A New School Year Begins

The new school year began on Monday.  We now have an excited 4th grader:

a "this-is-my-prison-sentence" 2nd Grader:

and an enthusiastic Kindergartener:

Caroline impressed me with her creativity skills.  For her first math lesson, she was assigned the task to create something with the pattern blocks and then tell me about it.  Of all the kids I've ever seen use pattern blocks (and it is more than just our 3), I've never seen one build up.  The first day she built four trees.  The second day she built a Christmas tree with two swans at the bottom.  We have an engineering genius on our hands! 

Henry's week did not begin quite as I had expected.  The first two days of school all subjects went perfectly fine, except math.  This is how it went, "I hate borrowing.  Why did the person invent borrowing?" over and over and over again.  Apparently borrowing from the tens column was not his favorite.  It got to the point of ridiculousness, so for the remaining days I gave him old worksheets from 1st grade just to get him back in the swing of things.  He completed those with no issues at all.  There was no borrowing involved.  

In addition to starting school, we also had our CC orientation at the new church campus.  It was so nice to see everyone again and get excited for CC to begin.  All the kids met their tutors and all are happy.  Caroline was especially happy that her class was all girls.  CC doesn't begin for another week and a half, but we are ready!  The moms were also given an orientation in Essentials (Essentials of the English Language) that Josiah will begin this year.  It is a grammar and writing curriculum for 4th thru 6th graders.  The orientation was entitled "Essentials Without Tears."  Hopefully Josiah's love of creating stories will diminish the number of tears we experience.  He has already spoken to the Essentials director about the end-of-year project.  Each child has to write a report on someone from the time frame studied.  They dress up as the person and read their report to the entire CC group and we have to guess who they are.  This happens at the very last CC meeting of the year.  Josiah has been planning his report since last May.  The idea of dressing up and having people guess is incredibly exciting to him.

After the CC orientation the kids had a dentist's appointment.  Josiah went back with his hygienist.  When she came to talk to me after cleaning his teeth, she said, "It is like talking to a 30-year old man.  He is so polite."  As goofy as that child can be, he can also be incredibly mature.  Then she took Henry back, and after cleaning his teeth, she came back to me and said, "When I handed Henry the mirror to show him how to use the little toothbrush properly, he held the mirror and said, 'that is one good looking guy.'"  And that is Henry.  Todd and I always say he has a little frat boy inside.  Caroline is usually very chatty at the dentist's office.  So when the hygienist gave her the 2-minute brushing timer, I asked her if she could stay quiet for the full 2 minutes.  It took a few tries, but she made it.


We also had a lot of pool time this week.  One day we went to a CC friend's pool and 3 other CC families were there as well.  This neighborhood pool was like a resort.  I took no pictures, but this was from their neighborhood's website.  It was beautiful.

Caroline spent the first 15 minutes throwing a major tantrum because she was around 47" tall and she had to be 48" to ride the water slides.  I didn't budge on the 47" bit because I didn't feel like she could swim from the slide to the side of the pool.  She kept screaming, "I can do it.  I'm old enough.  I can swim."  And I kept saying, They didn't ask you if you can do it, they don't have an age requirement, and you are not 48".  It was BAD.  But she finally got over it and found the pool to be incredibly fun.  It had an area with frogs and lily pads--you would jump from pad to pad and try not to slide back into the water.  She did this nearly the entire 3 hours we were there.  The boys spent their entire time on the slides.  It was so nice that they could swim to the side of the pool.  It offers them (and me) more freedom at pools now.

Another day we had friends come to our neighborhood pool.  Caroline had cried the night before because our pool wasn't as fancy as the other one.  It was the last day the pool was open on weekdays.  With schools starting here next week, the pool will only be opened on weekends now.  I had thought all pools were open until Labor Day and was really looking forward to having quiet swims during the week while the schools were in session.  That was not to be.  The kids swam until they were exhausted.

Henry did show me his freestyle and backstroke:


This weekend we got some paint for the boys room.  I tried to match the paint already on their walls to keep it fairly neutral.  They were allowed to pick out a can of spray paint to paint their bookcases.  That was their individualized pop of color.  Henry picked out Pumpkin Orange.  Josiah picked out Gloss Banner Red.  It'll be like Virginia Tech in their bedroom.  Now I'm waiting for a bit less humidity to start painting.  The humidity's been intense lately.  We have another African dust cloud headed our way, so maybe that'll help.  Despite not liking the dry weather these dust clouds bring, the good thing is that they seem to prevent hurricanes from forming.

To close out the weekend, we spent this evening at a Skeeter's baseball game.  Tonight they had a football giveaway so Henry really wanted to go to this game.  Sunday nights are also kids nights so we got there early.  The kids got in line and had the players sign their pictures/program.  Josiah had drawn two pictures of their mascot, Swatson, and he had the players sign those.

We decided to explore more of the stadium.  They had a splash pad area and an amazing playground with the coolest equipment.

When we made it to our seats, we sat down and Caroline said, "I'm hungry."
1st inning: hot dogs
2nd inning: french fries
3rd inning: ice cream


4th inning: took another walk around the stadium
5th inning: bedtime
There was a little baseball in there, too.

And one last picture.  Henry and Caroline were playing with a stick in our tree.  The stick is thicker than it looks in the picture.  It seemed to hold them, no problem.


This coming week is filled with a lot less "fun" and a bit more work.  I'm sure our students will be overjoyed.

Comic Book School

So, we didn't get school started this week.  I actually did get the school room finished and lesson plans done before the 1st, but the rest of the house seemed to need a lot of attention, so we focused on getting everything cleaned up and we are now ready to go.  Even though the kids acted like they were happy to delay the start of school, they couldn't stay away from starting it.  Josiah occupied our time with Comic Book School.  Day 1 was Garfield.  He read about cats in general, read about Garfield specifically, and then taught us all to draw Garfield.  He did a very good job, giving step-by-step, line-by-line instructions.  Henry's finished Garfield looked quite good.

Day 2 was Peanuts School

Day 3 was Odie School

Josiah loves being in charge and teaching.  It used to be that every Sunday at church he would fill out the Connect Card and check the box that said, "I want to be a teacher."  He is very blessed to have teachers this year who enjoy his constant assistance in class.  Last week he left this sign on his classroom door:

Henry had a dream fulfilled this weekend.  He got to look at Todd's old football/baseball/hockey/basketball/any-other-sport cards.  He was in heaven, although Todd warned him ahead of time that Henry wouldn't know anyone in the cards.  Aside from a Nolan Ryan card, that proved correct.  Henry still looked at every card and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We also took Henry to Academy Sports.  He's been asking to go for a looooooong time now.  He walked up and down the aisles touching everything, trying on everything, asking to buy everything, and all with a huge smile.  His smile turned once he realized it wasn't a shopping spree and we weren't there to buy, but look.  He wanted a lot, but his most coveted item was football gloves.  It would be good for him to earn the money for them.  They're $25 which an amount he can totally reach (if he's motivated enough).

Josiah said, "Look at the referee's uniform."  

Caroline was able to turn in her Half Priced Books reading log and happily cashed in her book bucks on a Paint Your Own Princess kit.  She had her eye on it since the boys spent their June book bucks, so she was incredibly excited to get it.  You would think the Paint a Princess kit would come with paints that included pink and purple, but alas they did not.  The book instructed the kids in how to make the pink and purple colors, so they weren't exactly the shades she had anticipated, but she still likes them.

The boys spent their week doing one last swim class, the Orange Clownfish. This class was a bit tougher for a couple of reasons.  For one, there were four boys in it.  One boy looked to be more Caroline's age and did the same immature things that Caroline often did in class.  The other boy was just one of those mean kids.  He would pull on Henry's leg if Henry swam faster, he would push his kick board into any of the boys if they were getting ahead, he was constantly saying he won after each swim.  Josiah got bold with him and wouldn't put up with his antics.  Henry tried, too, but there were quite a few times that I wanted to yell through the fence for this kid to leave my kid (and all the kids) alone.  His mom was nowhere to be seen, so it was a bit frustrating.  There are no more classes until next summer so we'll try to ensure we do not share another class with him.  At least the boys got a lesson on "how to deal with difficult people."

All the kids enjoyed swinging on the swings before swim class.  They would twist each other up a lot so they would take a long time to unwind.  Even the pictures give me a queasy stomach.


Caroline took care of a last minute item on her summer bucket list.  She slept on the boys' floor one night.  It couldn't have been comfortable, but it hasn't deterred her from asking to do it again.  Tonight I told her she had to get a good night's sleep because she was starting Kindergarten in the morning.  She is really excited to begin.

Besides beginning school we have our CC orientation this coming week.  We are meeting at a new church this year so the kids are looking forward to seeing the new campus.  We are praying the new year starts with good attitudes, open minds, and willing students!

VBS & Henry's Decision

The kids had a lot of fun at VBS this week.  I was thankful that they all went into their classrooms without getting clingy on Monday morning.  The church we do VBS at is huge-- they had 13 different kindergarten classrooms.  I was worried Caroline wouldn't go in to her classroom, but the excitement of being able to do it for the first time was stronger than her fear of being dropped off.  At pick-up the first day, all three kids said they had a good time.  Henry started right in on his class.  He said he met a boy who spoke only Spanish, Roberto.  Henry told him that he spoke a little Spanish, so they became friends.  Henry said, "Hola."  I'm not sure what other Spanish he threw out there, but apparently the other boy didn't talk at all, so they mostly communicated non-verbally.  Henry said he also met a boy who spoke French, but when Henry said, "Bonjour, mon ami." the kid didn't seem to understand him.  Either Henry's pronunciation was really bad (entirely possible) or the kid didn't speak French (also entirely possible).  Caroline said that she didn't speak in her class at all, but that she still had a good time.  Henry replied that last year he didn't speak in his class either, and he had a good time then as well, but this year he spoke a lot.  I believe it buddy.  That kid talks a mile a minute.

By day 3 of VBS, Henry's teacher told me that he had really taken Roberto under his wing and has come in speaking different Spanish words every day.  They said we should be proud of him.  Awww.  We are.  I asked Henry what Roberto said when he spoke in Spanish.  Roberto just laughed.  So, they had no speech communication for the most part, but they really enjoyed each other.  Henry said Roberto was very funny.  I guess he ditched the French kid.


Henry also made a big decision at VBS.  On the third day, after their "Master Teaching" the teachers gave the kids the opportunity to walk forward to say they wanted to be followers of Jesus.  Henry told us that he walked forward.  He must have been sitting next to Roberto, because he waved him along to walk forward together.  Henry's been talking about getting baptized a lot the past month, so we are elated that he's made this life-changing decision.  As parents, there is basically nothing more important than our kids wanting (on their own) to follow the Lord.

"I love the Lord!"

While they were having fun at VBS, I was having fun ALONE!  I got my hair cut, went to the store without any helpers, and cleaned out a few closets without anyone asking me to save things.  That and a little Miranda Lambert on the radio.  It was good times.  Until next year, VBS.

Every afternoon this week the kids have been busy in the bathroom making popsicle stick boats, putting them in the water, then watching them sink and fall apart.  I suggested glue might make the boats actually float for more than 3 seconds, but they liked that they fell apart.  It gave them the opportunity to make different designs.  They did this for hours this week.  Eventually they added Lego men and clothespins to keep it interesting.  Every afternoon I made them put the sticks outside at our front entrance so they would dry.  The first day they did it, Henry had a major meltdown.  I asked him what he was so worried about and he thought someone would steal the sticks.  "Why would they steal the sticks?" I asked.  "So they can do what we were doing."  I reassured him there were no thieving 7-year olds in the neighborhood looking for popsicle sticks at people's front doors.

This weekend the kids got a package of books from Grandma & Grandpa.  In it there were Mad Libs Junior. The boys have had sooooo much fun doing them.  In the Junior version they don't just say "noun" or "verb," they give a list of nouns/verbs to choose from.  Basically if they could work in "stupid," "million," and some sort of potty humor into the story they were cracking themselves up.  They tried to read the stories to Todd and I but we couldn't understand it over their laughing.  Good times.

Josiah has been on a reading chase this week.  He desperately wanted to get his library reading trophy this weekend, so he was reading 2-3 Encyclopedia Brown books a day.  Previously, he had read a lot, but it was mostly comic book stories which I wouldn't count on his reading log.  He thought he had to finish it before August 1st, so he kicked it in high gear.  Henry had already finished, so they both got their trophies this weekend.

Henry thought his picture should be a reading action shot.

Caroline actually got her trophy a couple of weeks ago, but she wanted to take an action shot like Henry.

The boys were also able to turn in their Half Priced Books logs this weekend, so we're officially done with the summer reading programs.  Josiah went straight for the Garfield comic books.  More illustrating material.  He was able to pick up a Peanuts comic book as well.  Josiah is very much into Garfield.  He reads them constantly, and he reads them to us constantly.  During Caroline's karate class, he was reading them aloud to anyone who would listen.  He had quite a crowd for a while.

Then at church today we had a guest preacher, Jon Davis.  Josiah's eyes got wide.  He thought it was Jim Davis' Jon from the Garfield comic strip.  I'm a big fan.  Can you autograph my book?

The rest of the weekend was spent trimming trees after we got a lovely letter from the HOA.  The trend here seems to be to trim your trees really high.  I've always thought they looked goofy to be cut so high, plus I liked the shade of our trees, so we had just left ours alone.  No bueno with the HOA.  Todd did a good job with them.  They are clearly trimmed, but they still look good.  Plus we probably lost 10 lbs sweating in the July heat.  Win-win.


Next week begins August.  We were supposed to start school August 1st, yet given the current state of the homeschool room, that may not happen.  Todd and I spent this evening putting together a few Ikea bookcases to help with the overwhelming number of books, craft supplies, and completed crafts that take up residence in that room.  So, we shall see.  If we have to wait a week, I don't think I'll hear any complaints around here.

Monopoly Skills

We started off our week taking my car in for its annual inspection.  When we gave the man the keys at the desk, he mentioned that he had a batch of cookies in the oven.  So, even though it was 7:45 a.m., the kids were obsessed with these cookies.  "Are the cookies out yet?  Can I have a cookie?  Do you think the cookies are done?  Can I have a cookie?"  Curse you car man!  Of course, when they did come out, he mentioned it to the kids and they were all over them.  When we checked out he gave them balloons.  Josiah spotted a mug of pencils on the counter and asked if he could have one of those as well.  (good eye spotting pencils, son)  So, they left with their hands full of goodies.  I left having passed inspection, so we all had a good morning.

Playing a few games of Uno while they wait for Car Man's cookies.

The kids started their new swim session this week.  They like their new instructor and still love swim.  The instructor brought out the kick boards and made them use them to get floating ducks halfway down the pool.  After their first attempt, he paused and taught them how to kick properly and efficiently.  He's given me good tips for when we're at the pool, so it's been good.  He said they were fast learners which I never would have known without his saying so.  The lessons have been great.

Josiah

We made it back to our community pool on Friday so they could show me what they've learned.  Henry is now able to swim a good distance on his back, arms overhead, feet/legs kicking.  Caroline was teaching me how to float, and I must say, it's been a while since I've floated.  She was a good teacher because I just popped right up and floated.  They spent a lot of time going down the slide again and jumping off the side of the pool.  Still no good pool pictures, though. It's been so hot that I haven't taken the time to take pictures, I just jump right in with the kids.

It has actually been an incredibly hot week.  The Sheriff's office shared a message (on Facebook) from the power companies about conserving energy.  They mentioned putting your thermostat on 78°.  We actually keep ours on 79°, and are totally comfortable, so I thought I'd read the comments people were leaving.  Apparently, people keep their thermostats at 62° and 68°  and 72° and all sorts of freezing cold temperatures.  I was reading some of the funny comments to Todd and we were talking about the post.  The boys caught on and asked what were black-outs and brown-outs.  We explained it to them and they because obsessed with it.  They would not go to bed that evening without asking 100 questions about the potential black-out.  Josiah brought his lightsaber in his bed so he'd have a source of light.  The next morning, both boys came down fully dressed with their clip-on reading lamps in their pockets.  A light source in case of the black-out.  I told them if we needed light during the day we could just open our blinds.  Josiah kept trying to get me to fill up a cooler with ice.  Just in case.  I didn't dare tell them that the worst part of a black-out would be no A/C.  We don't need light.  We need A/C.  We were very happy that the most we had was a power flicker one morning and nothing else.

Caroline and Josiah both had their karate belt tests this week.  Caroline thought her test was easy, but she was testing with a bunch of white belts, so she knew how to do everything.  The funniest part was later, when I was going through the pictures she had a big grin on her face during the sparring.  I get to kick and hit on purpose!

She broke a big board!

Josiah's test was much harder.  The instructor tested them on the usual things, but then taught them new techniques and had them try it out.  It's been a long time since Josiah's had a belt test, so he was very happy to finally be moving up.

I was impressed with his kick.  It looks painful to do!

When the belts were earned, they got to celebrate with ice cream treats.  Caroline opted for a doughnut as she's not a huge ice cream fan.  While the boys were deciding what ice cream to get, Caroline had already found a seat and had her doughnut unwrapped.  She had eaten half of it before the boys even got to the table.  Then when she finished her doughnut before the boys finished their ice cream, she wasn't too happy.  Clearly they had a bigger dessert and she felt she deserved a second dessert.  Not going to happen baby girl.

Because of the heat, we've been staying indoors except for swim class.  Henry has entertained himself by playing handball with a ping pong ball.  He hits it against the walls/doors long enough to get himself all sweaty.

Josiah got tracing paper this week as well as good colored pencils, so he's spent his time tracing everything in sight.

We stayed inside this weekend as well.  To pass the time we introduced the kids to Monopoly. 

Todd and I had a lot of reading of the rules.  Apparently he and I didn't play the same way when we were kids.  Todd expected honesty and that if you landed on someone else's property you should give them their rent irregardless of whether or not they spotted you on their property.  I grew up playing that if you landed on someone's property you do everything in your power to get the next person to roll the dice so you don't have to pay the rent.  Fortunately, the rule book sided with me on that one.  It is the property owner's responsibility to pay attention.  We also kept a pot of money in the middle of the board - all the luxury tax and school board payments went there.  Whoever landed on Free Parking got the pot.  That isn't in the rule book, but it's still a better way to play.  Monopoly started off well.  With four players (Todd & Caroline were a team) the properties went fast.  Then it became a negotiation game of trying to buy properties from your neighbor to get all of the same color.  Our kids really need to work on our negotiation skills.  Sometimes they'd offer $1600 for a railroad.  Other times they'd offer $200 for Park Place.  It ended up that we all had a monopoly and we all started buying houses.  Unfortunately, Josiah bought 6 houses to put up on Park Place and Boardwalk.  Once that happened, we all started losing money fast.  Then Josiah became Mr. Generosity.  He'd hold his handful of money and offer Caroline or me $600 "just because."  I don't need no stinkin' charity.  I told him I was just fine.  Caroline took $400.  We've been playing for 2 days now and the game is still going.

Property buying and renting are not the only life skills Caroline learned this week.  She has also taken over getting herself breakfast.  She can now make toast like a champ.  She actually toasts it, allows it to pop up, then flips the bread around and toasts it again. She is her mother's daughter.  She is also a bit heavy handed with the butter.

She's taking ownership of her thumb sucking, too.  Me painting her nail at night just wasn't working for us, so I introduced the bad tasting nail polish to her and have had her paint her thumb herself.  The first day she was pretty upset, but as the week's gone on she's gotten somewhat used to it.  We just have to make sure we do it in the morning.  She'll get upset if we try to do it in the afternoon/evening when she's tired.  But I can't go to sleep...  Also, we have to be vigilant to paint it daily because the pool chlorine seems to take it off. 
 

Next week the kids have VBS at a local church.  I already have lots of plans for what I can accomplish while they're away.  It's really pretty exciting.  First stop, getting a haircut.