First Day of School 2014

I just realized how little I posted the last school year, only twice. I think we were just so busy with life I didn't remember or think about stopping and posting. We started school earlier this year because we are doing our breaks a little differently. I always start out the school year thinking I will be better at posting, but some years I don't do very well. Let's see how this school year goes.

  

I did manage to get a couple of pictures of each teen on the first day of school. I am working on setting up a photo shoot with their big sister for the school pictures. Last year's pictures turned out so good. I am hopefully this years will be even better. (The one below is just great because he is laughing. I love it!)

The teens had a hard time getting up this morning but once they did it was great work. They worked right up until lunch and then even a little after. They did more in the evening and finished up the major subjects. It is going to take some trial and error but as long as they are putting forth the effort, I know we will have a great year.    

  

Their first break will be Labor Day, after only four weeks of school. We normally start school that week after Labor Day weekend. We have a family retreat that weekend and then they have the entire week off. I'm not sure what we will do that week since our business will still be open four of those days. But we will plan some fun things to reward them for the hard work. After that they won't have time off until the week of Thanksgiving and then two weeks for Christmas. They will have spring break off but we aren't going anywhere for that. I will try to find some fun things here to do.  We are hoping to wrap things up by the end of May, if not sooner. It's going to be a GREAT year!

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

First Day of School

Yesterday was our first day back to school. We have a full range of subjects and will be adding more little by little. They are as follows: Bible, English, Ancient History, Biology, Math, Art, Music, Computer, Typing, Consumer Math, Critical Thinking, Latin American Spanish, PE, Sewing, Cooking and Auto Maintenance. I purchased them some fun new crates to keep their school stuff in and even added a few items just for fun, like duct tape.  It is my HOPE that they will keep them organized so they can find things easily instead of it being a mess with things misplaced. 

They are working at the big table most of the time, although they can work in their rooms or any other room in the house. We keep the table cleaned off between meals so that their school work will not get spoiled and they will have plenty of space for the items needed for each subject. They are doing great with the online program. It takes them directly to the text book page or the piece of literature they are supposed to read for the day. I am looking forward to hearing some feedback from them on Friday after they have completed a weeks worth of school. Plus, I have some surprises for them throughout the year when they work hard to keep a good attitude throughout the week. I don't expect perfection but I do expect them to give it their best in effort and attitude.

We will be having their older sister do "official" school pictures later this month but I was able to get a "first day of school" picture out of both of them. They turned out pretty good. It really isn't something they LIKE doing. But I told them to humor me because they are growing up so fast and I will be left with just memories of this time.

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by.

First Day of School 2012

We started back to school on September 4 after a wonderful family getaway with a group from church. It was great to get away before we started back full force. Our curriculum has not changed for the new school year. We LOVE the stuff we have used the last two years and plan on using it through High School. The kids will be doing school pictures later this week but we managed to get in the "first day of school" picture on the second day of school. 

We got the kids new laptops this year so that they can look up the things our curriculum tells them to but they can do it at the table with me and we can share the information learned right then. Also, I wanted them to be able to do their math (they have a video at the beginning of each lesson) when they were ready and not have to wait for someone to get off the computer. So far, so good. We have been able to do many things for school on them and they enjoy using them in their free time, as well. 

We started reading through the Little House books and are almost finished with book two, Farmer Boy. We have some great books that we will be reading this school year and I look forward to sharing them with you. 

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Our School Year Has Begun 2011-2012

We have started our new school year. I made sure to take a few pictures of the kids while they were working. Most of the time I never think about it. I had my camera out so that it was on my mind to catch a few good ones.

The kids both have lap desks that they use. We have a large kitchen table but it is easier at times to just gather in the front room and spread out. We are very relaxed about it as long as they can do their work neatly.

We started out this year putting information in a datebook for each child to keep up with on their own. They have a weekly Bible verse (our church gives us a verse a week to memorize), a daily Bible reading (from our church as well) and a couple of chapters in the Bible from my planner. They will write down any other assignments in their datebooks to keep up with on their own. I really want to instill in them that they are responsible for things. They don't need to depend on someone else to help them remember.

They have been doing Math-U-See for the past 6 years so their teacher, Mr. Steve, is an "old friend". They see him at the book fair each year. We are continuing on with our Trail Guide to Learning series, Paths of Exploration and will go right into Paths of Settlement. I am using the Middle School Supplement for both kids even though only one is in middle school. Jenni has been able to do the hardest level of work just like her brother. If she shows she is struggling then I will level it back down to fit her needs.

For handwriting this year we are taking the weekly Bible verse that the church has for us to memorize and writing it in cursive each day. That will help them memorize the verse and help them with their cursive.

After lunch was a time to read. I went to check on them and maybe get a picture of them reading and I found her asleep with her new book in her hands. That is one reason I love homeschooling. We can get up early if we want and take an afternoon nap once the major subjects are taken care of. We will have assigned reading each day and at the end of the book the kids will do a book review and I will post it on here. I am very excited to see how their writing skills improve over the year, as well as the other skills we are working on.

We are also working on personal responsibilities, like keeping their rooms cleaned up, helping with the cooking and the cleaning. They already do those things but we are going to work on adding to their responsibilities in those areas.

As the weeks go on I will add music lessons, piano and guitar, to our daily schedule. We will do typing and drawing, too. But we are taking it slowly and getting the major subjects on track first. The kids will be doing fall and winter sports through our homeschool group and our church. They will also be learning how to horseback ride! We are so excited about that. The weather has to cool down first. We are hoping it will be soon.

Over the summer we did some major field trips. One of them was to Kenya, Africa for three weeks in June. We also went to Colorado for a week in July.

That's our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by.

First Day of School 2009-2010

Today was the first day of school for these two, just like AISD. It is true, we usually don't start until after Labor Day weekend. But every year I get to hear about their friends being off for a teacher work day or something like that. So I decided we would give it a try. We will be off when they are off and on when they are on. But that means no more "free Friday's" and no more "no book work the whole month of December" with only crafts and reading projects to do then. We usually spend December focusing on Christ's birth and all the things that go with that special holiday, like making gifts for others, serving others and just enjoying our family time when the rest of the world seems to be so wrapped up in commercialism. We will still have two weeks off in December so we will make the best of our time. We will still finish school the first week in May, like last year. I really liked being done with school before the book fair that weekend. It made looking for next years stuff so much more fun. Instead of having to go home from the book fair and having to work so hard for the next few weeks before summer, we were able to just enjoy our time and look forward to the next year.

Of course, we had to do the traditional "first day of school" pictures! I have done them for years and years, even though we homeschool. Why should we not when that is part of the fun? We get to look at them each year and see how much they have grown. These two have grown so much this year! I now have a 3rd grader and 5th grader.

I just love her smile! She makes me smile when I see it! She was really excited when she found the purple binder. We tried to find hot pink but it was a different type of binder. These are really neat, they have two sets of rings inside! So I got those so they would have similar binders. I have some great ideas on using the binders and keeping things more organized this year.

He wanted to take the picture with his backpack even though it is the same as last year. It has stayed in such good condition we didn't need to buy new ones. He has a cool red binder. He was trying not to smile too big in this. I think he thought he was too old to take this picture. But I am glad he did! He won't be this age ever again and "mom" needs the pictures so I can look back and remember!

This year we did some things differently to help them with their organizational skills and just to make it more fun. Also, so they could grow in their writing. We have many aspects of English. I am looking forward to see inghow creative they can be with their writing. We have three composition books each; story journal, daily journal and newspaper journal. I am sure the first two are pretty self explanatory. But the third one you might not know. Each week they will have their own Sunday paper (I buy more than one each week for the coupons). Each week they need to look through it and find an article that catches their attention, cut it out, and paste it in the journal. That way they get used to reading the paper and finding articles of interest. It will also help them learn how a paper is put together. By the second half of the school year I would like for them to be able to put their own "paper" together monthly. We will send it to family and friends. And possibly "publish" some of the articles on this blog.

We will be doing Grammar together. We will be memorizing the prepositions and playing fun games to help us remember them. Plus other fun grammar games. I have a writing book, The Write Stuff, that has some neat writing assignments in it that we will do throughout the year. They will also be required to write a REAL letter once a week and mail it. Not an e-mail, but a hand written letter. It seems to be a lost art these days. We are still using our Spelling Power for Spelling. They placed very well on the test, both 7th grade spelling levels! I was impressed!

The Bible verses we will learn this year are many, instead of one large one. They will have weekly verses to help them towards their goals in GA's and RA's at church. We will learn the verses from Ephesians on the Armour of God since last year we did the Beatitudes. They still have their daily devotion books plus we have our Discovery 4 Yourself studies we will be working on through the year.

I think we will have a great year!!! So far, so good!!! I am very happy with how things went today. They worked hard! I am trying to keep things fun so they will want to keep working hard.

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Our First Day of School 2008

Today we took longer than I had hoped to do school, in fact, we are still working on it right now and it is after 4 in the afternoon. But we took a long break, so that is fine. I am happy working with my kids a little here and there throughout their day.

My children have been working on memory verses throughout the summer. We decided that since they learned the Lords Prayer and the 23rd Psalm we needed to learn the Beatitudes. So they are taking one verse a week and they recite it everyday. Then the next week we add the next verse so they do two verses. It will keep going until they learn the whole thing. We also talk about what those verses mean as we go along. I love it! They are doing a great job. We are on the third verse this week.

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

Because the kingdom of heaven is their.

Blessed are those who mourn,

Because they will be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle,

Because they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

Because they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

Because they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

Because they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

Because they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness,

Because the kingdom of heaven is their.

Matthew 5:3-10

I was not trying to take pictures of the kids while they were working, we were too busy working! I don't know how many pictures I will take but will try to take them when we have something special going on, like a field trip or project. Please pray for our little school. God is showing me all sorts of things today and I am trying to be very still and know that He is God! I am getting more and more excited about this school year and where it will take us. Stay tuned for more home school details!!!

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

First Day of School

Today was my children's first day of school. They go to a private school. Public school here started last week. Our day started like every other day, only with more excitement because it was the first day. They have new teachers and new routines.

Each year, even when we homeschooled, we take a first day of school picture. This year Nick was too old, I suppose. So he didn't get his picture taken. But the other two had special new clothes and backpacks that they enjoyed taking pictures with. They really are growing up too fast!

JC had a Transformer Theme, even though he hasn't seen the movie yet. He even had a lunch box to match inside that backpack. And, yes, he is posing for this picture! He is such a ham. He thinks he is so cute! Don't tell him I said so but he really is!

Jenni was all decked out in Hello Kitty, including her lunch box! Her shoes where the only thing that didn't have Hello Kitty on it. She seemed to be in good spirits here and seemed very excited about going to 1st grade. She knew her teacher from last year and is in the same class as a lot of her friends.

As we drove up to the school we noticed right away things were different from last year. We already knew the enrollment was quite a bit larger than last year. This is only the second year for this school. But this was amazing. The parking lot was FULL! So that meant the halls would be full of children and the classrooms would be full, as well. And they were. It was wonderful to see.

Nick went right in to his 10th grade classes. JC didn't have any problems, even though he had never seen his teacher before today. She wasn't at the Back to School picnic. His room was full of children and his seat is on the front row! That is him with the blue chair near the board. Last year they had 5 desks in the room at the beginning of the year and now they have 11 students. They will not have more than 12 students in a room. He is in the 3rd grade.

Jenni, on the other hand, broke my heart. She seemed to be fine while we were dropping off her brother. I didn't worry at all because she didn't cry at all last year when she went to Kindergarten. But maybe she wasn't fine. Maybe she was feeling overwhelmed because of all the people she didn't know in the halls. When we got to the room they told us where to put her backpack and we went down the hall to put it there. As soon as she dropped off the backpack she grabbed my arm and hung on. I walked her down to the room and could tell she was feeling nervous. She started crying and I told her teacher that she was just going to have to take her. So she did and talked to her a little bit and I snuck a picture before I headed out the door. I didn't want to stay and prolong the agony on both of our parts. If you can tell from the picture, she is trying not to cry but isn't succeeding totally. It was a different story when I picked her up. She was smiling and happy! Her teacher said she was just shy all day in front of the other kids. I know she will get out of that.

So, as the first day of the 2007-2008 school year comes to a close I am thankful for my children and the school they go to.  I do miss my children while they are gone but I am trying to make sure I spend quality time with them after school and hear all about what they did and what excited them about it. How blessed I am to have 4 great kids and to watch them grow up and learn new things.

Until next time...blessings to you.