Lots of Catching up!!!! PICTURES!!

OK, let's see if I can get all these pictures in the right order. We have been busy learning so I haven't been doing so great with posting pics as I take them. (Not to mention my picture editing software was acting crazy. I think it is fixed now though). We have made it through our first 3 weeks of the 2007 - 2008 school year and it is still going well. Now on to the pictures!!

First up, we have Morgan showing her policeman and fireman "hats" she made while talking about community helpers.



Of course Ian got in on the lesson too!! He loves firetrucks! He was making siren sounds!!


Next in S.S. Morgan was learning about water bodies and continents so she was working on some continent puzzles. Aaron and Kristen helped with this one!




One morning last week, our neighbors invited us to come have a breakfast picnic. That was a lot of fun. We made french toast sticks and cut up some oranges. They made trail mix. It was raining so we had our picnic in their garage. After we ate, the kids had some fun playing in the rain before we came in to start on our school work.








Momo was having trouble going to sleep one night so Randy laid down with her on our bed. This is what I found a few minutes later....they were both out cold!


Kristen worked on a science project this week. It is actually going to serve two purposes. She is having a lot of fun( I should say we all are) watching it and then I will be able to use it starting next week for my bug class at coop! She set up a bug trap out in the yard and also a terrarium. She had been catching all sorts of bugs and even had a couple frogs!!
Here is the trap.....





Here is the terrarium





Yesterday in S.S. Morgan made a little mobile showing the difference in old maps (flat maps) and new maps ( globe shape).




And just to show we do study along with all the fun......
here is Aaron working on his math




And here are Aaron and Kristen working out math problems on the white board....


And now, just some random "life" pics!

I guess Maggie like Ian's blankie too!

This is where Maggie is while we do school.....right at our feet!


Kristen having some silly fun with Maggie last night!! Yes, they are sharing a shirt! HAHAH


Ian cheesin'!

Look at me Mama!!



This is how I found Morgan in the bath one night!! Silly girl!

More silliness!

Just cuteness!!

Can you find Ian and Momo? Aaron made them a "tent".


OK, I think I am all caught up now. Sorry for such a huge post with a little bit of everything!! As you can see, we are having a great time learning and having fun. The best part of all....we are doing it all together as a FAMILY!!! YAY!!!!

Full steam ahead!!

Just a quick update this morning before the class wakes up!! I am sitting here drinking my morning coffee and thinking how blessed I am to be able to home school my children. It truly has been one of the best decisions we have made. As I sit here and watch the other kids in the neighborhood get on the school bus and head off for the day, I feel so lucky that mine are all snuggled in their beds and when they awake, they don't have to leave. I know EVERYTHING they are doing and EVERYTHING they are learning. I get to see the excited looks on their faces when something "clicks". I am they one to see them excited to learn something new. I also don't miss that huge chunk out of their days so I get to here the cute things they say, I get to be here to help them when something isn't just right. It is just wonderful in so many ways. Everyday, at some point, I hear myself saying....there's another great thing about home schooling!!

OK, let's see what have we been up to since the last update. The kids have been doing really well with getting up and getting right to their schoolwork. A couple mornings have gotten off to a slower start (and I am included in that, not just the kids!) but overall it has been going well.
We have completed all the lessons we have needed to get done each day so that is great. I always get a kick out of the fact more often than not, the kids ask, if not beg, to do more schoolwork at night after we have finished for the day!!

Here is a little summary about each of them:

Aaron - is handling 8Th grade great so far. Pre-algebra isn't so bad....yet. He does well with Language Arts, although, I am still trying to undo some of the bad writing habits that were developed while he was in public school. So far, science has been the hardest subject. He does enjoy it, but there is just a lot of information to absorb. He did get a little worked up yesterday about his first science test. We reviewed the information together though and then he was very happy when he made a 98% on it!!!

Kristen - is off to a great start too. She is doing wonderfully in all subjects. Her favorite continues to be science and she likes history the least. We are getting ready to set up a terrarium for a science project so she is looking forward to working on that. She completed her first math test of the year and made a 92% on it so we were pleased with that as well!! She is also enjoying reading her literature which she was so sure she was not going to like!!!

Morgan - is flying through Kindergarten just as I thought she would. She is getting closer and closer to reading everyday. She is picking up on the phonics work quickly. She has also memorized the poem for her first unit. She keeps asking why her work has to be so easy, she wants harder work like Sissy and Aaron's . I am glad I decided to go ahead with the first grade science and history for her. She is handling it well and enjoying it. It is a lot of fun watching her learn right from the beginning!! Morgan wouldn't be my Momo though if she didn't show her strong will!! In true Momo fashion, she has helped me work on my patience a few times but so far it has been great!!

Ian - is doing great being a 2.5 year old!! He is totally potty trained( has been for a few months now). He likes to color and look at books while everyone is doing schoolwork. Yesterday, he was even sitting beside Morgan while I was working with her and he was saying the letter sounds with her!! He is also learning the ABC's now too. Of course, he is just 2 though and he spends lots of time doing 2 year old things....like playing with his cars and his trains, getting into things, climbing on things, discovering his temper....you know....the typical fun 2 year old stuff.

Well, 2 out of 4 are up so I guess it is time to get breakfast ready and get the older 2 stirring around so we can get our day going. We'll be back soon with more learning and life fun!!

Just life...

I couldn't think of a good title for this post. Here are a few pics of Morgan, Maggie and Ian.

Ian loves plain bread for a snack!!



This is how Momo and Maggie fell asleep one night last week.....



Yes.....that is a 3 ring binder she is using for a pillow!! HAHA silly girl!

First Day of School!

Monday was our first day of school at Eagle Star Academy. We had a great day which was nice to start the year off with. Everyone woke up excited about starting and got right to work.





Maggie helping Kristen with her math....




Morgan working hard.....


Aaron had music class!




Tuesday was another good day. It took a little longer to get finished with our work but once we were done, we had a visit from some friends. Aaron and Tyler went outside and then went next door to the pool while the younger ones did some artwork.
Ian, Morgan(aka: Lulu), Morgan (aka: Momo) and Cade




Day 3 was another fun day. Kristen started the day with a science experiment. She made a water lens using an ice cream pail, plastic wrap, a rubber band , water and small objects to look at under the "lens". This is a really easy but fun activity.






After she got it put together and looked at it a bit, she called Aaron to come check it out too.





Then.....once Aaron looked, she asked to call the neighbors (fellow homeschoolers) so they could see it. Here is Chris checking it out...



and now the youngest students turn...Morgan, Sara and Ian..