Weekly Wrap Up

The big news of the week is that both Kristen and Lauren memorized their verse and were able to get their candle built.  I am so proud of them!

This week was a little bit chaotic.  I decided to switch the days I usually run my errands from Friday to Wednesday, so school got switched around.  Since errands got switched around so did the day we go to the library....well...it just ended up becoming so confusing.  Probably much more confusing than it needed to be, but next week should go a lot smoother.

Dallas was very fussy this week, but he is actually teething.  I am not just making that up as an excuse for his fussiness.  You can see two little white bottom teeth, they just haven't come through the gums yet.  He also has a cold, so he hasn't been napping good or eating good and all he wants to do is whine and be held.  Plus, the weather didn't really cooperate this week either, so I had to move some activities around to days that the sun was actually shining.  We are still on day one of creation and talking about light.  Monday we were specifically focusing on shadows.  Of course the one day that I needed the sun was the one day that it was overcast and a little drizzly, so all of the fun outdoor activities that were planned had to be postponed. We were still able to talk about shadows and do some things inside with a flashlight.

 Kristen painting her "mole" (which was actually a groundhog)

 

Lauren didn't care what she was painting, just as long as she was painting.

 

Here are the girls with their groundhog shadow crafts.

 

I also did shadow pictures of the girls and that was a lot harder to do than it seemed, especially when a four year old who has the attention span of a dog is holding the light.  She would forget what she was supposed to do and start jumping or shining the light on the ceiling or the floor, needless to say it is a miracle I even got Kristen's done or that either of them turned out to even resemble a profile.  When the weather did cooperate we went outside to measure the shadows of the trees to see how they changed over the day, they got to chase their shadows and we were able to feel the warmth that the sun gives us by going directly in the sun and then standing in the shadow. 

 



The girls trying to catch their shadows.  Kristen kept yelling, "Run Lauren, your shadow is going to get you." 

 

 

We also learned about how light reflects.  We also talked about all of the colors God made and how we are only able to see these colors because he made light.  If it was dark we wouldn't be able to see them. We looked in mirrors and went on a nature walk to see all the colors and beautiful things God created.

 Here is Lauren making her mirror craft.  This girl has already gone through 3 glue sticks.

 

 Here is Lauren's rainbow she painted.

 

 Kristen making her mirror craft

 

  Kristen's rainbow. We also mixed colors to see what they would make.

 



 

Kristen has been working on her numbers 1-10.  She can recognize them and write them from memory.  She sometimes writes them backwards, but we are working on that.  The hardest numbers for her to write are two and three.  She is also learning to add and is doing good. 

 

Here is the worksheet Kristen did all by herself and wrote the numbers from memory.

 

 

Lauren continues to learn shapes and colors.  She is doing good, but I just have to keep reminding her to listen and think about her answer.  She sometimes just says whatever comes to her mind without thinking about it.  This week I had cut out some squares and triangles and gave them to her with a blank sheet of construction paper.  While Kristen and I were working on adding Lauren was supposed to make a house out of the shapes and glue it to the paper.  She started off randomly glueing the shapes, but after explaining it to her again she finally got it. 

 

 

This was her house.  I was very impressed!

 

 

 

And, the favorite activity of the week was when I sprayed a ton of shaving cream on the table and let the girls practice their numbers and shapes.

 

 

 Kristen following directions

 

Lauren wouldn't be Lauren if she didn't rub it all over her arms.

 

 

I have also learned a lot since starting homeschooling.  I have learned to let my kids be kids and be creative in their own way.  Since I often expect perfection from myself (even though I rarely accomplish it since I am not perfect), it is very easy for me to expect a rainbow to be a perfect rainbow or a house to be a perfect house. I have enjoyed watching them learn and participate in activities with them.  When I look at our bulletin board at the end of the week I feel like I have accomplished so much.  I have taught them about a God who loves them, I have spent quality time with my girls and hopefully made learning fun. 

 

Oh, and the funniest quote of the week comes from Kristen.  Today we talked about Joseph and his coat of many colors.  I got The Veggie Tales Ballad of Lil Joe from the library and told the girls that the movie would go along with our lesson.  At the end Kristen said, "So, are we going to learn about fruits or vegetables."











Weekly Wrap Up

It is hard to believe that it has been three weeks since we started homeschooling.  Time is definitely going by extremely fast and we are all enjoying it, well except for me coming down with a little cold this week.  There are two things I learned this week.

1. My kids function so much better when we keep to the schedule.
2. I function so much better when we keep to the schedule.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I love the flexibility of homeschooling.  For example, Wednesday and Thursday I felt bad and therefore somehow in my sleep cut my alarm off.  I think both days before it ever went off and we all slept in until 8:00 am.  It was nice to get the extra sleep and I really needed it, but that just threw everything off for the rest of the day.  Plus, even though I had made it out of bed, my motivation never did and therefore I was really dragging throughout the day.  I came to this conclusion...I would have probably functioned better getting up at my usual 6:30 am and taking a nap when Dallas took his afternoon nap.  But...of course that is easier said than done.

Anyways, this week was a really good, fun and exciting week for learning.  The first two weeks were a review. During that time I have figured out how the girls learn best.  Now we have started the interesting and more challenging lessons.  This week our main theme was light.  This was the first week that the girls had a memory verse. 

"Then God Said, "Let there be light, and there was light'".  Genesis 1:3

We practiced the verse all week and both girls are doing really well with it.  In fact, now  that they have it memorized they get to make their candle.  They already have the candle holder on the bulletin board and if they can say it tomorrow and Sunday without any help they will get their candle stick and flame and have it memorized.  I am so proud of both girls and working really hard to learn it. 

On Monday we had the "best home school ever", at least that's what Kristen said.  We did our lesson about light in the closet since that was the darkest place in our house in the middle of the day.  We talked about the different sources of light (candle, flashlight and lamp). We started coloring the cover and day #1 of our creation book.  Lauren is practicing recognizing the number one and writing it.  Kristen is practicing writing all of her numbers from 1-10 and memorizing them. Here are a couple of pictures of the girls practicing their numbers.  They really loved playing with the cornmeal and rice.  Who knew something could actually be better than play doh.

 

This dog will eat anything.  I kept hearing crunching and he was eating the uncooked rice.

We also learned about sequencing.  Lauren, although she needed the one on one help, did grasp the concept.  Kristen had more complicated sequencing to follow, but did them on her own.  We also learned about opposites and Kristen loves to play the opposite game now.  Lauren knows some opposites.  Big and small and short and tall.  We were playing the opposite door game where I put up a picture and they would have to tell me what the opposite was and look behind the door to see if they were right. 

(Excuse my wonderful drawings)

Well, Lauren was very unfocused this day, but I gave her asleep and I pretended to be asleep.  I asked her what the opposite of asleep was and she proudly said "Cock a doodle doo, it's time to wake up now." Not sure she got it, but the game was still a fun one to play. We also made a sun, since on day one God created light.  My kids get so excited if they see paint in the school bin.

Kristen cut her hands about all by herself

 



Lauren made the face on her sun all by herself

 

 

 

We also learned about Helen Keller and I took the girls outside blindfolded.  We talked about how people who can't see use Braille to read.  I took a pin and poked holes in card stock and wrote their name in Braille so they could see how it felt.  They then name their name in Braille using play doh.

 

 Kristen's name

 

Lauren's name



They also drew pictures of what they were happy that they could see that God made.  Overall, another successful week.

And, no post would be complete without pictures of the little man.  Here are some random pictures of little Dallas taken throughout the week.

His new favorite spot

 

 



Trying to figure out what to do with play doh

4 Year Check Up

Today I took Lauren for her 4 year check up.  Going into this appointment I was determined not to worry about her weight gain.  Oh the woes of gaining weight!  If I only had that problem! 

I knew she had gotten bigger, I just wasn't sure she had gained weight.  At the beginning of the summer she was in a size 6 shoe and two months later we were having to pull out the size 7.  She has gotten a lot taller and is now in a size 3T...Wohooo!

Well, my determination not to worry over her weight gain only lasted until she stepped on the scale.  Literally, my heart started beating faster and I started having hot flashes.  It was then I realized I will always be conscious of her weight.  It is just a way of life...something I have spent the last 4 years trying so hard to succeed at.

So, drum roll please............she weighs 25 pounds!  (sigh...but not of relief)

I was so disappointed...bummed out...depressed!  I had prayed all week that she would continue to be in her 2% curve and then Doc L came in and showed me her marks on the growth chart.  On the height chart she had moved from the 5% to the 20% (little sigh of relief).  On the weight chart she had dropped and was still not on the normal child chart.  However, combined she sat perfectly in the 2% curve.  Praise God! (BIG sigh of relief)  Doc L wasn't concerned about her weight gain or lack there of.  She said it was normal for a child to grow in height and not gain that much in weight and as long as she stays in her 2% curve or better she was happy...and so am I. She ended up getting two shots and Kristen asked before the shots if she was going to cry because she was a baby and not big like her.  Lauren looked at her and said "No, I'm and adult!"  I feel bad for little Lauren because her leg is sore and she is walking like a penguin.  I gave her some Tylenol, so hopefully by tomorrow she will feel better.

While waiting to be called back I met a micro-preemie mom in the waiting room.  As soon as I started talking to her I knew God put me there for a reason.  You see, I had switched my appointment because it would cause me to miss the first airing of the new Katie Couric show.  I know...so ridiculous!  I even thought that while I was rescheduling, but I just couldn't miss Jessica Simpson's big reveal.  Well, I realized that what seemed like a ridiculous reason to me was a big reason to God.  I have to say this mother looked really good and refreshed and it wasn't until I was talking to her that I realized she needed a little encouragement.  Preemies are very overwhelming and I can't imagine a preemie being your first child.  She was really happy and somewhat relieved to see what life would be like when you fast forward 4 years. Well, minus two kids.  She said she couldn't wait until her baby was 4 so she would know he would be alright.  I fully understood that, especially with Lauren's brain hemorrhages.  I just wanted to know what the outcome would be and God taught me a big lesson in patience.  I hope in some way she is feeling a little better today and I will be praying for her as she begins her journey with a micro-preemie at home.  I am so thankful we have made it to 4!

Weekly Wrap Up

This week was another successful week in homeschooling!  We overcame our first bad day obstacle on Thursday.  To say Kristen woke up on the wrong side of the bed would be an understatement.  Now, my girls really are good kids.  If anyone keeps the time out chair warm it is Lauren not Kristen.  Kristen is a pleaser and will usually listen if you just talk to her or tell her not to do something.  I don't say this to brag only to put into perspective what a bad day we were having.  By two in the afternoon I lost count how many times she had been in time out and came to the conclusion that the next time she would be going to bed for a nap.  Ironically our lesson talked about sharing, but she just wasn't in the sharing mood.  She didn't want to do school, everything was boring and it was the worst day of her life (which she kept repeating).  When I sent her to time out she would cry and say I didn't want to be her friend and I didn't love her anymore.  Not sure where all this was coming from, but I really thought...Wow!  She is good!!  I wasn't falling for it though.  But, we eventually worked through everything.  I was very happy for bedtime!

Next weeks lesson starts getting a little harder for Kristen.  These past two weeks have been basically a review.  I am going to start pushing her a little more, which is what I think she needs.  At least now I know where she is at on certain subjects.  Lauren continues to amaze me.  She is learning, which I really can't believe.  At the beginning she was having trouble sitting still and then in the middle of a lesson she would start talking to herself.  Now she is listening better and retaining the information I am talking about. I think she will really benefit with the one on one because I think that is exactly what she needs to learn. 

This week we talked about the concept of big and small and short and tall.  For Kristen we talked about Tall, Taller and Tallest and short, shorter and shortest, etc.  We made some sugar cookies and they got to cut all different size shapes out of the dough.  I ended up having to use the cookie cutter because some shapes were just too small that they would burn.  They had a lot of fun playing with the left over dough and in true Lauren fashion she rubbed it all over her face and up her arms.

 

Kristen is my neat perfectionist! 

 



They also made a family picture showing who was Tall and who was short.  Kristen had a mini meltdown because her hair didn't look right on her picture.  She wanted a ponytail, but that just wasn't happening.  Lauren actually drew her people all by herself.  She was so proud of her picture.

Kristen's picture

 

Lauren's picture

We also made our family out of craft pom pom's this week.  Lauren kept asking if we were making snow men and insisting that the pom pom family did not look like her family.  I have to agree.

Kristen learned about sequencing this week and reviewed all shapes.  This was Lauren's last week of the triangle.  We started learning about color's on Thursday.  To Lauren everything is either pink or blue.  Whether she really knows her colors is a mystery, but by the end of the day on Thursday she knew the color black.  Our biblical lesson was God being our friend and helping us.  I cut out the girls hands and wrote I Help on them.  They had to be helpful around the house and only got a sticker when they did something helpful without being asked.  When they got 10 stickers they would get to go to the park.  It was a great motivator for Kristen and she had most of her stickers by the end of the day.  Lauren didn't really care if she got a sticker or not, but by Friday morning she did get all of her 10 stickers so we went to the park.  The girls made a little friend named Sophia (who Kristen kept calling her Abby) and played with her the whole time.

   Oh and Kristen cut her hands out all by herself!

 

And, before I end, here is a picture of the girls with their new haircuts.  Kristen said she wanted long golden hair, so we just got hers trimmed.  I told her she could grow it long, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't turn golden.  As we were walking to the car after their hair cuts Kristen asked me if her hair looked longer.  How cute is she!

 

I didn't like how they cut Lauren's hair, so I had to re cut it the next day.  They had it shorter in the back and longer on the sides. It looked good, but once we got home it was flipped out every which way on the sides and just looked crazy.  I was very impressed with my hair cutting skills.

 

 

Growing

Who is sitting up all on his own....

This little man!

 

 

Who is taking a bath in the big bathtub...

This little man!

 

 

Who is holding his own bottle...

This little man!

 

 

Who is learning to play the guitar...

This little man!

 

 

And who doesn't have a single tooth...

Unfortunately this little man!

 

 

The County Fair

We took our annual trip to the Chesterfield County Fair on Friday night.  It was like a trip for us this year since we didn't live 5 minutes from it anymore. If there is one thing my kids remember from year to year...it is the fair.  We got there a little later than we expected, but still had a good time.

When we got there Kristen spotted the bouncy castle and then the weird bouncy ride thing beside it.  I have no idea what it is called, but you get harnessed up and attached to two poles and get to jump on a mini circular bouncy mat that is inflated. That is what she picked out to do first. We paid our money for both girls and waited in line.  I had some serious doubts as to whether or not they would actually do it, but it was the fair and we wouldn't know until they tried.  So I walked Lauren to her little bouncy thing giving her a pep talk along the way.  When we got there she was having no part of any of it.  She was not going to put that harness on.  So, we went back to the attendant, got our money back and then paid the money to get a ticket to the bouncy castle.  At this point Kristen had been harnessed, put on the bouncy circle and attached to the poles and was crying.  She realized she didn't want to do it either.  So, we got her unharnessed and got our money back and paid for a bouncy castle ticket.  We go to the bouncy house and get their shoes off and then Kristen says she is scared.  Really?  Is this how the night was going to go?  Well, then Lauren doesn't want to go in because Kristen isn't going in.  The girl at the bouncy castle said we could go get our money back.  By this time I was sick of waiting in line to get my money back, so I asked if we could just hold on to the tickets and come back later when they had time to adjust to all the fun-ness the fair had to offer.

  Kristen realizing it looked like fun, but only from a distance.

Next we went to get their faces painted.  I mean, nothing to be scared of there...that is if you like clowns with big shoes.  Lauren knew before getting to the tent that she didn't want her face painted, but Kristen was really looking forward to it.  I knew she would pick out the same blue butterfly from last year and she didn't disappoint.  While we were standing in line the little girl behind us picked out the exact same thing and was showing her mom what she wanted.  My very nosy 5 year old was all up in their convo, not that it was hard not to be.  The lady was a very loud and vocal mother.  So the mother says. "That is just too much stuff around your eyes."  I know I mentioned she was loud, but she was actually really loud and laughed after EVERYTHING she said.  I guess she thought she was just too funny.  The little girl kept insisting that was the one she really wanted and after the mother kept giving every excuse she could think of she finally settle on the "It's just too dangerous.  It will get in your eyes and burn"...laugh, laugh, laugh....because something getting in your daughters eyes and burning is just sooo hilarious.  Well, that is all Kristen needed.  She burst into tears and frantically says she doesn't want to get her face painted because it is dangerous.  Gee thanks for spoiling face painting for my child!  While I was trying to get Kristen calmed down apparently Dallas was crying.  When I look up the girl in front of us was leaned over the stroller trying to undo his buckle.  Now Momma Bear Michelle kicked in and I very politely yelled, "What are you doing!"  To which the young girl of eight says, "Oh, I'll hold him.  I am really good with babies."  What?!?  You are eight years old?  So, in order to avoid any other disasters, we got out of line and the girls decided to just get a balloon instead.  To the rides we went.  I have to add that along the way Kristen spotted a pink fuzzy blinking cowgirl hat.  Every 5 year old's dream!  Who cares about the rides, cotton candy or anything else.  She wanted that hat and that is all she asked for.

I thought it would be good to start with the Merry-Go-Round.  The least scary ride at the fair.  There were infants and grandparents on this ride!  Well, Kristen was scared of the Merry-Go-Round.  At this point I really needed someone to remind me why we paid to come to the fair.  Lauren reluctantly got on and after she got to going she realized she liked rides.  Kristen spent the whole time asking when we were going to get her pink fuzzy blinking cowgirl hat (big sigh). 

We then went to the spinning bears and Kristen and Lauren got on with Papaw and another little boy.  He looked like a spinner...I could see his need to turn that wheel gleaming in his eyes.  Panic set in as they closed them all up in the big purple bear.  What kind of mother am I to let Kristen's first ride of the season be one that was so scary.  It had disaster written all over it.  I mean, this is a girl afraid of Merry-Go-Rounds, bouncy houses and face painting....all the things little kids look forward to and now she is in a spinning bear.  I listened as closely as I could for the sound of crying and surprisingly...there wasn't any.  Now, the girls had this look of panic and indecision on their face, but they weren't crying.  Whew!  Of course, the first question after getting off of the spinning bears was "When are we going to get my pink fuzzy blinking cowgirl hat?"

The girls ended up riding all of the kiddie rides there and to be consistent Kristen asked after every ride when she was going to get her pink fuzzy blinking cowgirl hat.  We were going to ride the Ferris Wheel as a family, but the girls decided to bail on us at the last minute and ride with Aunt Do and Uncle Earl, which was probably best.  I don't like the Ferris Wheel, actually I despise the Ferris Wheel.  I can go 0-60 on any roller coaster in 3 seconds, go down hills, through corkscrews and loops...but please don't make me get on a Ferris Wheel (especially a double Ferris Wheel).  Every year I look at it and think it doesn't look bad, but I have come to the conclusion what the issues are.  It goes too slow, at some point I can't see the ride and it keeps going around and around in a circle.  I get very disoriented and this year was no different than any others.  But I survived the Ferris Wheel!  We ended the night up with Kristen actually getting into the bouncy house and having a blast (after she got her pink fuzzy blinking cowgirl hat).  Lauren was just tired and was asleep by the time we got to the car.