Kindergarten Graduate

Zack finished Kindergarten! To celebrate I told Zack that we'd have an end-of-the-year party. Well the end-of-the-year party sneaked up on me, and I'd forgotten all about the party. Thankfully, Mumsy ended up being here and ran some errands to pick up party supplies for our Kindergarten Graduate! I made a construction paper graduation cap to fit Zack (a friend had posted pictures of her daughter in one- so I thought I'd see how difficult it was to make) It was very easy and Zack picked out his colors--orange with a little bit of blue! No, we aren't Auburn fans, he just likes those colors or maybe it's his cousin's favorite color!

Anyway, Mumsy made some "K Graduation portraits" that I will post soon! And it was even more fun to have a special guest at our victory party!

Motivation

This morning I'm looking at laundry, dishes, school work, and the list goes on... I just am so unmotivated.

I'm looking to make a summer math, handwriting ,reading, and Bible program or at least get some sort of schedule so that Zack has something to work on- summers can get boring and I don't want him to forget all that we've been working on. Apparently, K-2nd grade is a pretty critical time so we'll not take an entire summer but probably start 1st grade in late/mid July. We did that last year and it worked pretty well. We took a few extra breaks and this past year we had more sickness than we've ever had... So it ended up working out well.

Jogging Stroller

Our new Schwinn Free Wheeler AL Jogging Stroller arrived on my birthday and it is a dream! It actually makes you move a little faster. You can literally push the stroller loaded with 27 lbs of Nate with little or no effort. It has the ability to switch the front tire from swivel to stationary. The swivel allows you to move in all directions very easily while the locked position makes running/jogging much more easy-It keeps the stroller on a tracked line.

I wasn't sure if I shouldn't spring for the BOB stroller, and I'm sure I'd have been incredibly pleased with it, but this Schwinn has met all my needs and more. I'm a very happy jogger and actually have looked forward to getting out. Of course, Nate feels like he's moved up into a Cadillac!

Spiral Binding!

I just took my Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading book and had the binding cut off and a spiral put in! I LOVE it and it was so incredibly cheap! I may have a new obsession!

Updated

Tim updated our computer to run on Linux or Ubuntu and well it's not crashing as much or freezing up, but I cannot figure out how to copy pictures and all that extra stuff that I could do effortlessly before. I know I'll just have to relearn all that stuff, but I have so little time for relearning!

I've gotten frustrated with the picture upload... and there is a ton of pictures I need to upload!

Hence no updated pictures!

Excercise

Tim has been (seriously) running for about a year now. I've never really been interested or enjoyed running. However, now that the boys can ride bikes we can go running/jogging/bike riding as a family and that has been a good activity for us to do as a family. Tim and I were just taking turns running/jogging but I invited the boys to ride their bikes while I jogged and Tim ended up meeting us with Nate in the stroller. So since then, we all go. We had a few bright ideas to make running/jogging/ bike riding more safe with strollers, bikes and cars. The first was a whistle! We each have one and they work great. When the boys are down the road, we can simply whistle and it tells them to get over and stop for a car. And maybe the cars hear it too? I also found some flags for the boys' bikes. They aren't as tall as I thought, but they do work well for small hills, curves and the rail road tracks. Of course, the boys wear bike helmets. And we are getting ready for our new jogging stroller to arrive.

Nate and I will never be the same, I'm sure. The old four wheeled stroller, is about to see it's last use, and Nate will enjoy a smooth ride. I'm guessing it'll be a while before Nate is riding his own bike! But we have all enjoyed the benefits of getting outside and getting fit.

Zack biked 5 miles one day with Tim and then 2 more miles with him the next day. Sammy has the stamina for about 2 miles, which is about as far as I go at this point. We'll see how we fare in the summer heat.

Homeschool PE

Zack has loved his PE class. The month of April was the Olympic games, complete with Opening and Closing ceremonies. Zack won two silver medals! We were not prepared for that. Sammy was so excited for him that he jumped up and down and got in Tim's and my face saying "Zack got TWO medals!" We were very proud of Zack. It was hard for some of the kids that didn't get any medals.

Zack's medals were for the javelin throw and for sprinting. They had a strange system where you could only medal two or three times. So once you got your medals, you were taken out of the system and others were bumped up... Anyway, it was an exciting end to Homeschool PE for the year.

I've got some pictures to upload..still figuring that out!

Wellies

Thankfully, I was able to get some rain boots for the boys as I was so frustrated by soaking wet tennis shoes or coated in dirt from the garden (especially when Zack got his soaked and he needed to wear them to PE!) So I promptly got on Amazon and found some cute and very needed boots for all the boys! Nate's are my favorite...


Alright... the picture will not load so I'll be working on that.... They are cute, rain boots that look like cowboy boots!

Homeschooling

Well, it has been an exciting Kindergarten year! We finished the K math at Spring Break and so when we started back we started the 1st grade math. I'm so glad we did, as we were ready for the progression.

Sammy has been watching Zack's reading and decided that he wanted to read also. I was not ready or expecting such a request from him! But after a few reading lessons he read his first Bob book and he get's a reading lesson whenever he asks for one.

We've learned about plants since Spring Break. Our big project was to plant a flower bed by our back door. It looks great, thankfully it's been raining so much, we haven't had to worry about forgetting to water the flowers! We also have put in a large- for us- garden with sweet corn, zuchinni,squash, bell peppers, and tomatoes and cucumbers (thanks to my friend for the plants and instructions on how to run them) you can find her blog here

It's been a very exciting year.

Olive Oil

I came across this and am thinking I will try this...will let you know what I think....


http://balancingeverything.com/2008/11/04/oft-asked-part-the-second/

Christmas fun

We got a fun Christmas present from Bo and Julie Kennedy as well as their sons, Stan and Penn. (I was Stan's 4th grade teacher at Main Street-many years ago.) Let's say Stan is a Senior this year! When I told Zack that I taught Stan he asked me "What did you teach him, Football?"

Anyway, they took the boys for the evening and we got a chance to run some errands and just have some "quiet" from the rambunctious boys! We had a nice time and the boys had an even better time. When we picked them up Zack said he'd just like to stay with them. And that if he could stay with them he'd be really good. They took the boys to look at lights, eat at McDonalds, and went to the Dollar General to buy Christmas presents for Tim and me! I'm sure I'll be mortified on Christmas Day! Julie snickered a good bit as she told us the boys picked the presents out! So I'll have to report back as to what I unwrapped or maybe not!

Nate's 1st Election

Well, we went to the polls early this morning. It was the only time Tim and I could go together. I didn't want to take 3 kids by myself to vote! Anyway when we got in line (we were in line maybe 2 min) the poll worker said he would need to check Nate's ID... to make sure he was of voting age. Hey, I wonder if they make specialty bibs that say "My first election"?

I also co hosted a church luncheon, I made a dessert and set the tables, the boys helped by wiping all the seats- it kept them busy.

When we got home both Sammy and Zack had fevers. So, I not only hosted the ladies but infected all their children with what may turn into croup! (Nate is just getting over his round with croup) Gotta love that!

Hair for Charity

Sammy's hair needed a cut, and well he would have none of that. He told me, "No I'm gonna let it grow and grow!" So a few days ago, it was warm outside and I told him that the birds were looking for hair to line their nests with...to keep them warm and comfy. So he finally agreed to a cut. He was happy to help the birds stay warm and comfy in their nests this winter with his hair! Hey, have you read The Best Nest?

A ring bearer

THis was the night before at the rehearsal... Sammy and Cami

boys

Some updated pictures...




Yes, that is sammy with a towel over him, walking around...always interesting around here!

Natie's favorite pastime is wandering around with that rolling backpack behind him... but mainly if Sammy can see that he has it! (It belongs to Sammy and always upsets him to see that Nate has it!)

Fire Safety week

We had a fun time at the Fire Dept on base. The kids had a fun time learning about what to do if there is a fire. Not to mention getting to watch the firefighters put out an airplane on fire. Don't know that was the greatest thing for them to see! But it was impressive.

The boys got to put out a virtual fire using a fire extinguisher.



They also had a smoke house where they learned to crawl under the smoke and feel the doors to see if they are hot. (they had a door warmer)



This is the kids with Sparkey the Fire Dog!

Too funny

Last night I told Nate- lets go brush your teeth and I put my finger up to my teeth like it was a toothbrush...and he grinned from ear to ear- putting his finger inside and doing a brushing action. It was hilarious. Tim and I laughed and laughed and he enjoyed showing us his new funny!
He is not much of a talker.... Apparently, I need to teach him sign language!

Nate is

growing up. Today he was eating a cookie with the boys in the kitchen- the three of them were sort of roaming around laughing and eating cookies and Nate was standing with them laughing- just enjoying being one of the boys!

He is not a baby anymore and loves to be outside. He gets very upset when Zack and Sammy are outside and we are inside. He used to not realize this, but now he fusses and stands at the door pointing!

Kindermusik starts up!

We had a great time today at our Kindermusik class. Our instructor is truly the best ever! The boys can get a little silly and crazy at times, but generally are manageable. After class we went to the library. We got some good books and of course some Clifford books to celebrate his birthday. I think we'll make going to the library after music a Thursday routine. Maybe we can meet up with friends for some lunch and play time.