This week had it's ups and downs. I think I know why, because I overscheduled us. I was stressed out which just makes everyone else on edge. I feel like God is teaching me to SLOW DOWN and put my family first, always. Wednesday was the hardest day, and thankfully Thursday was one of the best days ever, so it all evens out.
Monday we visited Jennie and Micah because Jennie is on bedrest for her 2nd pregnancy. The girls had fun playing with a friend they don't see often. We didn't get to lessons on Monday, and sweezed them into Tuesday before women's group. I decided to scrap the K12 math curriculum, it's too boring for Caley! No colors, weird illustrations, odd directions. So for math we are just doing a Preschool Basics workbook. When she's done with the current one, we'll move onto another. We also started a new memory verse, Genesis 1:1, to stay with what she's learning in Sunday School. We've done this verse before, so it's been pretty easy for Caley, but now we can spend time teaching it to Amelia. Amelia likes doing the hand motions.
Wednesday we went to Jennie's again, then grocery shopping. We hit Costco and snuck in an impromptu "lesson!" On the way out Caley said, "I smell tea" (she means coffee), so I told her it was because of the grinding stations at the front of the store. We wheeled over there to investigate and she looked at the coffee-ground covered grinder and leftovers below it. Just at that time someone went to grind their coffee, so we stayed to watch. It was a fun diversion! Afterward we made a few more stops and it took longer than I expected and things went south. Hence my earlier comment about Wednesday being the worst day.
Thursday I cancelled our original plans and had a home day. Beautiful! No schedule, just cleaning and getting things done. The girls played nicely most of the day, took good naps, and I felt like a much happier and healthier mom. Bill had a doctor's appointment early and came home afterward before leaving for work. He played with the girls and Caley said, "I'm going to squeeze you tight so you never go to work!"Friday we did lessons and had a great time working on Handwriting Without Tears. Caley is transitioning from using the cards to using the blank blue mat. She had to look closely at the card and match it, and did great! We also did her workbook and worked on beginning sounds and rhyming. The girls also built with blocks which we are borrowing from the library, what a steal!! Awesome quality Lakeshore blocks for a 3-week loan: the best!! It's part of the library system's "learning kits." Today I used a few opportunities to reinforce math concepts during her play, one being distinguishing heavy and light (heavy wooden block, light foam block), and counting out 5 chips in each bowl for their snacks. 
We also made a pumpkin craft which reinforced fine motor manipulation of a paintbrush, shapes and body parts. I also thought it was interesting to see the difference in Caley and Amelia's final product. Caley's is on the the left, Amelia's on the right. Process over product!
I'll leave you with this cute picture. They prefer to be naked, or at least shirtless, most of the day!
Tuesday was bible study day, and Wednesday was storytime and grocery run. Check out my other post about storytime and how Caley and Amelia are starting to become better friends.
Friday we made an impromptu trip to the hospital to visit my OB/GYN and the girls did very well waiting in the office. This was testament to the fact that although we have a schedule for homeschooling, LIFE still happens and we have to roll with it. It was very good for all three of us. We also did a scavenger hunt in the hospital courtyard, which the kids love because there's a water fountain. At home we did some more workbook pages, Caley's phonics book (lesson 27) and a "self portrait." I chose this project primarily to begin teaching Caley to draw people with a body instead of arms and legs coming out of a person's head. I also decided to test Amelia's color matching skills by having her sort pegs in baskets. To my surprise she did quite well! We started with two colors handed to her by me, then I put a basket full of colors and she sorted them independently.
My point in this post is encouraging a good sibling relationship is a big reason why we chose to homeschool. I know non-homeschooling families can foster good sibling relationships, but a "plus" for homeschooling is that in general, siblings will learn to love one another simply because they will spend more time with each other. Especially going into baby #3 where there will be 5 years between Baby and Caley, I would be concerned about them having a good relationship if we were not planning to homeschool. But this way, they will physically be together for more time than if we sent Caley to kindergarten next fall, which will hopefully foster a better relationship between them. This concept will also apply if/when we go for baby #4, but let's discuss that when the time comes (not now!).
Thursday we went to the Ballard Locks and studied science by observing the fish ladder and boats going through the Locks. It was beautiful weather and we had fun with a lot of great friends!
Friday was a regular school day and we did math, handwriting, reading, Bible, and a few crafts. I remembered we have the curriculum "Handwriting Without Tears" and decided to add it to our regular school subjects. Caley loves making the letter shapes and Amelia liked doing it too. I was impressed with how well she did, especially for only being 2! Our crafts were making bookmarks, coloring, and matching alphabet pasta on cards. This project worked on Caley's fine motor skills, letter identification and matching. We also made a library run and later that day finished reading "Little House In The Big Woods"! Our next selection is "Charlotte's Web."
We also started the phonic "100 lessons" book again and Caley is on lesson 20. At the end of last year she was around lesson 35, but since we haven't done those lessons all summer, she needed a little review. It's going better though since she can say some letters a bit better. Specifically the "th" sound is very difficult for her, probably because of her underbite.
On Tuesday we went to bible study and Caley played with some friends, she is the oldest in the group. On Wednesday we went to another bible study and she played with some other friends, more boys, which is good for her. We also went grocery shopping and brought a new mom and meal. Caley and Amelia enjoyed looking at a new tiny baby. We also had a visit from Uncle David who filmed the girls for a small part in his new movie. They wore clown noses.
Thursday we went to the library and got a lot of 