Getting Settled

I was planning on updating my blog last weekend, when an unexpected event occurred.   I ended up passing my first kidney stone Saturday evening and spent eight hours in the emergency room.  A major thank you our neighbors (who also go to our church) who went above and beyond, as they watched our kids the whole time.   (We didn't get home until 2:30 a.m.)

Anyway, on to the more pleasant events in our lives.  

Samuel has attended two weeks of the Home Schooler's Academy (HSA, for short).   I think he has really enjoyed it.  He hasn't talked too much about it, but his teachers have told me he participates and has fun.  His teacher includes a copy of her lesson plan each week in our file.  The teacher in me loves that and it also helps me to know what he's actually doing since he won't tell us.  Although, he was excited to teach Darius and I new game called Octopus Tag.  

Darius and I get some good one-on-one time while Samuel's gone to HSA.   The first week, he went with Josh to Mountain Grove to buy fruit.   This last week, he and I worked on letter recognition and letter sounds.  It is my hope to teach him how to read during these quiet afternoons.  I enjoy the time with him, since he doesn't get as much during the day.

We are in our eighth week of school.  I think we've all found our rhythm and have settled in quite nicely.  The battles over schoolwork are almost nonexistent.   The boys are excited to learn new things in Science and Social Studies.   Darius has really taken off on writing.  I knew once he learned how, he would do well.  He likes to write letters on any piece of paper I will give him and they look really good.

Eve is learning  a lot of new words.   Last night I was making waffles for dinner and she told Josh when he came home, "Waffles, yay!" She surprises us with the new words she is learning.  She has such a sweet personality and is definitely a little snuggler.

We are also involved in Awana at church.  Samuel is in Sparks (K-2nd grade), this year.   We were having trouble getting him to recite his verses each week.  He would refuse even though he knew them perfectly.  Well, for better or worse, we decided to offer a little monetary incentive to saying verses.  They earn a quarter for every section they say.  I think that incentive helped, because last night Samuel said three sections.   He also was wondering why one of his friends earned his rank patch and he didn't.  When I told him it was because his friend had been saying his verses, he decided that he wanted to say four sections next week.   I think maybe some healthy competition will help him say his verses also.  He did earn his vest last night, so I will have to get a picture of the boys in their vests.

Hopefully I will not let so much time go by between entries.   So, until next time.....

It's Official!

I've entitled this blog entry, "It's Official" because of several exciting things that are going on in homeschooling.  So without further adieu...........

It's Official:

1.) We are involved in a Co-op of sorts.  We enrolled Samuel in the Home Schoolers' Academy.  He will attend every Monday afternoon from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  He will rotate through music, physical education, drama and art.  Their open house is this coming Thursday evening and next Monday (Sept. 12) he officially starts.

2.)  Darius is now writing!  We have been working on  writing the alphabet and letter sounds.  Today he was writing letters on a piece of paper and spelled "pea" all by himself.  He asked for help in spelling "pie" and did well writing the letters.  Then, I told him I had a word for him to spell and proceeded to tell him the letters in his name.  When he finished,  I told him that he had just written his name.  You should have seen the big grin on his face!  I'm so proud of him!!  Here's a picture of his work.

3.)  We finished up our first month of homeschooling (August).  It has been a month of learning and falling into a routine.  But our routine will be changing in September as I rearrange our schedule to accommodate the Home Schoolers' Academy.  We logged in 123.50 hours of school this month.  Whew!  It seems like a lot, but I'm excited about what the boys will be learning the rest of the year.

I look forward to seeing what exciting things September holds.