He Starts With A Baby

First Day!

Posted on 08/16/2013 | Leave a comment

Today was Jack’s first day of Kindergarten and Dawson & Caitlyn’s first “official” day of homeschooling. Loralyn doesn’t start PreK for another couple weeks…

Jackson was SO excited to go to Kindergarten!

I always get choked up on the first day of Kindergarten. And today was no exception. However, when you realize you still have 3 kids to walk home with you and you’re beginning to teach them when you walk through the door, the frog quickly leaves your throat.

We are using a curriculum called My Father’s World, specifically the Exploring Countries and Cultures unit.

It was recommended to me by several friends who have used it and although I tried to be open-minded about other curriculums, this one has always stood out in my mind.

For those of you who know what I’m talking about… we are also using Singapore Math, Easy Grammar, Writing Strands, Spelling Power, and Rosetta Stone Spanish. 🙂

We have done a little bit of homeschooling before today but only 20 minutes or so at a time. Today, we started at 9:15 and at 11:15 went to get Jackson, and picked it back up at 1:15, ending at 2:30. We did almost everything. We did:

Bible

Cursive

Math

Spelling

Geography

Science

Art

We learned about the difference between globes and flat maps. We drew the continents onto oranges….

And then cut and peeled them to see how hard it is to make a flat map.

We did our science outside. This year we will be studying animals and their environments to go with the countries we are studying. The kids soon found a cute little toad and we discussed its environment, prey and predators. Perfect!

We are about to start Day 2! I hope it goes as well….!

To Have & To Hold and Harlem Shake

Posted on 06/29/2013 | Leave a comment

Tonight we went to a wedding. Weddings are few & far between these days for us and usually I don’t know the people who are getting married (they are normally Mike’s coworkers). Tonight was no different. I still enjoy them though. Last year I pulled out my wedding video and realized (rather quickly), that it was not my wedding video. Just 2 strangers getting married. I still watched it and even got choked up a little. I enjoy watching two people pledge their lives to each other. Hear what the pastor has to say. See how the bride chose to decorate the church. Chuckle at the bridesmaid dresses….

Right before the kiss tonight the music started blaring, one of the groomsmen took out his very long ponytail, and dance to the Harlem Shake song. The ushers started dancing down the aisle and the whole bridal party did a little dance. Even the pastor got into it. It was fairly entertaining but it did seem to take away some of the seriousness of the ceremony. Still, my very favorite Harlem Shake video is the one my brother & his family did several months ago:

My very nice parents watched the kiddos for us so we could go out.

Have you guys gone to a wedding who did some sort of funny song/dance combo???

Hello Again

Posted on 06/21/2013 | 4 comments

Hi everyone (if anyone is still following this blog!)

I’m back! I’m so excited to begin to blog again. I like the idea of documenting our life and am re-committing myself to blogging. The kids have grown. I have gotten a job! (I am now an Independent Norwex Consultant). We are starting to homeschool the oldest 2 kids. Loralyn is doing amazing. We have had her over 2 years now- can you believe it? I am beginning a journey to healthy eating for myself and my family after confessing to myself that I am addicted to sugar. Our house is in chaos with our activities and just in general and needs a LOT of help in getting it put together purposefully.
So, there is lots to blog about and I can’t wait to get started!