Now She is Six August 28, 2008

The End

When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five, I was just alive.
But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever,
So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.

A. A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh

This poem describes Jill perfectly. Now that she is six she is as clever as clever. She reads EVERYTHING. Suddenly it seems she knows everything, or at least she thinks she does.

Here are a few pictures from her birthday and recent days.

Morning brought Jill a present from Uncle Scott and Aunt Becky.

She always requests one of her Mommy's baked cheesecakes.

Although it was dark and rainy outside, Jill and her friends had a fun party inside.

This summer Jill conquered her fear of the diving board.

Going to Awana. (Yes, she is growing out her bangs.)

So, What’s Happenin’? August 27, 2008

“So, what’s happenin’” you ask? A lot. August is always a crazy-busy time of the year for us.

On July 31st Steve and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. Wow! Time sure does fly! We celebrated by going to dinner and a movie. It was nice. Maybe we’ll do something big, someday . . .

We started home school on Monday, August 3rd. Whew! It’s tough. It’s fun. It’s rewarding. It’s exhausting.

Last Saturday we celebrated Jill’s 6th birthday (pictures in the next post). Jill LOVES birthdays! What child doesn’t? Jill thinks all year long about her birthday, anticipating every minute. It’s a lot to plan in order to make it somewhat worthy of her daydreams.

We’ve started dance lessons and AWANA; we’ve been swimming, survived thunderstorms and tornadoes, spent time with family and friends while missing others, loved God, and lived life as full as we can.

I’ve been trying to take pictures of some of these things. So, I will be writing several posts over the next few days in an attempt to try to document our life for posterity and share our lives with our far-away family.

Getting Dirty August 8, 2008

Today during “recess” the children went out to play in the backyard.  However, since there was a big storm last night, much of the dirt had turned to red mud.  Within a few minutes, Daniel (and Jill to a lesser degree) were covered in mud.  I must admit that I did not find humor in the fact that our daily schedule would now be interrupted by a mid-day bath.  However, once the children were bathed and dressed in clean clothes, I went to the laundry room to survey the damage.  I couldn’t help but laugh once I read the words on Daniel’s shirt:

How appropriate!

What We’ll Be Learning This Year July 30, 2008

Homeschool Curriculum 08-09

In five days, on August 4th, we will be commencing our second year of homeschooling. Jill will be entering first grade and I’m going to do a little bit of pre-k with Daniel. So here’s what we’ll be learning:

1) Bible: Every morning after breakfast I read the children a Bible story out of The Child’s Story Book. Last year we did the Old Testament, so this year we will be reading through the New Testament. Daniel LOVES to hear the Bible story. Occasionally on a Saturday or Sunday, when we don’t do school and I try to be a bit more laid-back, Daniel will beg for a Bible story at breakfast time so I’ll re-read one of his favorites. After the story we practice our memory verses from AWANA. This is Jill’s fourth year participating in Awana, and this will be Daniel’s first year. He has always loved saying verses with Jill, so he’ll feel really big now that he will have his own to memorize. After practicing verses, the children can color a picture that goes with the Bible story (Big Picture Bible Timeline) or sometimes there is something to color in their Awana books. We usually listen to the Wee Sing Bible Songs while we color.

2) We will continue with Saxon Math this year, using Saxon 2. Certain activities like singing math fact songs, counting, and using pattern blocks are easy to do and include Daniel. The lessons usually do not take long to teach so during that time Daniel can color, do puzzles or play in his room. Jill can then do the math practice sheets by herself with minimal help.

3) Phonics Museum and Shurley Grammar will be used to teach reading, writing, and grammar. Some of this will definitely take some teaching time, but a lot of it will also be independent practice for Jill. While she’s doing her work, I plan to begin teaching Daniel the alphabet, sounds, and beginning writing skills. I will do a “letter-of-the-week” with him - we will color, write and read about the letter throughout the week.

Those first 3 subjects will make up the bulk of our schoolwork and take up our entire morning with the exception of a “recess” probably between math and reading/writing. The afternoons will normally be time for one “enrichment” subject and nap/quiet time.

4) Our enrichment subjects (one per day): Monday - music, Tuesday - geography, Wednesday - literature, Thursday - science, and Friday - art. These will be fun activities for both Jill and Daniel. If our day is already too busy, we have errands to run, or we just need a break, it won’t be a big deal if we miss these once in a while.

5) Naptime/Quiet time (Mommy’s favorite part of the day!) - Wendy and Daniel both take 1 1/2-2 hour naps every afternoon. Jill occasionally sleeps, but most of the time she either plays or reads in her bedroom. Mommy also gets a quiet time to do Bible study (my ladies’ group is currently doing Beth Moore’s Breaking Free), read, or take a nap.

Throughout the year there will be plenty of special activities, field trips, and new things to learn. I’ll try to be much more diligent about keeping you posted on what we’re doing this year!

Works for Me Wednesday - Crayon Organization July 23, 2008

My two children LOVE to color! Our table is constantly strewn with color/activity books, drawings, and tons of crayons! Normally our crayons have been kept in one medium size, deep “crayon box.” The problem was, if Daniel wanted to color Greg from the Wiggles, he would need a yellow crayon. If there was not a yellow readily available on top, then he would have to dig down into the overflowing crayon box in search of a yellow, which would then spill crayons everywhere. It was an impossible situation, until my husband made this from a couple of cardboard boxes:

Now, the children can find exactly what color they need without spilling the crayons all over the table. Happy kids and less mess - works for me!

For more great Works for Me Wednesday tips check out Rocks in My Dryer.

Technorati : WFMW

Summer in Sunny (or should we say, Smokey) California July 22, 2008

Here are a few pictures from our month in California. We had such a great time. Although the weather and the air were uncooperative, we always enjoy visiting with our family. Too bad we’re so far away. Mom took most of the swimming and activity pictures on her camera. Here are a few pictures with some of our long distance relatives.

Grandma Elston (Mom’s mom) holding her great-granddaughter Wendy.

The kids with their second cousins, Charlie and Patrick.

Dad and Daniel reading a Hulk book.

Mom reading to Jill and Daniel.

Jill and Daniel with Abigail. Abigail is the daugther of my lifelong best friend, Jennifer (we met in first grade). Abigail and Jill share the same birthday, she’s just one year younger.

Mom flew home to Georgia with us and stayed for a week. We hated to see her go. Thanks for all of your help, Mom. You’re the best!

Back Home July 14, 2008

After spending four weeks visiting my family in California, we’re back home! Every year Jill and I count down the days until we get to go on vacation to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in California. We spend the month swimming, playing outside, going to the zoo, shopping, and visiting grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. It’s always so much fun. Steve came with us this year and stayed for about 10 days. We were glad to share some of our favorite activities with him.

Once Steve left, Daniel became terribly homesick. Although he enjoyed some of the other fun things we did, he just couldn’t quite be happy overall and lost most of his appetite.

Since we’ve been home, Daniel has been so happy and content. Over the years I have found the old saying, “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” to ring true in all of our hearts. We’re always extra happy to see our home, friends and family in Georgia.

This year, my mom flew back with the kids and I so that she could help me travel. Well, this morning, Jill (our imaginative traveler) was eager to relive her vacation. “Grandma, can we play in my room and pretend that we are going on vacation? We can pretend we are going to the beach.” etc. etc. After a few minutes of discussing her pretend vacation with Grandma, Jill looked over at Daniel and said, “Daniel, do you want to go on vacation with us?”

Daniel thought for a moment before he said, “I think I’ll just pretend I’m Daddy and stay at home.”

My sweet homebody boy! He loves his home.

(I’ll be posting some pictures and writing more about our trip later in the week.)

Free-IQTest.net July 1, 2008

Free-IQTest.net - IQ Test

I couldn’t believe this score!  In my previous life in academia I thought I was somewhat smart and would not have been so blown away.  However, in my current life as a stay-at-home mom where my brain patterns seem stuck between “What are we going to eat for dinner?” and “Is it naptime yet?” I was very pleased to see that I still have some brain power lurking between my ears.

Note:  At the end of this test, should you decide to take it, they will ask for lots of info (name, address, etc.)  You do NOT have to provide this info to receive your score.  The only info you need to provide is your e-mail address (they will e-mail you a link for your results) and zipcode.  Just simply push the “pass” button on the info pages to decline giving out your information.

Camping June 7, 2008

Last weekend our family of five and Steve’s parents, Bobbe and Danny went camping. We went to Georgia Veteran’s State Park which was about a 45 minute drive southwest of Perry near the city of Cordele. The park is located on Lake Blackshear, so there was a swimming area that we enjoyed on Saturday afternoon. We had a great time. Jill and Daniel absolutely LOVED it! They loved being outside all day, sleeping in a tent, roasting marshmallows, swimming in the lake, and hiking the nature trail. Steve and I enjoyed it too, but camping is much different when you are a parent with small children. The days are no longer spent staring at the tops of the pine trees, reading a book, playing cards, or swinging in a hammock. Instead it is full of the general busyness of caring for small children and helping them to learn how to camp. I am so thankful for Bobbe and Danny. We could not have done it without them! Wendy, as sweet as she is, was very clingy and had a hard time relaxing in such a completely new and different environment.

There were only two problems, which are really very common on most camping trips - the heat and the bugs. It was soooo hot on Saturday. Poor Wendy was so hot and uncomfortable that I finally put her in her car seat and took her for an air-conditioned drive in the van so that she could cool down for a nap. Even with the price of gas being so high, it was well worth it for a few minutes to cool off and rest. There were a lot of gnats which was annoying, but the mosquitos were awful in the evenings. We were continually dousing ourselves in bug spray. Although it seemed to help most everyone, I still managed to come home with tons of bites all over my arms and legs.

Overall, it was such a good experience. We’re hoping to try it again, hopefully once the weather starts to cool down a bit more in the early fall.

Here are a few of our pictures:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz May 27, 2008

Saturday night at 6:30 pm Jill performed in her very first dance recital, The Wizard of Oz. The recital was held at the Warner Robins Civic Center, a very large auditorium with a big stage and seats full of family and friends anxious to watch all the lovely girls dance. After many practices, Saturday was the big night, and Jill did great! She loved getting dressed up in her costume, performing with the older ballerinas, and putting on a real show. We all enjoyed it, especially Daniel. He loved the colors, the music, and the dancing. When it was time to leave he started to cry because he wanted to stay and watch more. After the show we took the kids to Dairy Queen for a special celebratory treat.