We are trying a school schedule of 6 weeks on and then one week off. The week off is to have time for some fun projects and refresh our brains so they are ready to tackle learning again.
By the end of six weeks we were working on short vowel blends, using magnetic letters to make words.
The timing of this week coincided with the arrival of our bulk apple order so we spent one of our days making applesauce!
Doesn’t this look like a helpful bunch? Eden washed, mom chopped, Flora put apples in the pot and Iris sampled.
Lance and Ivy were a huge help. They could chop, grind, feed the baby, entertain the little girls and spread work ethic among the ranks.
Enjoying some fresh apple juice!
These three believe you shouldn’t “muzzle the ox that treads the corn” so they enjoyed apples all throughout the day.
My whole team was super and we finished in time to make Daddy a special birthday dinner and cards. Then we celebrated by watching a movie…because mommy was tired.
Today we hosted a tea party – the girls activity request for the week. Things were a bit crazy the day before so Aunt Katie helped with the prep and then Grammy swung by to help with clean up….that’s how we manage to do such fun stuff all the time.
We invited two families with lots of girls to make things more fun. They happened to have super moms who helped me set things out and clean up too.
Eden thinks this a wonderful party.
Princess Flora indulges in some chocolate…so good for the feminine soul.
Ivy enjoyed the social element as well as the smorgasbord for sampling.
During the tea, Lance kept the male guests entertained making bows and arrows (his request for the week). When the tea was finished the boys amused themselves by “hunting” the girls and capturing them in the dog kennel.
As our major house project (working under the house) of the year draws to a close, we’ve managed to do a few little improvements in the living areas.
First, Brian’s grandma came and painted a large tree on a wall. My plan is to hang family pictures on it…..sometime when I have time.
Gampy helped by keeping the kids occupied while the artist was at work. We enjoyed the several day visit and our kids must have a lively influence because Gammy and Gampy seemed to get younger the longer they were here – nimbly making their way through the obstacle course of toys, dropping their nap, playing in the kid pool and enjoying french fries and milkshakes with the crew.
Our next addition was a couch Brian found on Craigslist that perfectly fit what we needed. It’s big, in pieces so it can be arranged any way we need it, and has a lot of wood showing which is something I wanted.
We cleaned each piece as it came in – just in case. It came from an older lady who didn’t have kids or pets, so they were in pretty good shape. Eden checks for potential repairs to be done.
Flora checks the book reading capabilities of the couch.
It does so much for our living room! Looking forward to many family reading/talking times on the couch!
Well, I meant to write this at the end of last week…but you know how things go. So now we have two weeks of school under our belts and I shall give you a recap.
This is the first year the kids have really been old enough to do something “serious” which is a little intimidating but still in the fun stages. I’m trying to keep it simple and am focusing on the “3 R’s” as far as formal schooling is concerned. Anything else they learn will be part of life and they won’t know they are being schooled (sneaky mom, I know). As my sister heard at a conference “teaching a chore is preparing a child for life and counts as school.” This is good news for me since it takes about two hours to get everyone from wake up through barn breakfast and chores – but more on that in another post.
Lance demonstrates counting with tally sticks.
Math is in the morning since it was easiest to include the little ones (playing with the manipulatives). We’re using a method of teaching math concepts in a way I’ve not seen before but I’m really liking it. Easy to teach and pretty fun for the kids. If I get frustrated trying to teach a concept then it’s supposed to signal a change on my part. So far this has happened while teaching “ordinal counting” (numbering 1st through 5th – don’t worry, I didn’t know it was called that either). Anyhow, I took them all outside, staged a race, handed out place “ribbons” then played follow the leader in that order. I think they got the idea.
Reinforcing the idea that triangles have three sides and quadrilaterals have four by penning the right amount of “sheep” in each. Sorry for the blur.
The perks of home school – math class in zebra costume! (and nobody even bats an eye).
After lunch we work on phonics and writing. This is supposed to be me and the older two while the youngest nap. However, they got excited and we started a little early…
…and what’s good for one is good for all! All my supplies came out and even Eden “did school.”
I had two little handwriting workbooks that matched my “handwriting without tears” curriculum. The booklets categorized the letters and had “patches” for each completed section. I was just going to have them do one or two pages each day but competition struck. Lance showed his Cahill heritage by asking for his letter book first thing each morning and worked hard during free time as well (His dad used to get up at 4 AM to get homework over with early!)
While he is much slower at writing (an “ambi” turning leftie) he portrayed the tortoise, lapped his sister “the hare” and on Monday he finished his book first!
Flora is learning a letter each day – the important ones first! (note the costumes again – separate days)
Phonics proves a bit harder for me to muster enthusiasm but I made up a short vowel game that managed to create some excitement. Poor Flora knows her stuff, just needs to be a little quicker for a decisive win.
As a reward for finishing phonics I’m letting the older two finally use the computer. I stumbled across a program that teaches mouse and keyboard skills while reinforcing the handwriting teaching style that I use. It is called “Keyboarding without tears” which unfortunately is false advertising. Using a mouse is harder than it looks and both have broken down with frustration when they couldn’t get the piece where it is supposed to go. However, the desire to use “mom’s computer” (previously off limits) overcomes the difficulty and I’m sure in a few weeks they will have the hang of things.
At the risk of getting too wordy I want to encourage moms out there who might see these few pictures and imagine the “perfect” little school I have going. But remember, you’re seeing only what struck me as so fun I had to go grab the camera. We have mornings of chaos, potty accidents, fussy babies, attitudes and training – but all of that is school too! While Monday we were ready to start an hour early, by Thursday life had caught up and we started about 15 min late and nobody really paid attention. I had to figure out whether to follow enthusiasm over letter writing or let schedule dictate and do math class, watching the zealous writer glaze over, mind elsewhere. I stumble, fall, and try again while the kids give me grace. I seek out experience from my mom, ask my husband for advice and most of all, find myself coming to the Lord for help – and that’s what really counts in all of this. If my kids catch one thing I hope it’s a zeal for the Lord and a dependence on Him when things are tough or fun or complicated.
So whether it’s learning moon phases with cookies (our co-op)….
Or going out to see the trail they made with Aunt Katie I want life to be school because school should prepare them for life.
About mid-June Ivy came to the breakfast table one morning and told me she wanted to repent. I asked what she meant and this led to a conversation that resulted in Ivy trusting Christ as her Savior!
We picked a date when Brian’s family would be around to baptize her and in the meantime Ivy and I read all the verses in the Bible about baptism. She drew pictures of the stories and made it into a little book.
The evening of the baptism it poured rain! But we gathered together with a group of family and friends.
We sang songs, prayed, read scripture and Ivy professed her desire to follow Christ.
The rain let up for a short time so we gathered around the pool with our umbrellas.
Brian baptized his daughter, now sister, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Buried with Christ, by baptism, into death…
Raised to walk in the newness of life!
A new creature in Christ!
A cute story I’ll share from later on the “day she repented” (as she refers to it). Ivy came to me while I was changing a diaper and told me that satan had tempted her. I asked what he tempted her to do and she replied “hit Flora.” (some temptations are common around here) But she went on to say that she told satan she didn’t belong to him anymore and then proceeded to quote Psalm 23 which is what we had been working on the last little while.
So with that, I’ll let you watch a rather squirmy quoting of Psalm 23.
How the kids entertained themselves while I did bookwork this afternoon. .
I was wondering why they were so good and quiet. Apparently the floor was poison
Visiting with friends in the Dallas area – haven’t seen them in two years!
Assisting Brian and Alicia as they move (the reason we were in Dallas).
Alicia directs traffic while taking her mandatory “rest” so the twins will stay put inside of her.
Baby girl with her teddy bear – so sweet and cuddly!
Helping with the dishes!
Iris refuses to be spoon fed by me. Once I happened to lay the spoon on her tray, she picked it up and fed herself with gusto. This suits me fine since I have other mouths to attend to including my own.
Artists at work – they sure can crank out a lot of artwork in one afternoon!
The girls have been really into princesses and wearing beautiful dresses so I thought I would capitalize on this interest.
We all dressed up in our fancy dresses and swept the floor – just like Cinderella! Enthusiasm was so high they stuck with me through all of the sweeping…
and half of the mopping!
Unfortunately, the princess theme went a little too far when Flora wanted to be Rapunzel and asked Ivy to cut her hair.
Meanwhile Lance practices to be Robin Hood. He told Brian he is going to be an archer when he grows up.
Lance is also quite the practical joker – he was immensely tickled with this toy. I had so much fun listen to him appreciate the humor in a shooting ice cream cone.
Daddy and Eden mowing the grass. Eden loves to just “be there” when we are working. She’s a great little helper and companion. Thanks to cousin Greg for the use of the lawnmower.
