We started school on Monday. My plan is to start early and get out early so we can enjoy summer early. The younger two kids love being outside, but it gets so hot so quick that playing outside for too long almost becomes miserable. I've proposed to the older girls that we do school at night so there is minimum interruption. My thoughts are that if the younger two are in bed, than the older two would have my undivided attention and my husband would be able to help more. There would not be a need for me to stop and feed the younger two, change diapers, or worry about nap time, bo bos or field trips. The girls would be able to stay up later and sleep in later if we did this, but they wouldn't be able to watch movies in the home theater with M if they weren't finish with their schoolwork. By having school at night with the older girls will allow me more play time with the younger ones during the day. It seems like a win-win situation.
We were able to do school Monday night and it seemed to work just fine and I still was able to get a lot of my work done as well as get to bed at a decent time (for me). Although we like the idea of doing school in the evening and are planning on making it a consistent routine, we are going to have to plan it around our evening schedules. When I have something planned in the evening or when M and I go out on a date, school will have to be done during the day and we'll have to adjust our schedules. For now, we are trying to find what will work best for our family. What does your schedule look like?
I do have to say that I love the flexibility of homeschooling.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Cleaning Out the Jungle
The other day while K and I were cleaning out the "jungle" between the house and the garage we came across a few surprises. 
As I was shoveling the weeds and grass out and throwing the big chunks of grass to the "trash" pile, K found a surprise. As I cleared out the grass, he tells me, "Look mom, a snake." Of course, as I turned around to see what he was talking about, I quickly noticed that he was holding a snake in his hands. My immediate response was one of panic because it wasn't a green or black garden snake. I'm typically not scared of snakes, but when I saw my 4 yo holding what could be a poisonous snake with his bare hands, I kind of panicked and yelled at him to drop it. Drop it, he did. It was when he dropped it that I realized it was a copperhead. Much to my delight it was already did. 
As K continued to carry the dead snake around and I continued cleaning out the garden, I came across an egg. I immediately thought it was a snake egg and was excited about "hatching" it or dissecting it if it were already dead. As I slowly set the egg on the ground, the animal inside came out so quickly that I couldn't figure out what it was. Well, it wasn't a snake, but one of the smallest lizards I have ever seen. Luckily it stayed on the gardening tool long enough for me to take pics of it. The lizard on the handle and the broken egg is under the tool on the left.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Look mom! No Hands!
This is why we're putting him in gymnastics, which starts on August 4. He's done a back flip before, but I can't get him to do it again.
I DID IT!
Look at her laughing. Once she realized she could get on the table, she was excited. She was so cute. Getting down was another story. That, she had trouble with.
A Day Worth Sharing
Although today didn't start off too good, it started early and had some great highlights I wanted to share. I refuse to take my children anywhere when they are being disobedient and disrespectful at home, no matter how inconvenient it is (at the moment), therefore we finally went to the grocery store 2 hours after I decided to go.
K did pretty good while we were in the store. He was very respectful and obedient once I made him eat some egg whites and chicken nuggets. Gotta have that protein!
After we left the store, we went home and found M still sleeping. He's been working 16 hour days and doesn't get home until a.m. hours. So, when he wakes up at noon, it's not because he's lazy, but b/c he's been working hard. Shortly after we got home, he woke up and we were able to hang out as a family for a little bit. It was nice.
About an hour or so later, he left and the rest of us watched a movie in the home theater. Well, L and I mostly hung out in the living room until her nap, but K and Victoria watched a movie.
A few hours later, we got ready and ran some errands before going to a birthday party. I have to say it was one of the best birthday parties I've been to. Thanks Antoinette! As soon as we got there K asked to change into his swimsuit, put his life jacket and goggles on, and jumped in. NO hesitation! That is huge, especially since he did it without me having to get in the pool with him. L was just as excited. I ended up chasing her around the pool almost the whole night. That girl loves water. She would hang on to the side and let her bottom and legs get wet, and then when she realized she couldn't touch, she would crawl back out. AMAZING! I was hoping she would let go at least once so she would get a little fear of the water, but that didn't happen. The only time she really went under was when she was playing on the steps. I reacted too fast though. As soon as she went under, I grabbed her and stood her up. She got out of the pool, but got right back in. They had a GREAT time!
The best part of the party wasn't watching my two little ones grow up a little more and become a little more independent. As proud as that made me, it was the new friend that Victoria made that made my heart smile the biggest. She was a little reluctant to talk to her at first. I think I did most of the talking, but when I had to chase after L, luckily Vanessa, a fellow homeschooler, started doing the talking. Victoria was very reserved at first and Vanessa actually walked away at one point thinking Victoria wasn't really interested in talking to her. Lucky for Victoria, Vanessa has a very smart mom that encouraged her to try again. Vanessa tried again and the two were together for the next 2.5 hours. On the way home, Victoria told me that she had shared some very personal things with Vanessa and that Vanessa prayed for her. When I asked her how it made her feel, she said, "Good." Finally, a friend that Victoria has outside of my friends' kids that she has something in common with and will be a good example.
K did pretty good while we were in the store. He was very respectful and obedient once I made him eat some egg whites and chicken nuggets. Gotta have that protein!
After we left the store, we went home and found M still sleeping. He's been working 16 hour days and doesn't get home until a.m. hours. So, when he wakes up at noon, it's not because he's lazy, but b/c he's been working hard. Shortly after we got home, he woke up and we were able to hang out as a family for a little bit. It was nice.
About an hour or so later, he left and the rest of us watched a movie in the home theater. Well, L and I mostly hung out in the living room until her nap, but K and Victoria watched a movie.
A few hours later, we got ready and ran some errands before going to a birthday party. I have to say it was one of the best birthday parties I've been to. Thanks Antoinette! As soon as we got there K asked to change into his swimsuit, put his life jacket and goggles on, and jumped in. NO hesitation! That is huge, especially since he did it without me having to get in the pool with him. L was just as excited. I ended up chasing her around the pool almost the whole night. That girl loves water. She would hang on to the side and let her bottom and legs get wet, and then when she realized she couldn't touch, she would crawl back out. AMAZING! I was hoping she would let go at least once so she would get a little fear of the water, but that didn't happen. The only time she really went under was when she was playing on the steps. I reacted too fast though. As soon as she went under, I grabbed her and stood her up. She got out of the pool, but got right back in. They had a GREAT time!
The best part of the party wasn't watching my two little ones grow up a little more and become a little more independent. As proud as that made me, it was the new friend that Victoria made that made my heart smile the biggest. She was a little reluctant to talk to her at first. I think I did most of the talking, but when I had to chase after L, luckily Vanessa, a fellow homeschooler, started doing the talking. Victoria was very reserved at first and Vanessa actually walked away at one point thinking Victoria wasn't really interested in talking to her. Lucky for Victoria, Vanessa has a very smart mom that encouraged her to try again. Vanessa tried again and the two were together for the next 2.5 hours. On the way home, Victoria told me that she had shared some very personal things with Vanessa and that Vanessa prayed for her. When I asked her how it made her feel, she said, "Good." Finally, a friend that Victoria has outside of my friends' kids that she has something in common with and will be a good example.
K's New Swing
M made K a tree swing the other day and K loves it. His daddy can swing him "super high." The pleasures of being a kid again. Trust me when I say... I did get my turn! ;-)
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