What We've Been up to This Weekend

Thursday - I crammed almost 2 days of school for Caleb into one so that we could take Friday off. We went to the park, ate lunch with Dave at work, and stopped by a consignment sale. I also did most of my lesson plans for my next 2 weeks of teaching English. And I got my house ready for Friday. Dave came home, mowed the lawn, and packed for his weekend trip.

Friday - Dave left for school and a white water rafting trip. The kids and I were planning to host a Back to School Book Swap for our home school group. 23 people (plus the 4 of us) were signed up to come. But only 4 came, and they were late. We still had a good time, but Alexa was a bit disappointed that no girls came to play dress up and babies with her. After they left, we went to the library, got lunch, and picked up some groceries. Then back home for naps. After naps, we went to my parents' house, where we had spaghetti for dinner. After the kids played outside with Gramps for awhile after dinner, Caleb, Jordanna, and I went home, and Alexa spent the night. Caleb and I watched The Super Mario Brothers Super Show when we got home.

Saturday - Caleb and Jordanna actually let me sleep in a bit. I did some cleaning while we waited for Alexa to get home. Then we went to Dave's school for a kickball tournament for our church (we don't have our own church building, so another teacher who is also a church member borrowed the school facility for the day). We also had a picnic lunch there. Back home for naps again and then back to Publix to return our movies and get newspapers for the coupons. I got everyone fed, cut Caleb and Alexa's hair, bathed everyone, and got everyone in bed. Then I proceeded to get everything ready for Sunday. Dave got home around 9:00, and I was upstairs ironing.

Sunday - We had Sunday school and church as usual. I grilled chicken for lunch at Molly's house, and we also had potatoes, salad, rolls, and peanut butter pie. I put Jordanna down for a nap, laid down with Alexa, and accidentally slept most of the afternoon. We went back to church, came home for dinner, and put everyone to bed. Then I watched TV on my new to me (but actually very old) TV in my bedroom with my new cable.

And now it is Monday. And I have 11 minutes before the schedule says it is time to start school. So I better get moving.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

The kids helped me pick out some new fabric for curtains and pillows in the school room, which Grammy will be making for us.
And Jordanna had to get in on the action, too (see the little arm on the bottom left).

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Caribbean chicken, buttery rice and vegetables, fruit salad

Tomorrow - Bird's Eye Voila pasta meals, rolls, salad

Wednesday - BBQ ribs, oven roasted potatoes, green beans

Thursday - Macaroni and cheese with ham, broccoli, rolls

Friday and Saturday - Dave gone, we'll probably have pizza or chicken nuggets or hot dogs, otherwise known as kid food

Sunday - ??

Thanks To Molly and Nick

Who have been rearranging, cleaning things out, and tearing random holes in the wall at their house, we now have a new (to us) and nicer futon in the sun room
and a new (to us) and bigger TV in our room.

Park Day

It wasn't TOO hot here yesterday (in the 80s not the 90s), so I took the kids to the park to play in the morning. They had a great time even if they did get a bit hot and sweaty. I can't wait for cooler weather!

Teaching Time

I saw a list this week where someone (I'd link but I can't remember where I saw it) listed things that were NOT her reasons for homeschooling. Is thought it was a great idea, so I decided to start my own lists.

I DON'T home school because...

1)...I want to be with my kids 24/7. Yes, I love them. Yes, I want to spend time with them. But I do like to get out without them sometimes, just ask Dave.

2)...I think I am the best kindergarten teacher out there. I am sure there are many seasoned teachers who would do a way better job of teaching Phonics than me. And Caleb's handwriting is currently atrocious. But I am his (and Alexa and Jordanna's) mom, and God has entrusted the job of teaching, training, and disciplining him to me (and Dave). And for now, we feel that home schooling is in his best interest.

3)...I like staying home all day long. While I do realize that we will have to stay home more as the kids get older and have greater school work loads, I hate being stuck at home. We go to the library, run errands, play at the park, have play dates, and take nature walks. We also have some field trips scheduled.

I DO home school because...

1)...I love hearing my three year old pretend to read a book, saying over and over again, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth," something she has been learning in school. Not too many preschools teach the Apostles Creed to three year olds.

2)...I know that while the days are often very long, the years are short. I want to treasure this time where my children are excited about learning and discovering new things, where they think having Mommy as their teacher is the best thing in the world.

I hope to continue these lists over the next few weeks.

And now, on a more practical note, here are some books we have enjoyed this week. And here's Dave reading to all three kids.
1) Ten Naughty Little Monkeys by Suzanne Williams - This books starts out very similar to 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, but it has a fun twist.

2) Mommy Doesn't Know My Name also by Suzanne Williams - Both Caleb and Alexa loved this book and laughed hysterically.

3) What Moms Can't Do by Douglas Wood - This is a really cute book, along with his other books, What Dads Can't Do and What Grandmas Can't Do.

Menu Plan Monday (A Day Late)(Now 2 Days Late)

Oops! I totally forgot about this Monday. I sat down to write it on Tuesday and got interrupted. So now it is Wednesday. Anyways, here is our menu for the week.

Monday - Club salad, Swiss cheese bagels, peaches

Tuesday - Chicken fingers, mac and cheese, salad

Wednesday - Pizza pasta, roasted broccoli, cheesy garlic rolls

Thursday - Cream cheese scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits, fruit

Friday - $5 pizza

Saturday - Oregano chicken, noodles, broccoli

Sunday - ?

For Your Viewing Pleasure

New Wii wheels

Coloring fun

Caleb's Puppet Show

Never a Dull Moment

Alexa's preschool curriculum includes a weekly nature walk. Some of the weeks are fairly specific such as next week, which suggests a walk near a lake or pond. This week was just a generic walk. While I don't think we will actually take a nature walk every week this year, I do want to try to take one as often as possible. If you actually read my schedule I posted earlier today, walks will typically fall int the morning errand/outside time. However, it is still TOO hot here to consider walking even in the late morning. So, I got everyone in the car at 8:30 this morning to make a quick stop at the post office and then to take a walk. On the way out of the neighborhood, I saw a power pole and lines down right outside of our entrance and a man standing nearby on his cell phone. Not good!

Here are some pictures from our walk.


On our way home, the road to our neighborhood (where the pole was down) was completely blocked off, so I turned around and went in the other entrance. When I got home, our garage door was only halfway down. The power must have gone out just after I left the house earlier in the morning. So, I manually closed the garage, packed up some stuff, and we headed to Grammy's house. It was 97 degrees here today, and I wasn't about to sit around here with 3 kids, no air, a refrigerator I shouldn't open, and no TV, computer, internet, or phone. We played at Grammy's, did some school, went to Chickfila for lunch, and napped.

Dave and I went by the house later to find the power on, but still no cable, internet or phone, so we brought the kids home. But, just about an hour ago, everything came back on. Yay! And that was my Thursday.

Teaching Time

So, my mom and my teacher sides seem to be colliding. As a mom, I am not a scheduler. Loose routine, yes. Schedule, no. As a teacher, I'm was a scheduler (I'm talking about when I used to teach 5 days a week). Lunch, P.E., etc. were all scheduled for me, and I carefully scheduled all the other subjects to fit in somewhere. Anyway, I've been feeling the need to make a schedule for our days. I work on Tuesdays starting in 2 weeks, so this will be our schedule for Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I'm sure I will need to adjust it as the school year progresses and Jordanna's schedule changes. And I wouldn't be surprised if Alexa drops her nap entirely sometime this year. And by the way, I scheduled this post. No, I did not write it in the middle of school time.

7:00-8:00 Get up, breakfast, TV time
8:00-9:00 Get dressed, make beds, morning chores, start laundry, play time for kids
9:00-10:30 School for big kids, Jordanna nap time
1) Bible
2) Literature
3) Handwriting
4) Phonics
5) Math
6) Science/Art/Etc. (we do these once a week or so)
10:30-12:00 Errands/Story time at library on Weds./Outside time
12:00-1:00 Lunch prep, eating, and cleanup, switch laundry
1:00-1:30 Read aloud
1:30-2:30 Nap time for girls (including Mommy), room time for Caleb
2:30-3:30 Nap time for girls, computer time for Caleb (he has a TON of educational games that some friends from church gave him) and Mommy (e-mail, lesson plans, etc.)
3:30-4:30 Snack time, outside time (once it is not so hot outside)
4:30 Daddy comes home!
4:30-5:30 Free play time
5:30-6:30 Dinner prep, eating, cleanup, and baths
6:30-7:30 Wii/TV time
7:30 Bedtime

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Pecan chicken, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, peaches, and bananas

Tuesday - Easy banana pancakes, bacon, eggs

Wednesday - Chicken quesadillas. nacho salad, fruit

Thursday - Spinach calzones, salad

Friday - Back to school BBQ at Dave's school

Saturday - Steak, oven roasted potatoes, salad

Sunday - ????

Summer Portraits

Saturday Savings

I ran to Target tonight after the kids were in bed to get Alexa some new flip flops (not pictured) because I threw away her old ones that were leaving sequins all over the house. Jordanna picks up random bits off the carpet and eats them, and I didn't want her eating sequins. Anyway, I got some great deals while I was there. I got 6 pairs of shorts for next summer (1 for Alexa and 5 for Jordanna). The pair on the left was $.75, the ones in the middle were $1.00 (it's kinda hard to tell, but there are 2 pairs of brown shorts there, one for each girl), and the pair on the right for $1.98. I also got 2 packs of Bic pens for free.

Then I went to Publix. I spent $.62 for a 1/2 gallon of Publix ice cream and 3 boxes of Crystal Light Pure Fitness, and I saved $12.46 or 96%!

8 Months

It's amazing to me, even the third time around, how much a baby can grow and develop in only a month.

Here's what Jordanna has started doing in the last month -
-crawling
-sitting up
-pulling up to standing
-eating 3 meals of table food daily with the occasional snack, no baby food (just like Alexa)
-going 3-4 hours between nursing sessions
-drinking water out of a sippy cup

Teaching Time

Well, summer is coming to an end. Dave has pre-planning next week and goes back to school the next. I start one week after him (ha,ha). I'm planning to start kindergarten with Caleb on Monday so that we can get 2 full weeks in before I have to go back to work. For anyone who is interested (all 2 of you, maybe), here's the (semi)final list of what we are doing in school this year.

For both kids -
Preschool Plus - I am using the literature portion of this for both kids. It includes books to read each week all based around a character trait and has comprehension questions for each book. We start off with books like Madeline, Dr. Seuss, Frog and Toad, and Beatrix Potter and by the end of the year work our way up to Charlotte's Web, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and The House at Pooh Corner.
Christian Appendix for Preschool Plus - This add on will be the basis for our Bible curriculum. It includes Bible stories, devotionals, and a memory verse for the character trait each week. We will also be memorizing the Apostle's Creed, continuing the Catechism for Young Children, and learning various hymns.
Handwriting Without Tears - Alexa will be doing the Pre-K book (which is recommended for 4 year olds, but I know she will want to do whatever Caleb is doing), and Caleb will be doing the K book.
Bubbles, Rainbows, and Worms - I plan to do 1 or science experiments out of this book each week.

For Alexa -
Preschool Plus - I will be using the rest of the Preschool Plus book (minus the literature) for Alexa. It covers numbers, letters, colors, shapes, basic math concepts, science, art, music, etc. I like that it is laid out by week with ideas for each day, so I don't have to do much planning for her. We will surely not do everything that is included, but I think it will be a good resource.

For Caleb -
Math U See Primer and Alpha - We did not get as far as I thought we would this summer in math (because I didn't expect to go to the beach twice or for Dave to be home for 4 weeks), but Caleb is already half way through the kindergarten math book. So, he will finish it around Christmas and then start the first grade book.
Phonics Pathways - This is his Phonics textbook.
Adventures in Phonics - This is his Phonics workbook.
Bob books and Kindergarten Phonics Readers - These are some beginning readers that I got him.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Dave's parents Wii boxing
Caleb teaching a friend from church how to play Mario Kart
Stuffed animal storytime
Alexa attempting to feed Jordanna a bottle
Look who learned to pull up to standing!

New (To Us) Clothes

On Saturday, I shopped at my first consignment sale of the fall/winter season. It felt so strange to be shopping for sweaters and fleece pajamas when the heat index was around 105. But, the kids loved their "new" clothes, and I loved the cheap prices.

Menu Plan Monday

Tonight - Breakfast pizza, hash browns, fruit

Tuesday - Beef Burgundy, egg noodles, squash, salad

Wednesday - Hamburgers, hotdogs, oven fries, corn on the cob

Thursday - Pecan chicken, mac and cheese, broccoli

Friday - Frozen pizza, salad

Saturday - Steak, baked potatoes, green beans

Sunday - London broil, oven roasted potatoes, broccoli, fruit