Homeschool Update

Ok, I can not believe that it has been over a month since I last posted something.  I do not even have a good excuse! Things have actually been going pretty smoothly around here.  The kids have stayed fairly healthy this winter and school is moving right along.  It hit me the other day that there is only three months of school to go! We are in the process of discerning what to do about the next school year.  We said in the beginning that we would take it a year at a time and reevaluate how things are going each year to make sure we are making the best schooling choices for our children.  I am currently looking into other homeschool curriculum, just to see what all is out there(we are currently using K12).  Nothing has been decided yet and I’ll let you know when we figure it all out!

Anyway, I thought I would just give you a quick update on school.  As I said, things are moving right along.  It really seems like it took the whole first half of the year to get settled into a routine; we still have our days, but for the most part, homeschooling is working well for us!  

Here is a look at what we have been up to.

We kicked off the new year with a unit on penguins.  The girls loved making these little thumb print penguins.  They turned out so cute!

We practiced our graphing skills by charting how many fish the colorful penguins ate.
Click here to download the penguin graph.
Click here to download the penguin. (just print him out on different colored sheets of card stock)

Monkey-Do loved matching up the black and white shapes  to make these silly shape penguins.
(sometimes my teacher habits get the better of me and I just can't help decorating a door!!!)

I made this penguin using a large cereal box.  I cut a slot under his beak so we could "feed" him.  Monkey-Do matched up rhyming fish and fed him two at a time. Rapunzel did this activity using sight word fish.

These water bottle penguins were fun to make and made a cute decoration for our classroom.  I found the idea here: http://recycledawblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/penguins-made-out-of-water-bottles.html

We also did a unit on winter.  Our story for the week was "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats.
I found this wonderful "Read Build Write"  activity at Homeschool Creations

We recreated the last scene from the story and wrote our own ending.

We had a ton of fun playing with "snow" (shaving cream)!!!

This activity was one of my favorites.  I wrote the letters of their names on paper plates.  The girls had to "build" their snow man by finding their letters and putting them in the right order.  (not sure what is up with the costumes!?!)

Rapunzel's finished snowman!

So, there you have it. Just a little look at what we have been up to.  I have some things I would really like to get posted; hopefully it won't take me a month this time!!!

-Rachel

The big B-Day

So tomorrow is the big B-Day and I have to say that I have not been looking forward to this much at all! I will be 30; just having to type it and look at it makes me feel old!  I know it is just a number and my family and friends have done a wonderful job of reminding me of that!  

I was checking out blogs for some school ideas the other day and stumbled upon a kindergarten teacher who was facing 30 and like me, she was not all that excited about it!  She decided to focus on 

the positive and posted 30 things she had accomplished already in her life and 30 things she would like to do in the next 30 years.  (You can check hers out at http://littlemissglamourgoestokindergarten.blogspot.com/search/label/about%20me ) 

I loved this idea and decided to make my own list. So here it goes…

                                      In the last 30 years…

1.       Graduated from college with                      16. Made my Cursillo weekend

my teaching degree

2. Was a counselor at a summer                         17. Rediscovered my Catholic

camp                                                                         faith

3. Went to Hawaii with my family                       18. Worked with teens in our

                                                                                   church youth group

   4. Made a long distance relationship                    19. Gave birth to my third     

          work for 5 years!                                                 beautiful daughter

5. Married my high school sweetheart                  20. Photographed a wedding

6. Went to Disney World on my honeymoon           21. Ran a 5k in under 30

                                                                                    minutes

7. Started a life in a new city                               22. Gave birth to my first

                                                                                      son

8. Worked in a portrait studio and discovered      23. Started a blog

a love for photography

9. Got hired as a first grade teacher for               24. Homeschooled preschool

Memphis City Schools                                                     and kindergarten

10. Gave birth to my first beautiful daughter          25. Taught my daughter to

                                                                                        read

11. Taught first grade for 5 years                            26. Made a best friend that

                                                                                         is like a sister to me

12. Gave birth to my second beautiful daughter         27. Took my children to

                                                                                         Disney World

13. Became a stay-at-home mom!                                28. Started training for 

                                                                                         a half marathon

14. Became a homeowner                                          29. Still madly in love with

                                                                                         the man I married 7 years ago

15. Visited Europe                                                   30. Made memories to last a 

                                                                                                                          lifetime

                                     In the next 30 years…

1.       Read more                                                      16. Take a ballet class

2. Become a better photographer                            17. Learn to use Photoshop

                                                                              

3. Go on a mission trip                                            18.  Go to Rome   

                                                                         

   4. Take Ryan on a romantic second                         19. Visit the Grand Canyon                      
           honeymoon to Hawaii                     

5. See a Broadway show in NYC                             20. Run a half marathon

6. Make more time for others                                  21. Teach Kindergarten

7. Have more beautiful babies                                 22. Be on team for a Cursillo weekend

8. Make more time for scrapbooking                        23. Visit with family more

9. Go back to Disney World!                                    24. Run the Princess Half

                                                                                        Marathon in Disney World

10. Go on a girls trip with my mom                             25. Take the kids camping

       and sisters                                                                              

11. Learn to sew                                                         26. Learn to play tennis

                                                                                                      

12. Grow in my Catholic faith                                     27. Be more positive

                                                                                                      

13. Slow down and enjoy my children                         28. Become an NFP teaching   

        while they are little!                                                            couple      

                                           

14. Date my husband                                                   29. Start journaling again

15. Buy a house with a front porch                              30. Go on another beach trip

       and a big back yard                                                      with my friends and ALL of our crazy kids!

           I guess there is no time to worry about being 30; 

it’s time to get busy!!! 

(and I don't mean on #7, may take a little break before starting on that one!)