Green Mountain Park

We packed a picnic lunch and headed to Green Mountain Park after church on Sunday. The children and I had been there in June with the children's ministry from church. We wanted to share the beautiful park with Mark. We ate our lunch, and then shared some bread with the fish (the ducks were no where to be seen). Afterwards, we walked a little ways around the lake to see the covered bridge. Mark and the older three children then walked the rest of the way around the lake, while Anna Grace and I relaxed in the swing. It was a beautiful day!

God's creation is amazing!

Homeschooling in California

The California ruling that made homeschooling illegal in California (unless the parent was a certified teacher) was reversed! You can read more about it here. Praise the Lord!

Science with Daddy

We are studying chemistry this year, which is right up Mark's alley. To finish our family night tonight, Mark and the children did an experiment with chemical reactions. Who knew that vinegar and baking soda could be so much fun!?!

Congratulations Wes and Rebecca

Wes and Rebecca (picture taken 11-07)

My "little" brother Wes called me on Sunday night to tell me that he had asked his girlfriend Rebecca to marry him! I am so excited for them!

Family Bonding

Mamaw Johnson and the gang!
Nanna and Bailey
Uncle Bo and Olivia
Grand-Bob loving on Isaac

We drove to Mark's Mom's house in Gray, Tennessee for the weekend. We had a good time visiting with her and spending time at her house. The children enjoyed playing with some of Mark's childhood toys. Mark's mom arranged a family get-together at a park on Saturday night. There were about 48 people there, and it was great to visit with everyone (as much visiting as you can do while chasing four children!). The children ran around on the playground with their cousins, and we all went home tired! It was a great night!

We stopped to have lunch with my mom on the way up on Friday, and then we stopped today to have lunch with my parents and brother on the way home. They were short, but sweet visits.

I am so thankful for our family! What a blessing!

Our First Week of School

We finished our first week of school today. Our first "official" days were last Saturday and Sunday. The state of Alabama requires that I keep attendance, so I decided that two field trips (the aquarium and the museum) were a great way to start the year!

We started our curriculum on Monday morning. We are continuing to use Sonlight for history, geography, Bible and read alouds this year. It has a four day program which allows us lots of flexibility. We are also sticking with Math-U-See, which seemed to work well for us. I am returning to Handwriting Without Tears after a year of A Reason for Handwriting. I am trying out a new program for Science. We are doing Chemistry 1 from Noeo. It uses children's literature to teach the concepts, and includes pre-packaged experiments that correlate with the concepts. I am also adding in First Language Lessons to work on beginning language concepts.

I have been thinking a lot about how I wanted to teach reading to Isaac and Bailey this year. I read Reading Reflex, which I am going to use a lot this year. I am also adding in some activities that I did when I taught first grade. We will also use the readers from Sonlight and Explode the Code workbooks. I am going to really focus on frequently used sight words for the first part of the year.

Olivia is not one to be left out! She demands her school, so I have been spending a few minutes working with her before I get to the others. That satisfies her, and she will entertain Anna Grace for a little while during some of my teaching time with the older ones. We are working through the Handwriting Without Tears preschool book, which includes some manipulatives. We are also working through an early math book and doing a few other activities. I do it for as long as she is interested, because she is too young to push. So far, we have learned about E, L and F this week. Anna Grace sits at the table with us, not wanting to be left out.

All in all, our first week went well. I am a bit exhausted from getting used to our new schedule. It is a challenge to do school and keep the household running, and the first few weeks seem to be the hardest. I am glad that we are starting so early, so that we can get into a routine before our new little one arrives. It also gives us the flexibility to take a few weeks off after his birth.

Anna Grace Versus the Sun

Anna Grace and the sun do not get along very well! Actually the sun annoys her to pieces, especially when we are driving. She can not stand for the sun to be even close to being in her eyes. It is not unusual to look back and see her with a blanket over her head. She was aggravated on Saturday morning, as we were driving to Chattanooga. She cried, "The sun is looking at me!" A little while later, she happily said, "Its gone Mommy! I have it in my hand!" She held out her hand to show that a ray of sun was in her hand. Apparently she felt victorious! What a cutie!