First Day!

Wow- excitement! That's actually the word they used at breakfast this morning. Well, I am not sure how long the excitement lasted after the donning of new clothes and the picture taking but I have to admit that getting them around the school table was fairly simple this morning.

Whether they will want to do it again tomorrow- that's another story altogether.........

A little later,

our newest student read a book to us called The Hot Yak and earned screen time by reading his sight word flashcards ( 30 cards= 30 minutes- after his lunch and chores, of course!) All in all, a good start. It's 3pm and the kids are playing with the neighbors and I am attempting to fix the printer which is on it's last legs. Might be an emergency situation since I use that thing everyday.

Happy school days everyone!

Family Scavenger Hunt

In honor of Nancy Drew's 80th birthday- our local bookstore held a scavenger hunt with clues all over the city. Each team had 3 hours, 50 clues and a digital camera to capture the proof and fun! We got 46 of the clues and returned with 1 minute to spare - good enough for 2nd place! Pretty sure that the winning team was comprised of all adults - what fun is that? We had the kids, the car seats, hunger stops and the potty breaks, please.

Soda anyone? Just one of the silly antics required to accomplish the list. One soda, all the team members with their own straw and you get this.....

Thanks to a stranger on the street- we got this shot which qualified as the " all team members in front of a sign with the #80 on it". It's in the background - you might have to zoom in.

Eagle Eye Everett spotted the 'non-yellow' fire hydrant for us.

( try not to notice the couple kissing in the car )

The beautiful fountain in the City Hall courtyard makes Everett look like so tiny.

- this underlining thing drives me crazy - cannot get it to go away.

Todd and Mackenzie blowing bubbles in front of the Wrigley Mansion- clue#7 - check!

All in all, a fantastic adventure and super sleuthy memory for the whole family.

Happy Birthday Nancy Drew!

Storytelling

Don't these look amazing! I have been a big fan of Jim Weiss for a while now and I always find myself checking his site at Greathall Productions to see if he has anything new or pertinent to what we are studying. For example, when we used Adventures in MFW and were studying American History ( my fav!), we listened to the Abraham Lincoln stories and the TJefferson tales as well as the American Tall Tales. This time, I got the mp3 version so it's straight to the ipod playlist!

It's such a compelling way to hear history and I know my kids get tired of hearing me read and I can't do voices or sing like Jim does. Anyway- I ordered these and am excited hear the next adventure whether in the car or bedtime, the stories stick with me ......oh, I mean the kids.

Science Curriculum K-4th

This year at the CHEA convention, I was mesmerized by the folks at

Exploration Education. Their experiments were all set up and

running with videos and hands-on kits. My backgound is in science,

(confessions of a former chemist) and we LOVE experiments

around the Pam house. My kids beg to do science- all the better

if it's wet, sticky, colorful, magnetic, glowing, alive or generally

messy! I bought two of the levels so that I can cover all the bases

between K and 4th grade. We are going to build some machines,

a circuit, and make some crystals!

What's the most important thing to learn in Chemistry?

::Never lick the spoon!::

Some PRE-game activity

A friend of mine introduced me to this 'game' from Family Matters. It's a child-size take on the Myers-Briggs/ Enneagram testing that is so popular with adults. Are you a INFJ? ESTJ? DORK? (hehehe- J/K)

I thought about how useful it would be to evaluate the kids before school started and get some possible insight into their inner workings and how God uniquely made them. I think it could be really helpful to assess learning style and strengths. I recently evaluated myself in a small group setting using a book called, 'The Gift of Being Yourself' which uses the enneagram testing method. The results were pretty fascinating and helped me to understand my core tendencies as well as how I can use them in relationship to reflect Christ uniquely in me.

Anyway- all that explanation to share this link and video.

Click HERE to check it out.

Ready, Set...........

Morning sun pours in the schoolroom windows

Curriculum unpacked and sorted- check

That's really about as far as I have gotten but I did check something off the list. I am trying to imagine how the school year will go now that I will have Everett joining us each day. I keep imagining that I felt this exact way when I went from schooling one to two. A slight panic alongside the idea of another new learning style, new challenges and lots of juggling.

It hit me when I was getting their areas ready - I have 5 years of resources- 2 different programs for teaching reading - 4 science curriculums - countless math manipulatives and one goal at the start of each Kindergarten year......make it fun and get them reading!

It's really that simple in my mind but I know I fall victim to the many many choices of suppliments to add to my homeschool day. Really, it's about great books and a great attitude toward learning.

So with those thoughts swimming around in my head, I thought I would post a picture of the school room now that I have it all organized (it may be the one and only time!) Children, beware, there is a countdown going on.....................