Presidents!

 We have been learning about presidents and voting this week and last. It's been fun! At playgroup last week we had an election on an issue: what to eat for lunch! First the kids registered to vote, "campaigned" for their viewpoint, and then got to vote in the booth! The options were mac 'n' cheese or grilled cheese. Mac 'n' cheese won!

 We also learned about the branches of government, and later added a card that says "president" under the Executive card. Obviously much of this is over their heads, but it's on display in the school room so hopefully over time it'll set in.

We have been learning about individual presidents and Caley has been working on a book about Abraham Lincoln. We've also learned how certain presidents are on our money. This week she really surprised me by doing most of her work independently on Wednesday while I was doing women's group. She did her math, some crossword pages, her editing page, independent reading, and her spelling work.

They're all doing great!

(Check out the posts below for more pictures I just uploaded.)

What we're learning!

 We are having fun learning about our Founding Fathers! So far we've covered George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and James Madison. We have learned about the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, and more! Check out these pictures...


 With our friends Odessa and Dexter we made three-cornered hats and colonial wigs and then "signed" the Declaration of Independence after watching a scene from "John Adams."

 They made an elaborate Lincoln Log house and while Caley was playing her eyes lit up and she proclaimed, "I know why they are called Lincoln Logs! Because Abraham Lincoln lived in a log cabin!"

 They also architected a fort from the cushions and still make forts from the blankets almost every day.

Two weeks in!

It's been two weeks in the new school year and so far things are going well. It obviously hasn't been perfect, I've lost my shizz at least twice, we haven't done everything I planned on the day I planned it for, but we have been learning, having fun, reading lots of books, and doing life.

A few things I've learned:
1. Having a schedule really helps. I put together a schedule for myself and the girls. The girl's each includes the subjects they're doing each day (the same each day except art and music on Fridays), and mine includes my commitments and chores for each day. We have a big house and it's a challenge to keep up with the housework. So on my daily schedule I assigned myself one or two chores, taking into account I probably don't want to wash the floor the day before women's group (read: messy kids everywhere). So: Sunday- review school plan and prepare and plan meal/grocery list, Monday- grocery day, Tuesday- laundry wash and fold and clean bathrooms (alternating upstairs and downstairs for now), Wednesday- wash hardwoods, Thursday- vacuum all carpets, Friday- monthly chore like clean out car, fridge, or dusting.
2. This is my "job." When I think of homeschooling my children and running my household as a "job" it's easier to take seriously and keep my time sacred. This involves, mainly, saying no to things. Sorry, I can't do this-or-that, we have school. Obviously there are exceptions, and we're only 2 weeks in so we'll see how this realistically works out, but I am practicing being more "selfish" with our time.
3. Number 1 and 2 are easier when I have planned "Mommy time" i.e. women's group. My weekly gathering with other Christian women is essential to my sanity. It reminds me of who I am first and foremost: a lover of Jesus Christ. I adore opening up my home each week to upwards of 12 ladies and their children to study the Bible and build community. It's also essential that I have face-to-face interactions with others, as much as I adore my children.
4. Getting up earlier than the kids also helps. I am still working on this habit. The days that I do drag myself out of bed at 5am, workout, and have prayer time are usually smoother and easier to deal with. But I do love sleeping in. Hoping to refine this habit throughout this year so that's it's just second-nature.

Summer is drawing to a close...

I can see the start of school year 2012-13 on my calendar and am so excited to start on Tuesday! I have a lot of fun things planned for this fall. We are going to learn about the Founding Fathers, government, the electoral process and presidents! I am also going to attempt to be better about studying music and art with the girls, and keeping Wesley occupied during school instead of continually throwing food at him and pulling my hair out in frustration.

We've had a great summer. Busy, but not so busy I couldn't keep up. We balanced our busy weeks with some chill weeks. We didn't really go anywhere, but still took many day trips, although the kids did go to Astoria for two full weeks.

I have realized though that Caley may do better with a schedule like we have in school. She is 7.5 and over the summer started to do some of her old behaviors like refusing to put on shoes or complain that her clothes don't feel right. Issues I thought we had overcome. So I'm excited to see how she does over the next few weeks as we ease into a new structure to our days.

I also am going to make a better effort at being "selfish" with my/our time. If I say yes to anything and everything, school just isn't going to go very well. Examining my motives will be a discipline I get to work on.

Mommy's goals for this school year, posted here for my personal benefit (not to boast but to keep myself accountable):
-Wake up earlier than the kids (5am) to spend time with Jesus, workout, and get a head start on the day
-Keep "school time" sacred and not obligate our time to other things without good reason
-Make yummy, nutritious meals throughout the year, with healthy snacks throughout each day to keep the kid's minds sharp
(I'll add more to this list as the year goes on.)

Summer School

We finished school the first week of June and my best intentions of doing a wrap up on this blog didn't pan out...such is life. We are enjoying our summer vacation. I toyed with the idea of doing a scheduled and organized summer school and it hasn't happened. June flew by between "Grama Camp" and swimming lessons and then July has spun by too with VBS, another week of "Grama Camp" and holidays. August...we have nothing planned. Nothing. Okay, one thing, Amelia's birthday party. But after that, nothing. And I plan on keeping it that way. We will go to the park, have community group, women's group and various playdates here and there, but I hope to spend most of August enjoying the weather, our garden, and our little family.

Today we had an impromptu day at home and did a "Dinosaurs for Della" day! We read books about dinosaurs, watched library book videos about dinosaurs, made salt dough fossils, fossil sugar cookies, and watched "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs"! The kids loved it!! (and so did Mommy) I hope we can do a few more of these "school" days this summer. No pressure, just fun learning. Later tonight we watched the Olympic opening ceremony in London which was also a great learning experience.

I love my kids and my husband, I love this life.