the summer of 2015

I wish I could just skip this post altogether, but I can't.  I'll apologize in advance for the lengthiness.  But it needs to be recorded, and I'll start with the heavy.

April/May/June

The story of this summer has been a sad one.

Most of you know that we buried one of our best friends.  He was a childhood friend of Josh's.  He and Josh were hunting buddies.  He and Josh have hunting stories galore.  He married my cousin.  He was in our wedding.  We went to church together for the last 15 years.  Our kids have grown up together.  

He went into the hospital in early April and was diagnosed with cancer shortly thereafter.  He came home in hospice care in June and died a few weeks later.  

Throughout the ordeal, Josh and I looked at each other time and time again and said, "Is this really happening?  Is Rob really dying?"  It was surreal to write his obituary and to attend his viewing and funeral.  

What was beautiful to see through the depths of great sorrow was the way our church family stood with Rob and Jen throughout Rob's battle.  And not only them, they stood with us as well.  Josh and I spent countless hours with Rob and Jen during those months.  Friends and family were watching our kids and cooking meals for us so that we could spend as much time with Rob and Jen as possible.  It is something that would have never crossed my mind in the past.  It will be at the top of my list in the future to love and bless those in supporting roles.  It was humbling and a blessing to say the least.  

What a joy it was to know Rob and call him our friend.  He will be forever missed.

July

July brought some nicer weather and some much appreciated rest at the lake.  It also gave Josh some time to work on our house.  He has worked steadily since July and has accomplished much.

He passed a couple of necessary inspections and has a date in October marked on the calendar where things need to be "livable" per our government.  He doesn't want to pay to renew our permits, so he's working as hard as he can to get things to the "livable" point.  I, for one, am thankful for the deadline.  He works well with a goal in mind. :)

July also brought some sad news.  Our dog, Tucker (he'll be 12 in November), has a tumor in his mouth.  While we know that he won't live much longer, it doesn't seem to be bothering him.  He drools much more than before, and Josh has to doctor his food so that it is softer.  He continues to be playful and has been enjoying all of the extra, extra walks with the girls.  We even had a photo shoot with him yesterday which consisted of him lying on his back time and time again as I tried to take pictures of him with the girls.  He just wanted to play, and the girls were getting a big kick out of it. 

On a positive note, volleyball started in July!  This has been the highlight of the summer for the girls.  Claire tried out for the volleyball team in May, and she found out on her birthday that she made it.  Poor Meredith really wanted to try out, but she'll need to wait until next year. :)  She is on the 4-6 grade training team, and that is whetting her appetite for now.  

August

With the unexpected schedule through April, May, and June, I wasn't quite as ready for school in August as I would have liked to have been.  The last couple of years, I have ordered all of our curriculum right after the end of school.  I would put away the old, organize the new, and be ready to plan in August.  Not this year.  We started a week ago today, and I still didn't feel as prepared as I would have liked.

Claire and Meredith actually both started some of their subjects without me during the two weeks before I was ready to begin.  You know it's bad when the students are more ready to start than the teacher.  They kind of kicked my rear end into gear. :)  I feel like I keep them accountable most of the time, but maybe the tables are beginning to turn.  

Volleyball games started this month which have forced me to be o.r.g.a.n.i.z.e.d. and prepped for meals.  I saw a fabulous idea on facebook to help with lunch prep, and we've been using that for the days when we have volleyball games.  It has worked nicely, and I've decided to serve our big meal for lunch on early volleyball game days instead of dinner.  So far, so good.  We'll see what September brings.  

August has also brought an unexpected desire for me to eat healthier, exercise regularly, go to bed earlier, and get up earlier.  I'm not sure I'm succeeding on all accounts, but I've definitely made some positive changes.  Unfortunately, I love cookies a little too much.  I know we've discussed this before.  Thankfully, my good friend, Deanna, makes these awesome healthy cookies.  She assures me that I can eat a lot of them, and I take comfort in that.  I don't argue.  I just eat the cookies and trust her words.  Pass me another healthy cookie, friend...  

We also FINALLY got internet back in our house.  Our phone and internet have been out all summer.  I kid you not...all.summer.long...since like May.  It's been a little weird and kind of nice, and I've become an expert at doing everything (but blogging) on my phone.  Blessing and a curse, I tell you.  We still don't have our phone in working order.  Maybe someday.  

September

September is going to be a busy volleyball month.  (Can you tell I'm totally turning into a volleyball mom?  Sorry that you're going to have to hear about it for the next 15 years if all of my girls decide to play.)  

Our co-op also starts in September, and I agreed to be in charge this year.  Sometimes I question my sanity, but I just had to take the reins.  My friend, Cari, was formerly in charge, and her husband had cancer a few years ago.  And she was donating a kidney this summer.  And she has six kids.  I told myself, "Your husband does not have cancer, you're not donating a kidney, you don't have a baby, you're not pregnant, and your youngest child is four.  What is your excuse?!!"  I had none.  I knew I could handle it.  And Deanna promised to help.  Thankfully, she's been a super-awesome assistant, and she's done almost all of the grunt work.  She makes me look good!

I hope September is treating all of you well.  I'm sorry if I don't tell you enough that I'm thankful to have you as my friends.  And if you were all here, I'd give you a hug...so instead, a virtual hug, right here.  Maybe I'll get caught up on reading blogs, but let's be honest and realistic...I probably won't.  I'll just pick up bits and pieces where I can.  If anything major has happened, just tell me.  Happy September to you, my friends!

school year in review

The end of April and the month of May are always crazy busy in this house.  This year was no different, and actually I think it was busier than usual.  We threw in a homeschool convention, an out of town trip, and a half marathon along with the usual set-in-stone events.

I'm always a bad May blogger, but I see that I threw April under the bus this year as well.  Easter in late April didn't help. :)  I'm typically not a great summer blogger, but I'm hoping to change my reputation at least for this summer.

We had our last day of school last Thursday, and I've been thinking about our school year a lot.  Last year, I ordered all of our curriculum as soon as school was completed, and it was nice to not have to think about it all summer.  I'm definitely doing that again while things are still fresh in my mind.

Overall, this was our best year yet in spite of parenting a tween and a toddler at the same time.  The unexplored territory of the tween years baffles me at times, but we're going to survive (sometimes just one hour at a time, though).  This toddler thing...I totally thought I had it down...and then potty training reminded me that I, indeed, know slim to none.

Claire
Claire was an excellent student this year other than a slight hiccup in December.  She took complete charge of her math and her language arts programs and did an outstanding job.

For some reason, she was struggling to complete her reading assignments on time during the month of December.  She assured us that she would catch up over Christmas break, but we all know how difficult it is to catch up when people are building snowmen, decorating for Christmas, and drinking hot cocoa.

We put her on a strict school/chore/free time (or lack thereof) schedule through the month of January, and that seemed to do the trick.  She had no other problems through the remainder of the year.

I'm continually impressed at Claire's self discipline.  She often wakes up long before everyone else so that she can get to work on her math assignments while it's still quiet in the house.  I know that her motivation is that she doesn't want to "miss out" on free time when everyone else has completed their work, but I would have struggled to discipline myself at that age.

What is most shocking is that we now have a 6th grader.  When did that happen?!  We're looking forward to the next stage of the journey. :)

Meredith
Meredith was also a great student this year.  She continues to excel at reading and can often be found lying on her bed with her nose in a book.  I think it calms her.

Math is a frustrating subject for her, but she did extremely well this year while learning all of her multiplication facts.  Certain facts were continually giving her fits, and we did our best to work through those.

I'm praying that her attitude will be a positive one for the upcoming school year as she will be transitioning from me teaching her math lessons on a daily basis to her using Dr. Shoreman's DVD for her daily instruction.  Sometimes she has a difficult time with change, and I think she's feeling some anxiety regarding this.  I know she'll do just fine once she gets a few weeks into the program.

Meredith is a very willing student and typically gets right to work without much prodding.  She works right through her subjects and doesn't get distracted easily.  This is a blessing, for sure!

Amelia
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Amelia this year.  She is so easily distracted and by far the wiggliest child in our home.  Despite my fears, she was a joy to teach.  Distracted?  Yes...but also easy to put back on task.  Wiggly.  Ummm...for sure.  But, thankfully, kindergarten doesn't require that you sit and listen for hours upon hours each day.

She was the easiest child, thus far, to teach how to read.  Claire was the most challenging, then Meredith, then Amelia.  I'm not sure if their personalities/learning abilities are playing into this, or if I'm just getting better at teaching it each year.  I'm sure the latter is true!  If Olivia is the easiest, we'll know it's my experience playing a huge part.  My patience was certainly better the 3rd time around.

Amelia loved math this year, and often requested that we do it first.  Her Explode the Code book was also enjoyable for her.

Olivia
Olivia did great this year as far as finding things to do to keep her busy.  I often gave her little activities to complete this year, but mostly she was just happy to sit next to someone and play legos, look at books, or color.  She has learned her colors, shapes, and numbers.  We've done nothing formal, so I can't take any credit for her knowledge.  I am continually impressed at how much kids learn just by watching and listening.

Last year at this time, she was very interested in potty training.  I thought it was great timing with summer break upon us, but she only wanted to potty in the toilet...no pooping.  This was not what I had envisioned when I began the potty training journey.  Have I mentioned that potty training is my least favorite part of parenting?  Because it is.

I cleaned disgusting messes all summer, and I gave it a rest in the fall thinking that she would come around.  We tried to start again a few different times.  No go.  Mess after mess after mess.  Seriously, a few weeks ago, Claire took her into the bathroom and told her that she couldn't get up until she pooped on the toilet.  She sat there for about 5 minutes and then pooped.  We all celebrated! :)

Of course, she's had an accident here or there, but she's been really successful during the last few weeks!  This is such a relief.  Everyone has been super encouraging to me, and you'll find me often saying things like, "She'll figure it out by the time she starts kindergarten."  But honestly, I was kind of doubting it on this one!  Thankfully, I think we've made it through the hard part.  And if for some reason we happen to have a surprise 5th baby...I'm turning potty training over to Claire. :)

Overall, it's been a truly enjoyable year to teach the girls.  They are such a blessing to our family and to others.  Even though they have their sisterly squabbles, I'm continually impressed at the way they love each other and truly enjoy being together.

Selfishly, I must admit that I'm looking forward to the next two years of having the same number of students to teach.  Middle school seems like a daunting task when I think about it too much, but we're just going to keep doing what we're doing and making changes where we see fit.  It seems to be working, thus far, so we're sticking to it.

I can't tell you how much I love summer break!  We're looking forward to park days, lake days, zoo days, and lazy days.  Hope all of you have a great summer as well!

slight exaggeration

Each school day, the girls have to complete their memory work.  It includes all subjects with things like history dates, grammar rules, scripture verses, word definitions, random important information, etc.  There is a rotation so that they are reviewing things about once a month and practicing new things on a daily basis.

Currently, Claire has some definitions that she's working through.  There are probably about 15.  She has to read through them at least 5 times when she does her memory work.

In light of this info, here is our most recent conversation regarding memory work:

Claire:  Mom, these definitions are taking forever to get through!
Me:  There aren't that many.  Just work through them.  I'll go through them with you once or twice if it would help.
Claire: No...I can do them...they just take like 2 hours to go through!
Me: Two hours?  I don't think so.
Claire:  (sigh) Well, they take at least 5 minutes!!!

We don't exaggerate around here at all.

b.i.f. twenty-one

Any teacher will tell you that one of the best parts of being a teacher is watching kids work hard and then succeed because of it.  Let me tell you something: teaching your own child, watching your own child work hard, and then watching your own child succeed is even better.  

Today was one of those pay-off days with Meredith.  She works so hard in math mainly because it's so tough for her.  It isn't naturally her easiest subject, and there are days when she gets a bit overwhelmed and frustrated.

This girl has been working on her math facts every single day.  She takes a math facts test every single day.  And every single day her goal is to get at least 15 problems correct in 45 seconds.  There are several different tests, so she typically doesn't have the same test two days in a row.  If she gets at least 15 problems correct in 45 seconds, she gets a little piece of candy.  Rare is the day that she gets her 15 problems completed.  She usually gets more than 10 but less than 15.  

Today was different.  She answered 21 problems correctly in 45 seconds...21!!!  The most she had gotten through on this particular sheet in the past was 11.  Saying that she was thrilled is a gross understatement. She was smiling ear to ear, jumping up and down, and running around the house to tell her sisters.    

We all celebrated together, and I'm sure that particular piece of candy tasted awfully sweet today. :)  It was a lovely moment to be able to watch.  

our family chores

Training kids for chores is a whole lot of work.  It's also an enormous blessing to our family.  I've made chore charts for the kids for several years.  I think I started with Claire when she was 4.

I'm a huge believer in chores for kids.  They help make the mess; they should help clean it.  It also provides good training for when they leave the house as well as when parents are busy or ill and need some additional assistance.  

Chores within your home will look different depending on whether you have younger kids, older kids, kids in public/private school, or kids at home who homeschool.  Schedules and abilities will vary...be flexible.  It's a complete trial and error process until you can find something that works well for your family.  We've done it several different ways.  What I'm describing here is what is currently working for our family.  

I used to make new charts for the kids every few weeks so that the kids wouldn't get bored with their chores.  And then, I read about a woman who had her kids do the same chores for an entire year.  Wow!  Being someone who likes variety, I didn't know if this was for our family.  Then, I had Olivia, and I did my best to simplify virtually everything in my life...including chores.  

I decided to give the kids daily chores and weekly chores that they would do the entire year.  I knew that once I taught them how to do their chores, I wouldn't have to teach new chores again for a year.  Doing the same chores for the entire year would give them routine as well as allow them to master a specific chore/skill.  This year, I'm training in the summer so that everyone will be in their routine by the time the school year starts.

I typically choose chores for my kids that help our household run smoothly.  I try to think about what drives me most crazy by the time we make it to 1:00 in the afternoon {which is about the time we do chores}, and I base their daily chores on those things.  Usually, the entryway is a mess, there are toys/games/things all over the kitchen and family room, the main area of our kitchen and the bar area are covered in crumbs of food, the kitchen counter needs attention, etc.  You get the idea.  This year I added dinner/after dinner chores for everyone as well.  This is a first for us...prior to this year, I have always wanted the girls to be able to get all of their chores finished during our "chore time."  It's working well so far.

On a side note, this is the first time in a couple of years that no one has had a "mom's choice" chore.  I've had those on our charts a lot, and I'm always thankful for that specific chore.  I can choose anything I'd like, and there is usually something random that needs done.  Consider adding this to your own kids' charts if you need an extra idea.

I always give my kids a set of daily chores and a set of weekly chores.  I assign their weekly chores to specific days, or the kids would wait until the last day, and everything would turn into a huge fight.  

Here are our chore lists for this year:

Claire {10 years old}

daily 

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, load dishwasher after dinner, wash pots and pans

weekly

Sunday: make dinner with Meredith

Monday: one load of laundry {pinks...I know you're not surprised to know that we have a full load of pinks :)}

Tuesday: sweep and steam the entire kitchen floor, clean the bathroom

Wednesday: vacuum all carpeted rooms

{This year, I allowed Claire to choose the days of the week in which she wanted her weekly chores.  I know she is going to have more school work this year, so she will have the flexibility to "make up" her weekly chores on Thursday and Friday if she doesn't get them done on the first couple of days of the week.  We'll see how it goes once school starts.}

Meredith {8 years old}

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, sweep main area of kitchen and under bar, pick up entryway/hallway, kitchen counter clean up with Mom, wipe table and main counter after dinner

weekly

Sunday: make dinner with Claire

Tuesday: sweep entryway and hallway

Thursday: one load of laundry {light colored towels}

Amelia {5 years old}

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, pick up family room floor and kitchen floor, pick up 50 toys/things in the playroom, set dinner table, clear dinner table with Mom

weekly

Tuesday: dust family room

Wednesday: load of laundry with Mom {dark colored towels}

Me

daily

make bed, pick up bedroom floor, declutter kitchen

weekly

Monday: kitchen {The kitchen usually gets a bit crazy over the weekend, so Monday is a good day to get it back in order.}

Tuesday: straighten/clean master bathroom

Wednesday: declutter laundry room, office, hanging rack in entryway

Thursday: lesson plans/school prep

Friday: wipe cabinets/appliances, prep laundry

Saturday: laundry

  

If everyone gets to work, usually they can finish their chores in about 30 minutes.  The complaining, moaning, and distractions usually add to the time.  Some days, my kids really get right to work and are done in a flash...other days, not so much.  As of now, I'm pretty much walking along side of Amelia to keep her on task while she's learning.  She gets overwhelmed easily, but if I'm helping her, it's not so bad.  

While I'm really good at getting my kids to complete their chores, I'm not the best at getting my own completed.  I've been doing better in recent weeks, but honestly, the laundry room and the office are huge collecting spaces in our home.  We're working on it.  I try not to get too overwhelmed and just try to put out the biggest fire at the time.  

Here are some good links for chore chart printables or fill-in printables to make your own:

http://www.designfinch.com/2011/07/31/sunday-planning/ {I'm using one from this list for Claire and myself this year.}

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/6a/9a/95/6a9a953c46a238cd327918ee3ef6b1c6.jpg {I'm using this for Meredith and Amelia.}

http://blog.worldlabel.com/2012/organizing-labels-for-more-stuff.html {I used these last year.}

http://www.howdoesshe.com/1-free-organizational-printables/

I always print them, laminate them, and hang them near the kitchen.  

Happy cleaning!

{gingerbread houses 2012}

I'm just going to let these pictures speak for themselves.  I absolutely loved doing this with the girls today.  Such a sweet day.  Amelia and I worked on hers together. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rainy.day.ideas

(photo circa 2009)

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who sent me rainy day activity ideas. I think we're going to have lots to do this summer when it rains! :)

Outside (as long as there is no lightning):
-play in the rain
-jump in rain puddles
-walk in the rain with umbrellas
-make sidewalk paint and paint the sidewalk
-play on the covered deck

Inside:
-build tents on the furniture
-pretend camping
-books on CD
-read books (lots!)
-movie and popcorn
-bake something and eat it (cookies, cake, banana bread, pudding, pie, etc.)
-wii
-manicures/pedicures
-legos
-indoor picnic
-nerf gun freeze tag
-puzzles
-dress up
-tea parties
-any type of arts and crafts (paint, beads, paper mache, finger paint with pudding, etc.)
-act out simple stories
-puppet shows

Outings:
-library day
-bounce time at the new ice rink
-go out to lunch

scavenger.hunt

This was a really cute activity in Meredith's curriculum the other day. She had to find objects around the house that started with the same letters as all of the letters in her name.


I gave her a bag (to carry her items) and sent her on her way. She can be slightly helpless at times, but I didn't help her a bit on this task! She was excited to work on it all by herself. Here's what she found:


M-marker
E-elephant (small)
R-red shirt (not pictured...she forgot to grab it)
E-elephant (large)
D-dog
I-ipod (very creative!)
T-toothbrush (not sure where this one is either)
H-hanger

question.of.the.day

"Mom, do all tornadoes have tomatoes?"

I think we've read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs one too many times.

dragon.flies

The girls made some "dragon flies" (is that 1 word or 2? the more I look at it, I think it's 1, but I'm not going to change it) the other day out of a cookbook for kids. Super cute.

Dragon Flies or Dragonflies...however you want to write it:)

6 pretzel rods

12 large pretzels (we used 24 mini prezels because we couldn't find the big ones)

6 squares of almond bark

Optional: food coloring and sprinkles

1.  Cover a cookie sheet with foil.  Spray with cooking spray.  Line preztels on cookie sheet.

2.  Put almond bark in a bowl.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time (stirring along the way) until melted.

3.  Add food coloring if you'd like.

4.  Cover pretzel rods with melted almond bark.  Dunk regular or mini-pretzels into the melted almond bark and stick to the top of the pretzel rods.  Add sprinkles.

5.  Put pretzels in the freezer for 15 minutes and enjoy!

dr.seuss

Claire has been reading several Dr. Seuss stories.  I found this really fun "One Fish Two Fish" project over at Deep Space Sparkle Art.  The girls really enjoyed it!  Meredith's fish are on the left; Claire's are on the right.  They LOVE to paint!

thankfulness.

This is what Claire made at co-op today. Everyone was supposed to draw pictures of things for which they are thankful, and then they made them into placemats.

She had drawn a picture of Jesus dying on the cross and of ice cream! How could I love this any more? Jesus AND ice cream....hey, she knows where her priorities lie.

Josh and I were both beaming with pride as she showed it to us. We're so proud of you, Claire.

 

first.day.of.school

I know we're a little late in this, but I just had to post about our first day of school.

So, if only Meredith had an ounce of personality, her pictures would have been much more exciting. First day of Pre-K:

Claire's first day of first grade:

Meredith telling Grandma all about her first day of school:

Claire telling Grandma all about her first day of school:

And who can forget Amelia....doing what she does best.

 

elifut

Claire is learning to read in school, so she is naturally trying to write words while sounding them out. Tonight I went back to her room to give her a kiss. She was writing a word in her new notebook.

She said, "Is this how you spell elephant?" It was spelled e-l-i-f-u-t.

I said, "Did you sound that out? That's pretty close!" And I wrote elephant below her elifut and told her how the "ph" makes a "f" sound (which she found very silly...and I would agree).

Anyway, I was a proud mama.

mixed.up.chameleon

This was such a fun project that we did a few weeks ago. I was so proud of the girls for their fantastic artwork. I even saved their chameleons because they were so cute!

First, I copied the idea off of this website.

Next, we read this book:


Then, I made a template (from the website) and traced it on paper for the girls to trace.

Finally, we busted out the watercolors and just like that we had mixed up chameleons. So great.

Claire's chameleon:

Meredith's chameleon:

I know, I know...Meredith's looks a little sick. It looked a bit more healthy until she decided to dip her brush into the black. I was so proud of her for tracing with the oil pastels so well and staying in the lines with her watercolors.

By the way, the site that I stole this from is one of my favorite art sites. It has such great ideas for all ages of kids!

play.dough

Play dough. So easy. Hours and hours of fun.

The girls helped make some play dough. We've made our own in the past, but we decided to do it for school this time. The girls loved how warm it was right off the stove. It is ridiculously easy to make. We were practicing "cutting" for school.

Here's how to make your own:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
food coloring
Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan (except food coloring). Heat on low heat until the dough forms. Knead on a floured surface and add a few drops of food coloring. Play.

bowling.babes

I took the girls bowling last week for the first time. They did fairly well! The bumpers that are available for the kids are seriously the only way to go! As a kid, I remember getting gutter after gutter. This "bumper" bowling doesn't do anything to build character, but it does make for a much more enjoyable bowling experience.

A local bowling alley hosts a home school bowling day once a month. It was $3 per person for 2 hours of bowling. It includes your shoe rental and a drink at the concession stand! Such a great price! Anyway, it is more than just a bowling alley. They have all kinds of fun stuff for kids to do. It is more of a rec center...very impressive.

Here's Amelia...this was one of her happier moments. She didn't enjoy bowling as much as her sisters.


Since Meredith didn't get gutter after gutter, here are a few of her victory moves. She celebrated anytime she knocked pins down (which was pretty often). It was celebration after celebration. Each of the girls got one strike! Claire said, "We won!" Funny.

first.day.of.kindergarten

Monday was Claire's first day of kindergarten! As I write this, we've finished our third day of school. So far, we've done the following:

-3 lessons in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (After our first lesson, Claire replied, "But I still don't know how to read!" Cute.).

-We've plotted Germany on our world map (where Martin Luther lived...he was our first history guy).

-We've made designs using pattern blocks for math (Saxon Math). Meredith really enjoys our math lessons.

-We're reading The Boxcar Children for our read-aloud (Sonlight Curriculum). Everyone enjoys this as well!

-We've made some crafts to do our Olympic events. And today we did a special "Pet Shop Olympics" in which we set up all of our animals and did animal-oriented Olympics...very fun for the girls.

So far, things seem to be going smoothly. This morning, Claire was up a little early and Meredith was still in bed. I took the opportunity to get through our History lesson before Meredith awoke. It worked rather well, and we may take this approach more often! I am really looking forward to her reading her first word. I know she'll be so excited about it. It will come this coming Monday during Lesson 6. She'll read the word "me". She's currently learning the sounds (mmmmm, sssss, aaaaa, eeeee, nnnnnn). So far, so good.

Here are some pictures from our first day: