Sick Day :(

Only on week one of the school year, and we already have a sick day!
Guess I need to call the school and let them know, pick up her absent work, and get a doctor's note. Oh wait... no I just have to rework the dates in her books and start again as soon as she feels up to it. lol :)
The kids were out playing in the sprinklers and kiddy pool yesterday at a friends house. I was thinking that Aden might get sick from it, but low and behold... it was Camryn who ended up sick today. That's alright, they had a good time and I'm sure the sickness will pass soon.

A lesson in thoughtfulness:
Last night I was doing the third sinkful of dishes (we don't have a dishwasher), and I sighed and said "I wish I had a daughter that would see me working so hard and say 'Mom, can I help you? You look tired, go sit down and I will do this for you'." My daughter got up and sighed loudly, rolled her eyes, and came to help dry the dishes.
We had a good talk about how I have OCD and she has more of an I-don't-care-what-the-house-looks-like attitude. Instead of getting upset with eachother, we laughed about how we have such different outlooks. She said that she thinks I LOOK for things to do. Really?? I guess I can see where she gets that from, I'm always looking around to see what needs to be done. But my view is, I need to see it before someone else does or before it gets worse. She said that the mess doesn't bother her at all. I'm thinking its a kid thing and she'll change her view as she gets older (I HOPE!).

Now, at the beginning of all this, I could have kept my mouth shut, kept doing the dishes, feeling like a slave and a martyr, and getting upset. But last night I chose to keep a light heart and make a joke of it. What a blessing it was to have that talk with Camryn last night. It showed me that most of the time I am way to serious about my work and I need to lighten up a little. And I think it showed my daughter that its good to notice what others are doing and pitch in whenever possible.

Well, off to do the dishes, laundry, cooking, and some deep cleaning that I've been putting off... :)

First Day of Fourth Grade

First day of school today for Camryn! We've been waiting on Aden's books to get here, but I finally decided that we've waited long enough.
Camryn got started, and I did a few work pages with Aden and had reading circle time. It worked out nicely.

By far, Camryn's art class is the most intriguing of the curriculum. She learned about straight and curved lines. She had a drawing assignment right off the bat, and really enjoyed it. It only took her two hours to complete all of her work for the day... but I re-assured her that things will prove more difficult as the year goes on. :) She's quite happy with the amount of work so far. lol, just wait!!

So... fourth grade, am I smarter than a fourth grader?? Why didn't I know that cucumber is a fruit? And asparagus is part of the lily family? Wow, I felt really dumb a few times today, but that's alright. Now I know~! :) Keeps me young, and I love being able to give one-on-one attention to the kids. I know exactly what they need, where they fall short, where they excel, and how to help them!
Camryn is creative, smart, loving, loyal, and artistic. She did great today, so proud of her!!

I do have a college education, but what qualifies me to teach my kids is my love for them... not how much school I have under my belt. If anything, my formal education hinders me from seizing teachable moments. I tend to make things structured rather than giving my kids the freedom to learn from actual LIFE... what a concept!

Anyways, off my soapbox now. :)
I am so excited today, and I know that will fade as the drudgery of monotonous daily schedules sets in. :)
The only way I will make it through is with God's help and a heavenly focus.

One last note - Josiah was an angel today! I decided last night to go ahead and start him on formula. There are many reasons (humidity, teeth, time, etc). Today was his first full day of bottle feedings and regular food, and he was a champ! I had tried one time about a month ago to give him a bottle (this was after being bitten :)), and he didn't want anything to do with it. I had little hope that he would take to the bottle today, but I guess it was just God's timing. It worked out so perfectly and he's had no adverse reactions (as of yet).
Great day, all in all, and looking forward to tomorrow!

Prepping for the school year has been a family affair. While Jimmy and I were in Hawaii we watched that show "The Messiest House in America".

So... we're trying to make sure we don't fall into the trap of "I might use this someday...". We seriously purged three of our rooms, and I'm working on the rest this week.

We've had four truckloads of garbage, and now have a store room full of stuff for the garage sale. I'm starting to feel really good about the house, but I'm tired of sorting!! How on earth did we get so much stuff?? Somehow I was able to hole it all away so that it didn't seem overwhelming to me unless something else came into the house.

We got Camryn's school books today, but still waiting on Aden's books to get here. We (even the kids!) are excited to get started!




If we don't kill each other first!!

Here it is!!
I'm finally starting a home school blog to keep track of our progress. This year I'm using a combination of what has worked in the past, what I've learned from others, and a few new ideas to keep things fresh!
The plan is refreshingly simple; start early and keep a light, loving heart.

Let me introduce you to the sweetest, most amazing kids I know...

Camryn...she is my creative genius. This year our focus will be her art class, which is from Alpha Omega Pub. The DVD teacher is Thomas Kinkade (my mom's favorite!). The rest of her school work will be taught by me and is also from Alpha Omega. Grade: 4th

Aden...my little book worm! He may look like his daddy, but he has got a lot of mommy in him! Abeka is the only way to go because he loves it! Grade: K5

Josiah...what can I say? He's a monster. Outgoing, interested in everything around him, lovable, and super cute. But, man, when he's not happy you better watch out! It will be fun keeping him active while the other two are busy with school. Grade: Baby!!