparison to the Earth, how dangerous it can be to look at, and how important it's positioning is to our entire solar system. The girls worked independently in their notebooks this week and we'll be doing a couple of projects next week.

We also had company on Thursday afternoon and Friday. It was a busy week and I'm happy that we managed to stay on task and not fall behind. Now I'm looking forward to the weekend and maybe a little bit of relaxing.

Labor Day at the State Fair

2011-09-05T17:41:00.004-06:00

Cooling Off

2011-09-04T13:04:00.003-06:00

Last night I wore sweatpants to bed. Sweatpants! It was glorious. This has been a miserable hot summer and I'm not sorry to see the temperatures getting lower and lower. This is so uncharacteristic of me. Normally I am devastated to see the season change from summer to fall. I've always liked fall, it's just tough to transition from the lazy, hot, days of summer to the cooler, shorter, more rigorous days of fall. But here I am loving every minute of routine and cool temperatures. Maybe this means I'm growing up??

Cousins

2011-09-03T22:28:00.003-06:00

My sister and her family are in town for the Labor Day weekend. We have a couple of bbq's planned and a day at the State Fair. What a great way to end our summer season!

Denver

2011-09-03T14:54:00.002-06:00

Right before we started school the King and I took a brief visit to Denver for a little down time. We had a FABULOUS time! The hotel we stayed at was much nicer than we had even anticipated. I only wished we would've had our suits and could have gotten in the hot tub. Oh well, next time. We had a great dinner and a ton of fun at Dave & Busters. It was nice to just have fun and not worry about anything.

The next day we went to the Rockies game. We had great seats and they won! It was nice to come home and see the kids after a night away, but we definitely needed it!

Week in Review

2011-09-02T16:06:00.003-06:00

I plan to do these posts on Fridays just for my own record of sorts, but some of the keys on our keyboard weren't working correctly so we got a new one today.

8/29-9/2
We had a great week. In language arts Chiggie finished up her first book study and moved onto lesson 3. Tea wrapped up a unit on nouns, pronouns, and punctuation, and Midge worked on story sequencing.

For Bible we wrapped up our first 2 week unit on "The Rock." All 3 girls memorized their verses, journaled, and completed a few lesson related worksheets as a team.

Typing was put on the back burner due to the keyboard issues, but we'll pick right back up with that next week.

Both Chiggie and Tea had their first math tests on Friday. They both did wonderfully. Their first math unit was basically review from the previous grade so they are right where they need to be to move on.

In History we finished discussing the early explorers, the first settlement, and the lost colony of Roanoke. The girls have loved this! The activities and writing projects are very interesting to them. They spent at least 20 minutes on Friday discussing all of their theories of what may have happened to Virginia Dare. This has been a surprise. I didn't expect this subject to be a favorite.

Science was also a fun one this week. We started the week out learning about Galileo and Copernicus. The end of the week was focused on the actual planets and their positions around the sun. We made the model below to use as our classroom example.

The girls had a really good time painting the planets.
It turned out really good in the end. It's nice to have something we can actually look at. Even the littlest girls can now name all of the planets and show them on the model.

Boo was happy to be the one to paint the sun.

Tea chose all of the smallest planets.

Midge had fun, but getting messy isn't her favorite thing to do.

Overall we had a great week. We went swimming on Monday, the little girls had karate on Tuesday and Thursday, Wednesday we went to the library and the King came home on Friday and we had a special dinner. Now we are looking forward to the holiday weekend and going to the fair!

Obsession

2011-08-27T21:07:00.002-06:00

Boo is obsessed with babies. She loves everything about them. She was telling me today how excited she is to have a baby of her own. It's so funny how their little minds work. "Will I have to have a sleepover at the hospital?" She asked me. I told her yes, she would most likely have to stay at least one night. "What if they turn out the lights?" I told her not to worry, it was up to her how bright she wanted her room to be. She went on to tell me everything she would need before she brought her baby home. She also said that if Buster scratched her new baby then he would have to go to time-out! I laughed. If Buster scratches a baby of Boo's he's going to need a lot more than time-out. I love her imagination. In due time she will have a baby of her very own.

One Down...

2011-08-26T22:23:00.002-06:00

I have so much to blog about, but understandably I have been much too busy this week establishing our new routine and getting myself and the kids used to things. We had a really great week. I am amazed at how much work I spent on lesson plans that will be thrown out the window...well in the trash....I'm not gong to litter. The kids found their groove right away. They are such eager learners and that helps me out considerably.

So far the hardest part has been occupying Buster the tornado. Poor guy is so excited when he sees me dragging out all of the art supplies only to be disappointen when he is removed from the scene. It seems as though the newness of it all is wearing off though. By today he was much less disruptive. It helps that the girls find him comical and seem to work right through his antics. I hope to be more detailed soon, but for now I need to get some rest. I am fighting off a cold and don't want to spend next week miserable!

Our Curriculum

2011-08-17T21:34:00.003-06:00

Choosing curriculum proved to be a much more difficult task than I had originally thought. It took me months of pouring over reviews and samples to choose. We haven't started yet so I can't say we've made the right choices but I like what I see so far. We actually have started this one and I love it. Midge is on lesson 75 and she can read! She can read well. She turned 5 in February and will be doing K this year. I love this book. I read reviews on both sides and decided it was inexpensive enough to give it a try and it wouldn't be a huge deal if we hated it. I'm so glad we did! The lessons are short and entertaining for her. She asks to do them everyday.

We are using this book to study the Bible in our first semester. I really like it as well. I've read most of it and can't wait to start as a family.

This was probably the toughest choice I made. There are so many options available for language arts and I really had no idea where to start. I really liked the idea of a literature rich program that was all inclusive. This fit the bill. I bought the girls books all one grade level ahead due to their reading levels.

This was an easy choice for me. I love the colorful, spiral approach. When it comes to math I take it pretty seriously. I want the girls to have a firm and disciplined approach to this subject. It doesn't get any easier so laying the foundation is very important to me. I love the supplemental worksheets Horizons includes.

This was another very tough choice. I wanted a histoy program that we could all use together. When I finally came upon TruthQuest it was love at first sight. In my opinion there is quite a bit of prep work involved. I had to go through each unit and decide which books we would read together and which books the girls would read independantly. Then I had to see which ones were available at our local library and purchase any of the ones I just couldn't live without. I'm excited though. We also purchased the binder builder from A Journey Through Learning and we're all excited for that. Both older girls will complete a binder, notebook, and timeline. Midge will listen in on books, complete crafts, activities, and color pages.
This was the girls choice. Again I wanted something we could all do together. They wanted to learn astronomy. It was win win. We also bought the journal for Chiggie and the junior journal for Tea and Midge.

Overall I feel great about our choices. I can't imagine we'll make it through without finding some cons, but I think that's what it takes to figure out what style you prefer. The little girls will also continue with Karate class and we will be swimming once a week. The older girls are taking a little break after spending 12 weeks working on the musical.

Back to School Series: School Area

2011-08-14T22:18:00.004-06:00

We start a week from tomorrow. I am both nervous and excited. Mostly excited. I know there will be kinks to work out and that's mostly what I am dreading. I have spent a great deal of time planning and organizing and I'm not really looking forward to re-vamping anything. This is the area where the girls will do the majority of their seat work. We will in no way be confined to this area, but it will definitely keep the materials from spilling over into the rest of the house.

The is the early elementary calendar corner we created. The little girls really love. They will take turn presenting the month, day, and the weather.

All of their core subject books and supplies are kept in these carts. It keeps things organized and I am hoping it will help them to be more independent eventually.

This bookshelf holds my books and other resources and supplies that I don't want them having unlimited access to.

I will be using this little white board (I'm hoping to get a bigger one soon) to write spelling words and copy work on for the little girls. They have a miniature version to work with as well.

I brought the bean bag chairs in for them to sit and read quietly (shhh! I can dream) while I work one on one with whoever needs it at the time.

This basket by my desk holds library books that were specifically chosen at appropriate reading levels for each child. This is an effort to avoid wasted time searching for something to read.

For now, I think we are pretty much ready. It's hard to tell what else we may end up needing when it's the first year. I don't want to go overboard and end up with a bunch of things we don't use anyway. Stay tuned this week as I will also be posting about our schedule, curriculum, outside activities, and where each child stands right now!

We Survived!

2011-08-13T00:17:00.002-06:00

We survived the musical, the performances went wonderfully, and now we are free! I have so much to post about, but for now just a brief synopsis:

This week was lazy

Next week cannot be lazy

I have much work to do to prepare for school

We start August 22nd

I am very nervous

The kids are very excited and beg daily to just start already

Buster is sleeping 12 hours at night

It is lovely

We are sleeping in until 10 every morning

The late nights are starting to get to me

I am tired of the heat

We still don't have our central AC fixed

I love Fall but am dreading Winter

The kids are already talking about Halloween costumes

I wish life would just slow down a little!

One Down...

2011-08-04T22:59:00.002-06:00

Three to go! Tonight was opening night for "The Music Man." It went incredibly smooth. I was working in the green room and was amazed at how well the kids knew their cues. It made my job very easy. I heard lots of laughter and clapping coming from the audience and I can't wait to watch tomorrow night!

Happy August

2011-08-03T14:35:00.003-06:00

The Tooth Fairy is working overtime keeping up with just our kids lately. Tea lost another tooth yesterday. She looks so darn cute though!

We are wrapping up the play and it has been an insane last couple of days. We've been leaving the house around 4:30 and getting home around 11. Luckily we are sleeping in, but still everyone is off with such an odd routine. 5 days, just 5 more days!

August

2011-07-31T17:56:00.002-06:00

No way is tomorrow the first day of August. It just seems impossible. It promises to start off with a bang too. This week is Cuh-razy. I seriously do not know what I was thinking, but this will be our last play for awhile. Add to that a baby who is running a high fever (104) and not sleeping at all and you have a recipe for complete exhaustion. Oh well, it's just a week and it will go by fast. They all do.

New Beginnings

2011-07-28T19:22:00.002-06:00

I know I am cheating by posting so many entries in one day, but hey if I don't do it now, it will never happen.

We are wrapping up our summer activities around here. The older girls have less than a week left of play rehearsals before opening night next Thursday. They have enjoyed themselves immensely, but I am ready for this to end. We are spending more time in the car than at home. It is very hard to plan dinner when they have to be there at 6 and don't get done until 9. I just want some normalcy I suppose, whatever that is.

After this we are taking at least a 3 month, much needed, break from any new activities. The little girls will continue with Karate, and all three older girls will go to youth group in the fall, but nothing new. I need a break. Doing this by myself isn't easy and I know the kids need more time at home too. Especially at night. I can make it one more week. Right?

Belt Tests

2011-07-28T19:08:00.002-06:00

Today Midge and Boo had their Karate Belt Test. They both enjoy Karate class so much It's a lot of fun to watch them too. I am so proud of everything they have learned so far and excited for what is to come!
Midge is now an orange belt and Boo is right behind her with her yellow belt. Congrats to both girls!

Lucky Number 7

2011-07-28T19:03:00.002-06:00

Of all of the kids Tea has changed the most this year. On Tuesday she turned 7! Wow. She is getting so big. One thing has remained the same. She is an artist at heart. Her desire to create is a powerful one. She is almost always coloring, painting, drawing, or molding something. She got a pottery wheel for her birthday and I can't wait to set it up and see what she makes! We love you TT! Just don't grow up too fast!

Boo Turns 4

2011-07-25T14:54:00.002-06:00

Saturday my baby girl turned 4! We have been crazy busy celebrating her birthday then Tea's birthday and all of the other busy summer fun stuff so I'm playing catch up now!
She is all about Karate right now. She catches on to things so quickly it never ceases to amaze me. She is a talker and will talk the ear off of anyone who will listen.

I love you Karate girl! I can't believe you're 4. Slow down!

Party X 2

2011-07-24T18:16:00.004-06:00

With two birthdays so close together, the same family and friends, and the fact that it's summertime we decided on a joint party for Tea and Boo this year. They wanted cookie cakes and the King and I made them ourselves. Not bad for complete novices.

The kids played on this water slide for 2 straight hours. There were a total of 18 kids and no problems. They loved it! What a great day!

Progress

2011-07-22T21:05:00.002-06:00

I've been enjoying the slow pace of summer. The late nights and sleeping in. The pool days, camping trips, and late night walks. It's been great, but I know that all good things will eventually come to an end. In that spirit I have been spending my late nights planning for our upcoming school year. I would say I am about 85% ready. Just a few more odds and ends here and there and we'll be good. At least for now.

I went back and forth over where I really thought the kids would do the majority of their written school work. I didn't really see the need for a "school room" and we don't really have the space anyway. Finally I decided to convert the unused section of the master bedroom into a school area. It was just wasted space before and they'll only use it in the mornings. I spent a good part of this afternoon rearranging and setting up some of their things. I am very pleased with the way it turned out and will share pictures very soon when it's all done!

Reality

2011-07-21T19:11:00.002-06:00

The worst part of almost any vacation or time away is returning to normalcy. This time has been no exception. With piles of laundry, kids that never stop moving, and a full schedule I am missing the peace and quiet of the mountains. I forgot to share that right before we left, Boo got a haircut. I love it and so does she. In this picture you can see how cute the back looks curled under.

Buster is due for another trim as well. His hair grows so fast and it's very thick. If I can fit it in this weekend I think I will take him. We have 3 birthday parties to go to and are having 1. Should be a good time though!

O'Haver Lake

2011-07-20T14:16:00.005-06:00

Early Sunday morning we headed up to O'Haver Lake to meet the King and Mema and Papa for a camping trip. It was the first time we had all gone together since '06. The girls were all so cute and little back then. (L to R Marlee, Camie, Midge, Chiggie, and Tea)
It didn't take long to set up camp and then we made some lunch. The kids kicked back and relaxed enjoying the mountain air.

After lunch we headed to the lake for some wading and fishing. Mema taught Boo had to put her worm on the hook.

Chiggie and Camie stayed back in the shade and enjoyed a magazine. You can see in this picture how close our site was to the lake!
In fact we were able to set our tents up on the shore. The last night we were there a bear came down to get a drink and look for fish and circled our tents. Luckily the kids scared it off with their crazy screaming. They didn't even know about the bear until afterwards.

The King caught a fish this time. He fishes all the time, but up until this trip had never caught a fish in this lake.
The scenery was just beautiful. It was so nice to get away for a few days. The weather was pretty nice during the days, with some wind and rain in the evenings.

Midge really wanted to catch a fish. She tried to have patience. Unfortunately her and I got skunked.

Mema on the other hand caught enough for all of us. There for a while she hardly had her pole out each time before she was reeling back in another. She caught one that was over 12" but it got away because we didn't have the net.

Tea caught her first fish ever on this trip. It was a "suicide fish." She left her pole out while she went to swim and play and when she came back and reeled it in, sure enough there was a fish on the end! She was so excited.

Sadly my camera battery died very early on in the trip and I missed a lot of photo opportunities. The kids rigged up a hook less pole and "caught" several chipmunks with cookie bait. We went for several hikes and saw some deer very close up. The meals were delicious, especially breakfast every morning. There was a fire ban so we weren't able to have a fire, but we did make s'mores on the propane. It was a great trip and I'm glad to be making memories with the kids!

Crazy NIght

2011-07-10T22:07:00.002-06:00

Thanks to a wonderful friend, yesterday I hooked up a window ac unit upstairs. It was amazing how quickly it cooled down up there. I was so relieved and very much looking forward to the having the main level back to myself that night. I put everybody to bed like normal and took a nice relaxing shower. I was getting ready to go to bed and everyone was sleeping when I heard a loud noise and all the lights went out. It was pitch black and I could hear all of the kids panicking and screaming. I spoke loudly but calmly telling them to stay where they were and I would come to them. I grabbed a flashlight as quickly as I could, it was very dark, and made my way towards the stairs. The girls were wide awake and scared.

I got them downstairs on the couches and turned on some flashlights and lit some candles. I looked outside and there was no light what so ever. It turns out the entire town was without power. It was so weird to see things that dark. The girls couldn't seem to fall back asleep and were very nervous that the power wouldn't come back on. A little after 2 am it finally did. They were still up. I was absolutely exhausted. I had spent the entire day cleaning and had planned on a great nights sleep. We are trying again tonight and hoping for no disasters!

Short Week

2011-07-08T18:30:00.002-06:00

Why is that short Holiday week's always feel longer than the normal ones? This week has really drug on and on. We are all exhausted. We haven't even been getting home from play practices until well after 9pm. By the time everyone settles down and goes to bed it's very late. The baby, who still goes right to bed, gets up early so I haven't been able to sleep as late as the other kids. The other kids, who by the way have been sleeping downstairs in the family room due to the fact that the upstairs is an oven. See, we never go the air conditioner fixed last year. We have two window units downstairs and of course heat rises. We can't spare one of the downstairs units because of the layout of the house. At least it's comfortable down here I suppose.

This weekend promises to be pretty boring. I really need to use the free time to get this place cleaned up. I can't seem to figure out how to clone myself and get more done during the week. At least we've been out enjoying summer right?