Eyes

Walk to School

Every year we have a tradition of the kids walking to school. Dave usually takes them down the block while I wait and take pictures. Then they come to "school" & I as their teacher greet them & welcome them to a new year. This year Daddy had to work =( . But the kids didn't want to give up their walk. Instead Sweet Pea led them & they all followed with backpacks in tow.

Here they come!

We also have a yearly tradition of taking a group picture on the front steps. We did this at our home in MA too. I love looking back at these.

Welcome to the 2010-2011 learning year!

Life Skills

A yard sale is a wonderful learning opportunity. The kids learned about organization, cleaning out, helping others, hard work, manners, pricing, negotiating & giving. Another lesson was money. How to make change, how to be a good steward, denominations & how to calculate.

After the sale & clean up I called Elvis up to our room where I was counting the money. Working with money is his favorite in math. I had it split into different denomiations and had already counted it. He was given the job of counting it himself. I checked his calculations with mine to get the final tally. He did a terrific job! He got them all right the first time with the execption of one. And that one he got correct on the second count. Go Elvis!

He proudly shared his totals & calculations with his daddy.

Yard Sale

Our yard sale 2 weeks ago went well. I think it may have been the hottest day of the year! The heat index was 116 degrees! We were outside from 5:30a.m. until 4:30p.m. Some of that time was set up & clean up but we were still in the heat & humidity. A shower never felt so good! I had fun meeting a lot of new people & helping many. We only had a couple that weren't friendly. We didn't do as well as some of our friends did earlier in the summer but still made more than we ever have at a yard sale. Yay!

I didn't get pics of the set up but here are some afterwards.

All these boxes went to charity.

It took quite awhile to pack everything up.

We piled the stuff on the patio that was fragile.

Lots of toys went to charity too. I was proud of the kids for giving away so much!

Starting Our Work

Today we worked on co-op homework. In our all day family co-op we are studying Prairie Primer, Apologia Zoology 2, World Geography & Health/P.E. We have another small co-op on the alternating weeks and for that we are studying Homeschool in the Woods Colonial Life. We started on our work today. Yes, we are a week behind everyone else but hopefully we will catch up quickly.

First we read a chapter of Little House in the Big Woods.

And we read & discussed the first 2 lessons of Colonial Life.

Boo, Elvis & I took turns reading aloud.

At the advice of another mom in the Colonial Life co-op I ran off 3 copies of the text. This way the kids can read along with me & then take turns reading aloud. I like this a lot. I have my teacher's manual for all of our co-op work.

Bugs practiced printing both his first and last name today. He did an awesome job on both. I knew he could do his first name, though he does sometimes need to be reminded to go left to right (hard for a lefty), but our last name is tough. And long! I was so proud of him! He wrote it out twice with no mistakes or hesitation. Bravo, Bugs!

Elvis & Boo had a handwriting/copywork assignment.

It was a long one but they both did very well.

Princess was a good girl. She enjoyed her lunch while they finished up their copywork & handwriting assignments.

Bugs cleaned up Princess' toys for her.

I love tidy time!

Sweet Pea worked on her high school studies while I worked with the others.

The kids did a bit more work in the afternoon. I would certainly call today a success!

Tea Party

Saturday morning it was Elvis' turn to go to yard sales with me. The last one we went to had a huge free bin full of odds & ends. We dug out all these play dishes for Princess. Elvis found something for everyone! Elvis was proud to be able to bring gifts home for all his siblings.

One lump or two?

Stirring the tea

First Fall Soccer Practices

Friday was a HUGE day. Not only did we spend the day at our first co-op of the year but we had 3 soccer practices that same evening. We were home for a quick half hour before we ran out the door again. That time was spent scrambling for water bottles, soccer gear & dry clothes for baby. We made it just in time for practice #1.
Elvis had the first practice. He is on an all boys team this season.

Next it was both Boo & Bugsy's turn. They had practices on side-by-side fields. This was nice for us as we were able to plant ourselves in the middle & watch.

Princess hung out in her stroller.

Getting a drink.

It was HOT!

"Reading" a book.

She was cracking me up with her cuteness. She'd open the book, look at the pages, babble a little and then slam it shut. She did this over & over again. Super cute!

Boo practicing.

Boo & her best friend in TN.

Bugs was working hard at his practice too.

Practicing dribbling & trapping while playing "Red Light, Green Light".

Throw-ins

Love the shadows!

Dave is an assistant coach on Bugsy's team.

Getting ready to take a shot on goal.

BAM!

His little happy dance after he scored was precious.

Another kick & another net ball.

Random fun pics.

It was late so we decided to stop for dinner.

The boys shared a dessert after dinner.

The girls shared one too.

Princess enjoyed hers too. Every time Dave tried to get a bite she had her eyes on him. Too funny!