There's nothing like Fall

I am more nostalgic about the change of seasons than almost anything else. Last week we went on our annual Fall outing - apple picking, pumpkins, fresh cider donuts, hayride. There is nothing like Fall in New England. I am sick on the couch but unable to sleep for some reason, so I decided to put together a montage of sorts to show how the boys have grown over the years. I just love the colors and smiles that go along with this season - it was hard to choose only a few photos to tell this story.

These are for you Aunt Cyndi ;)

Poor Babies

This picture inspired many ideas for practical jokes I could play on my homeschooling chums and family members but in the end I wasn't witty enough to use it to it's potential.

My guys enjoyed their 2 minutes on a school bus during our city's recent "Touch a Truck" event featuring real live trucks. Big trucks, little trucks, garbage truck, ambulance, police car (not actually a truck), and of course, the aformentioned school bus (also not a truck). The favorite I think was the moving truck. What made it special was the heaps of bubble wrap inside. They were swimming in the stuff. Now that is a 6-year-old's dream come true isn't it?

But back to my precious little boys on that school bus. Our home is on the corner that also fucntions as the school bus stop. Those children are on that bus while Bug and Bear are still playing with Legos in their pajamas - and they aren't late sleepers, nor do they stay in their pajamas all day. The bus drops them off around 4:00 p.m.Kids in 1st grade are in school from 9:00 - 3:25. That is just too stinkin' long. Now, I am not afraid to make the boys work hard and put in a full day. Our schedule goes from 8:45 - 4:00. But there are meals and quiet time and read alouds and outside playtime and chores and snuggle time and mommy kissing a boo-boo time all mixed in with those hours of school work. I know the kids at the government schools have recess and lunch and all that jazz. But who kisses their boo-boos? Now I'm just ranting, so I will leave it at that. Poor babies. Mostly I wanted an excuse to post that cute photo.

Week in Review

Our first week of school actually only consisted of two days. Two "half" days if you want the whole truth. But they were a pretty good two days. We decided to start on Thursday because I thought that was the day our public schools were starting. I was misinformed - they all started Tuesday. Oh well. We started Thursday. It was a nice enough start.

I chose to start with the bare bones. Bible, Logic, Phonics and some History read alouds to bridge the gap between last years study in the Ancient and this years Middle Ages. Bear even did a little copy work. It was an encouragement to me.

Yes, little fingers need time to get back into the habit of writing, little bottoms need some help sitting in seats and little minds need to adjust to the new balance of work and play but we have time - it's still August after all.

By the look on Bug's face in this picture you'd think things were pretty grim, but rest assured, these silly guys have plenty of time to let it all hang out, whatever that means.

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Starfish Snack

No - we didn't eat the "starfish". But we did get to see a "Sea Star" eating his lunch (they were starfish when I was a kid).

That little white blob is actually this little guy's stomach. In case you didn't know ( I didn't), a Sea Star prys open a mussel or other such creature, expells his insides and goes right inside the shell to eat the insides. Then he just sucks his guts back inside.

Then the poor fellow gets picked up by a five year old, examined thoroughly and exploited here on my blog under the guise of "nature study". Don't tell the boys, this is actually schoolwork for us ... nature study, oceanography, take your pick! They thought we were on vacation. More proper vacation pictures coming soon.

A Piratey Reunion

We are enjoying a few days of vacation in beautiful Bar Harbor. When we arrived around midnight with two sleepy travelers we got a greeting from this guy...

Curricula at a glance

This is the whole deal at a glance:



I made one change last night - we decided that we didn't care so much for the "A Reason For Handwriting" books. My boys are picky about illustrations of humans that don't look "real" and I don't really care for the format. We decided to use other things for Bug and Classically Cursive for Bear. He is so ready for Cursive and I really like the look of these
books.

I also ordered this cool book to add as an optional activity for Bear - who loves to draw. This is the time period we're working on so I think it will be a great addition to our plan.

This is going to be a great year!