Wow, we did it!

You might want to check out this post that I wrote on Sunday August 16th, 2009. This was the Eve of our very first homeschool day. I guess you can call it Homeschool Eve. Well today, Friday May 28th, 2010 marks our last day of homeschool for this school year. I really can't believe we did it! It has not always been easy, there have been really bad days, frustrating days, but then there have also been really good days, wonderful days, days when I feel so blessed to homeschool our three amazing kids. I wouldn't trade this year for anything! It truly has been an amazing journey and one I look forward to continuing in the years to come. I was thinking about what my favorite part of homeschooling has been so here is a little top 10 list of my favorite memories from our homeschool year.

10. Learning the 50 states with my kids. I'll admit it, geography is not my strong point. I have lacked some major geography skills but I am happy to stay I am now pretty good at locating all 50 states. It sure doesn't make me feel smart though when my 5 year old daughter can do the same.

9. Being cozy on the couch on rainy days reading books together. I LOVE those days! I have really enjoyed reading the first Little House in the Big Woods. It was a great read and brought on so many discussions about what life was like "in the olden days."

8. I really enjoyed our Science study on the Solar System. I loved the curriculum and was amazed at how much information we could pull out to last the entire school year. It's always great to see my kids retain information. And our fun science experiments have been a highlight as well.

7. Going on Field trips with SWAP (Schooling with a Purpose) has offered school outside the classroom with other homeschool families and each field trip has been educational, fun, and purposeful. The kids would agree that this is a homeschool favorite.

6. Developing friendships with some amazing women has brought me so many blessings. I have connected with a great core group of homeschooling moms and they have each brought me so much joy. Kelly, Tara, Stephanie, and Jenna are amazing women and I love doing life with them!

5. Seeing my kids grow in their relationship with Christ has been such a treat. With our daily devotions, they have been in God's word and studies scriptures in depth. We always start our homeschool days with prayer and devotions and this is certainly the highlight of my morning. I love reading the Bible with my kids!

4. Hearing Annagrace ask for help and admit that she doesn't know how to do something is HUGE! When we first started the year she was overly confident and did not want ANY help with ANYTHING. It made it very frustrating for the both of us. There were many days where I would make her say, "I don't know how to do this, I need help." Or, "I make mistakes and that is how I will learn." Or "I am not perfect, only Jesus is." Those saying have become quite popular with this child. Given that she has a brilliant mind and is always eager to learn, I had to bring her down a notch as far as allowing herself to make mistakes and seek help when needed. And she did just that. She now happily asks for help and will be the first to admit she makes mistakes (well, maybe not the first) but we are getting there.

3. Seeing Jadon fall back in love with learning again. I even found him doing school work a few times when we were all done with school. You see we started the year with him feeling very defeated coming off of such a rough school year and having no enjoyment whatsoever when it came to learning. It was great to see this shift into a kid who loves to read, write, and learn new things. I never imagined I would be saying something like that with how he started the year. I am very proud of this boy! :)

2. Watching Camden improve in reading can make this mommy cry. It might not have been as much improvement as I have hoped but it is improvement and for that I am very pleased. His confidence has grown, he is motivated to learn how to be a better reader, and he is a hard worker. This boy also makes this mommy VERY proud!

1. And my #1 favorite thing that this school year has brought is the relationships I have been able to build with my kids. The quality time I have spent with them, the one on one time I have spent teaching them, and the laughter (and the tears) has bonded us in such a deep way. I am more in love with my kids today than I was a year ago. And in addition to this, it has been an amazing time of growth for our family and even in our marriage. Michael has been an AMAZING support system to me and allowed me to vent and cry when needed and always has a great way of encouraging to keep on keeping on. I did send him one text message this school year telling him that I quit. He was quick to reply and shot into action and once again, saved the day. I couldn't do this without him, that is for sure!

So what's next? Well, we are taking a few weeks off of school work. Part of this time will be spent on vacation in Colorado. I am so ready for vacation and can't wait to get a way. Come mid June I will start the kids on a summer reading program and continue with their math so they don't fall behind. After all, I am the one who has to rope them back in come August so I will do my best to keep their minds active this summer. We are also going to study History and the different wars. This will involve watching movies, studying on the Internet, and reading. I will make it as fun as possible since after all it is summer!

May happenings

I took Jadon with me on a photo shoot last weekend and I practiced my manual setting on him before my clients came. I had a few keepers. The last one of him is my favorite!




I still can't believe our first year of homeschool is coming to an end. It has been a GREAT year and I am so thankful for the opportunity to school them. We will continue with reading, math and history this summer but we are going to take a couple weeks off after we finish up next week. But here is a little peak into a little bit of our day today.



The kids are working on memorizing the Preamble to the constitution. They are doing a great job and this has been a great book to help them with it.

We are reading our first Charles Dickens book in homeschool. Oliver Twist has captivated the kids so far.

Our baby chicks are on their 3rd week of life. They are doing so great and getting so big.

I love Patootie! Doesn't she look like she is wearing eye liner.

Baby chicks week 2

Our baby chicks seem to be thriving and doing well. They have grown like weeds the past week! Here are some pictures of them at play time. We let them roam the yard for a little bit each day. We have moved them into part of the coop. They seem to enjoy the extra space. We are still working out some kinks but since this is a new adventure, we are learning by trial and error. At least they all seem healthy and well and all 8 are still alive! Let's just hope it stays that way.

Kindergarten already?

I really can't believe that our daughter is 5 and will be a Kindergartener in the Fall! Where has the time gone, it seems like just yesterday she was learning to crawl and now she is a big girl and so independant. She had her last day of pre-K this past week and to celebrate her class had a carnival. It was a great time!

Lots of people have asked what our plans are with Annagrace as far as school, she will be homeschooled just like her big brothers. She has actually homeschooled with us all year twice a week. She did this pre-K class three days a week and then was homeschooled the other two. She LOVES our homeschool days and if she had it her way she would also be homeschooled on Saturdays and Sundays as well! Anna will get to attend Eagle Ridge Enrichment program with her brothers this next school year. We enrolled the kids in the one day a week program instead of two like the boys have done this year. I feel like I need a little more time at home to school them and 4 days will work much better for us rather than the three we have had this year. I am very excited to start a new homeschool year and thank God for all the blessings he has brought our family during our first year of homeschool. I still can't believe we have almost accomplished our first year of homeschooling!

Here are some pictures from the pre-K carnival.



Chocolate is always a great way to end anything!

finally getting the hang of it...

...the manual setting on my camera that is. I am THRILLED that I am finally figuring it out. It's about time; I have had my camera now for a year. I had a chance meeting with a photographer yesterday in Anna's preschool class, I knew he must be good because he had a VERY EXPENSIVE Canon camera and huge lense. I started talking to him and asked him a few questions and before I knew it he was giving me a tutorial on how to use my manual setting. Everything clicked and today I spent a lot of time trying to master it. Of course I have not mastered it YET, but plan to with more practice. I am so excited I feel like a giddy little girl who just learned how to ride her bike. So these pictures below were all taken with my manual setting where I had to figure out the ISO, the f stop and shutter speed. I still have a lot to figure out but I know that will come with time. For now, I am just going to enjoy the feeling that comes with learning something new and give myself a pat on my back.













If only we could all have abs like these, I think I'm jealous!

girl time

It's always fun making a new friend and I feel very blessed to have met a homeschool mom who lives just a few blocks away from us. We met at Barro's pizza on the day before Easter and realized that our kids both attend Eagle Ridge on Tuesday/Thursday. The drive to Eagle Ridge was wearing on both of us so we decided to begin carpooling. Not only has carpooling been such a blessing but getting to know their family has been one too. We have a lot in common with each other and our kids are all close in age. They have 4 kids (3 boys and a girl), 3rd grade, 2nd grade, Kindergarten, and 4 years old. Her two older boys hit it off with Jadon and Camden and Annagrace has become fast friends with their Kindergarten girl. We have been enjoying playdates quite often and today the boys went to their house after school and Anna got to have her friend over to play. They are a year apart in age and get along great. I couldn't get over the constant giggles that took place for two straight hours. It was music to my ears and I loved watching Anna play with her sweet friend. The baby chicks were a huge hit of course, playdough was a close runner up and sidewalk chalk came in last place but was quite entertaining for some time. I look forward to many more playdates with this sweet family and I am so thankful for new friendships!

Homeschool field trip

I know I have mentioned before how much I love homeschooling our kids and one of those reasons is because I love being involved with a homeschool field trip group called SWAP (schooling with a purpose). We do one or two field trips per month and our May field trip was to Phoenix Herpetological Society. Let's just say that Jadon felt like he was in Heaven. His love for reptiles made this the perfect field trip for him and he didn't once lose interest in what was going on and was all ears for three hours. But he wasn't the only one to enjoy it, we all did. Here are a few pictures from our day.