Our school year

I really need to post about Jake's 10th birthday, but I haven't downloaded my pics from my camera yet!

So in the meantime, I'm going to write about our school year.

The past two years we've used Tapestry of Grace. I have absolutely loved the depth and biblical focus of it. I learned a ton. However, the past two years have been the absolute craziest two of my entire homeschooling career. 2008 held 2 sick pregnancies and 2 second trimester miscarriages and 2009 was consumed with mission trips to Mexico and beginning the adoption process in Mexico. Needless to say, I just couldn't keep up with the weekly prep work that Tapestry demanded. It's a shame since it is such a wonderful curriculum, but instead of it helping me, it was making schooling harder.

So, after a lot of indecision (Tara and Mel, I'm so sorry for all my agonizing phone conversations!) I finally chose to go a simpler route.  With the upheaval of the Mexico adoption and the beginning of the Colombia adoption and knowing we will most likely travel for a month in the middle of our school year, I decided to make this year a more "independent study" type of year.

I really felt like I needed to focus on preparing my middle schoolers (7th, 6th, 5th) for the upcoming high school years by solidifying the skills they need to succeed. I did a lot of research to figure out which skills I wanted to heavily incorporate and which ones we already had a good handle on. In fact, instead listing out our yearly line up of subject curricula, I decided to list out the skills I wanted them to work on and then picked and chose our books based on that.

Our list of products we are using hasn't actually changed but I think it helped solidify in my head my purpose for each one. Maybe everyone else already does this naturally, but for some reason it all just clicked in my head this year, and school suddenly became stress free. I think I'd been allowing the curriculum to control us instead of allowing it to serve us.  It's all perspective, huh?

The older 3 are doing most of the same skills, just at the age/developmental level they are in. Makes things easy! Oh, and not everything is done every day!
So, here's our line up:

Memorization- Scripture memory, Science Facts, History Timeline, States and Capitals

Discussion, Inductive Bible Study, Logic- Morning Bible discussion time using inductive method, The Fallacy Detective with real life "debates" since 3 of them are in that phase of life!

Math
Cait and Grant- Prepare for Pre-algebra and begin AlgebraTeaching Textbooks 7 and begin TT Pre-alg. (This has been my best purchase this year. Highly worthwhile!)
Jake- Solidify mult/div facts, grade level math- Teaching Textbooks 5


Independent Study Skills/Test taking skills/Lab Report writing- Apologia General Science for Cait


Writing
Various writing genres- IEW Student Intensive Continuation Course A (she could handle B, but we're doing it all together with the boys so she's getting her assignments beefed up)
Current Event Reports- biweekly 
Beginning Literature Analysis Essays- reading lots of classic lit from a list I compiled, weekly literature analysis papers based of the questions in Well Trained Mind, Figuratively Speaking worksheets on literary techniques.
Outlining other people's writing- Kingfisher History Encyclopedia or other books from the shelf or library
Notetaking- Apologia Elementary Anatomy and Physiology (The boys are doing this in more of a "notebooking" fun format but Cait is doing more normal bullet point notetaking)
Research-short and frequent!- Mostly on history topics. We're all listening to the Story of the World chapter on audio and then each choses a topic to research and write an essay. They do this 2-3 times a week. Each child has varying lengths the essay must be.
Diagramming, Grammar fluency, Spelling accuracy- Christian Light Language Arts (just the grammar portion- LOVE this program!) and All About Spelling, Cait- Spell to Write and Read Wise Guide

Reading Speed, Reading Accuracy, Learning to appreciate varied genre, Vocabulary- 1 hour of reading required a day from a booklist I compiled (also includes lots of discussion time!), Vocabulary from the Classical Roots

Master the Spanish language- No! Just kidding! I'll just be happy if they can introduce themselves to their new siblings!  I do think that Spanish for Children, Spanish for Adoptive Families, and living in Colombia for a month will take care of this important skill! LOL!




Wow, that looks like a TON! But it's not really! In fact we are finishing our days earlier than we ever have in the past. I think it's because I don't have a different curriculum for each subject. It's more integrated. I don't think I could manage complete integration like some curricula do, but for us, this is working really well.

We are almost 4 months into our school year (started beginning of July) and already I'm seeing tons of progress. And attitudes toward our school time have improved tenfold. They all love the research part of the day and go crazy with wanting to report on every nugget of info they find.


And, to end this super long post, Here's Quinn's line-up:

Math- Christian Light 1
Copywork/Narrations- Writing With Ease
Spelling- All About Spelling
Reading- every book he can get his hands on, and Phonics Pathways
Trickle down effect- he tags along with everything else!

Spring 2010 Catch up

Cait and Daddy went out with her girlfriends and their daddies for a nice dinner and a browse through the bookstore. They are all getting so grown up. I pray that she sees her daddy's example when she looks for a Godly husband one day.

Being silly!

Caitlin learned how to make the famous Mexican dessert- Tres Leche Cake. Mmmm deliciouso!

We had fun fishing in the neighbor pond and catching frogs and other critters!

There is a dilapidated old farmhouse with barns and outbuildings on the same property. We had fun going exploring in the buildings and traipsing through the fields around the farm.

Presentation Night display

A trip to the Washington Zoo was full of fun!

The Panda bear entertained us for quite a while- up close!

Birthdays!

Grant turned 10 and Quinn turned 5 this January! We don't do parties every year, but since this was a special one for both, we decided to have a combined celebration. Since we couldn't do it until February, we let each boy pick a restaurant on their actual birthday. Grant chose Outback so he could get some STEAK! Can you tell he's growing up? (These kids are starting to cost a fortune when we go out to eat! No more kids meals! Grrr...)
Quinn, on the other hand, wanted no parts in a restaurant this year! All he wanted was to be home and have tomato soup and grilled cheese and decorate cupcakes! LOL! I kept trying to talk him into going to a restaurant (one less meal for me to cook, right?!), but he was insistent! This child is no pushover!

Then later in February we had their party. Grant was thrilled to get a multipurpose tool which he's been drooling over for a while. I'd been telling him that there was no way I was letting him carry around something containing a knife, so he didn't think he'd actually get one! I think he was pretty surprised!
I was having a hard time finding a gift for Quinn since we'd given him his heart's desire at Christmas- a cowboy costume. There was really nothing that he wanted, so I got him a mini trampoline- something I wanted! Oh, not for me! For my hightly bouncy children who constantly use my sofa as a "bounce-a-line" (as they call it!) I had hoped that it would curb the desire to use the furniture but alas, it has only caused them to want to jump off the sofa and onto the trampoline!

It was a little hard choosing a theme for the party since Grant wanted a Knight theme and Quinn wanted a cowboy theme. So, we combined. The cousins came dressed as either a knight or a cowboy and all was well. I don't go overboard with party decor and games and all, (Caitlin's 5th Princess Party did me in forever!) but they did request a castle cake. It turned out cute and they were happy!
Happy Birthday Grant and Quinn!!!

Another Tooth!

Well, both front teeth are now out! Quinn knocked the slightly loose one the other day it became very wiggly! That evening Daddy pulled it out since, "I don't do teeth"! I have to say it is MUCH better having both out. He's much cuter instead of looking like a West Virginian ole hick. (No offense to any W.VAers!) Now his lisp is very pronounced and he suddenly seemed to age 2 years in my eyes! I hate this! I don't want my baby boy to get big! Pictures will be added as soon as my extremely slow dial up connection cooperates!

Missing Tooth

As everyone knows, Quinn is our little daredevil. Out of all our children he is always the one who will get hurt either by his own doing or by someone else. Over the past few years he has made quite a habit of knocking his top front teeth and either chipping or loosening them. After the last several face- dives into the floor or his brother's head, though, we realized that those teeth were not going to tighten back up.

I was praying that his teeth wouldn't fall out while he was still three, and God in His miraculous providence let us pass the milestone of turning 4 before the first one came out.

Two days ago he and Jake collided and the most loose tooth was pointing quite precariously forward. I don't get squeamish over very many things but teeth are one of the gross things in life that have done me in. I CANNOT stand to see them wiggle or even attempt to pull them out. So he just had to wait two hours until Daddy came home so he could give the final tug.

Just look how cute he is. The lisp he has is even cuter.

It's OFF!

Yay! The cast is gone. He's had a bath. No more stink! He's lovin' life!

Silly Sayings....

This morning as Quinn was laying in bed with me he said (out of the blue, as usual), "Mom, know what Daddad told me? He said that if we suck on our thumb we are really sucking our muscles! (pause) Nathan must have sucked out all the muscles of his thumb!" HA! HA! HA! Kimberly- I thought you'd find that funny!

My Little Daredevil

It was inevitable. We had been spared so long in having any serious broken bones in the family that it was bound to happen soon. Last Thursday, my sweet little Quinn decided to roll headfirst down the wooden basement steps and land squarely on his right arm. It could have been much worse as he could have broken his neck. God in His mercy spared his spine and just gave him a broken arm.
He had stood at the top landing and asked if he could have a cookie, to which I said he could have just one. I heard him carefully take one out of the canister, then carefully close it up and put it back in the kitchen. The next thing I knew I was hearing a thump, thump, thump, thud, and saw him somersaulting down the steps. As soon as I rushed over to him, the arm break was unmistakable. Halfway down from his elbow to his hand was literally bending backward toward his elbow.
Normally, I would feel faint and squeamish, but since Brent was 2 hours away in HAGERSTOWN I knew immediately that I would be doing the emergency trip alone. He was crying, but not hysterically and once I scooped him up and took him to the bedroom, he had finished his tears! Amazing. He didn't have a shirt on (don't ask, it's a long story about boys who would love to go around naked if they were allowed) but I KNEW that he's the kind of kid that would flip out more if he had to leave the house without all his clothes than about a broken arm. I have absolutely no idea how I managed to get it on him, but I suppose that his arm was quite bendable and made it easy.
After flipping out a bit to Brent on the phone, and telling him where we were headed, we made the longest 10 minute drive of my life. Caitlin was an angel during the whole ride. She, too, doesn't handle emergencies well, but she really came through with supporting his arm and telling him all kinds of princess and dog stories along the way.
Thankfully, Mom Trautman and Ryan were home and quickly met us at the hospital to take the kids home for me. After a 40 minute wait we were finally "triaged" and they gave him a bed right away. It really is amazing that from the time I put him down in the bedroom until he had to get an IV he didn't cry. Only a few whimpers. He was even falling asleep in my arms.
Brent finally arrived in time for an xray and then an IV full of morphine. Unfortunately, the tech wasn't the best with IV's in kids and used too big of a needle, so he had to stick him twice. My momma heart was breaking for him. He screamed a bunch, but was quickly quieted when he got to see the "cool" blood in the tube!
We kept talking about how God makes him brave and at one point he asked, "Is I as brave as David when he fighted Goliath?" Too cute. I guess those Bible stories have personal application even for 3 year olds.
After the morphine kicked in, he was wired. He bounced around the bed as much as a broken right arm and an IV'd left arm would let him. He didn't stop talking and attracted MANY sweet onlookers and other patients. At one point the doctor came in to introduce himself and went to shake Quinn's hand and he held out his foot so the Doc could shake it! He thought himself hilariously funny. I think he was loving the attention!
The orthopedic doctor came and looked at his arm and skillfully put on his cast. Quinn did cry a little bit during the setting of the bones, but it wasn't super long. Later he wanted to know, "Why did the doctor have to squish my arm?"
Once his cast was hardened, and another xray was taken, he was so wired and lively I wasn't sure he would go to sleep at all that night. (It was after midnight by then.) Finally, we were discharged and made a quick stop to Dunkin Doughnuts, like Daddy promised.
So far Quinn has been our child that causes our hearts to stop beating- falling off the bed as a baby, having a trailer gate fall on his head, getting lost for half an hour in Dutch Wonderland, and now breaking his arm.
He is so full of life, though, and takes all of the events in stride. Today he is running around like nothing has happened at all! I love his kid so much!

Quinn's Baby History

As I was looking through my planner I found some papers at the back where I had recorded some notes about each child when they were younger. I am going to post them so I have them always- and since this is the only baby book any of my kids will ever have. sigh.
9 mo- had first major training session. Held him tightly on my lap and taught to "hush" by putting finger on lips and not letting up until he could sit for 1 minute without screaming. Each subsequent session is shorter and shorter
12- very quickly trained!
17 mo- says "Da, Mom, Car, Ball, Down, More, Pool"
17 mo- learning to sit quietly in church ( What Happened!!!!)
20 mo- Calls cait "Mom", then starts calling her "turtle"! LOL!
21 mo (Sept 2005)- Cait and Jake were lifting a heavy trailer gate up and it fell over and pinned him under it. Cut open forehead. Went to ER and got stitches
18mo-2 yo (I can't remember when!) Chipped both front top teeth in 1 week
1st carrying a flashlight and fell, 2nd fell on a brick step at small groups
Is very sweet with Cait. She can comfort and help him as much as I can!
2 1/2 yo can count to 10 without me teaching at all!

That Kissin' Stuff

Quinn's latest:
Brent comes over to kiss me.
Quinn covers his eyes. "Yuuuuck. Them's kissin! Me don't like that kissin' stuff!"
Peeks out of his hands to see if the view is safe.
Brent, of course, is waiting for him and lays another on me.
Squeals of laughter from Quinn as he covers his eyes again!
Over and over. These two are so silly. Not that I mind the kisses!

Keeping Us Laughing

A week or two ago Quinn was waving his sword around and said, "Me have a sewald, momma!"

Noticing how cutely he said sword, I imitated him back. "Really? You have a sewald?"

Propping his arm up on the windowsil he sighed and said, "You need to speak a little bit in English"

HAH!HAH!HAH!HAH!

Hi, Larry!

You can hear this dialog in our home almost every day! Listen in...

Quinn walks into the room
Brent: Hi Larry!
Quinn, cocking his head to the side with a big grin: Da-ad, me not La- wee, me Quin-ny!
Brent, mocking shock on his face: Oh, I'm sorry, Larry!
Quinn: giggles....Da-ad!

Today as Brent left for work he said, "Bye, Larry!". Quinn, just answered, "Bye". I think he is now answering to Larry permanently! Then, Quinn turns to me and said with a totally straight face, "Mom, me like that name!"

Too cute!