Let it snow...

The weather outside may be frightful but as long as I can watch from inside I don't mind. We have electricity (for now) and I am on hot chocolate duty while the boys make popsicles out of themselves. I love this - at least until after Christmas.

One Small Step. . .

I am so proud of my Bear (age 7). This little photo represents a bunch of firsts. This notebook page is his first attempt at a "book report" the result of his first independently read chapter book which is the first of many biographies he will read. He loved reading about Neil Armstrong. I didn't even have to ask for narration because he told me so much about what he was reading as he went along. Our Space studies are only beginning but the boys are immersing themselves in all things astronomical... I love homeschooling.

He just loves those exclamation points!

When f is a dragonfly

Bear is working on cursive handwriting. I love Classically Cursive. It's simple, no frills. When he gets through the alphabet he will be copying scripture - I like that too. Bear is getting bored with learning the lowercase alphabet. Today he is on the last letter - f. His head is not in the game and one of the poor little -f- is now a dragonfly. Oh to be seven years old!

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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