Cedar Point

Thursday we went to Cedar Point. We had lots of fun riding roller coasters and kiddie rides!

Curriculum Change

After doing english with Jacob yesterday I decided that English for the Thoughtful Child just was not working. It seems to be geared a bit more to girls, or at least not to my straightforward, fact seeking 7yo boy. After a trip to the library we had lunch with Jill and the kids. Jill had recently ordered the writing book from Peace Hill Press, (they had already been using the grammar program), and was happy with it. I borrowed the materials to look at during Leah's nap and ended up ordering both the grammar and writing books! While I do hesitate to change things midstream, that is the beauty of homeschooling, we can change things to fit our needs. If Jacob were in school and didn't like the english book - too bad he would still be required to do the work. So, I made the switch and I am looking forward to getting started with it next week!

Tae Kwon Do

The boys warming up together for their geup test on August 22, 2008 at Milan TKD. Jonah was testing for his 8th geup (yellow belt) and Jacob was testing for his 3rd geup (blue belt w/ red stripe). It was extra special because they were able to test together!
Jonah answering questions.
Jacob doing one of his forms.
Both boys did a great job testing. Here they are with their new belts! Jacob tested with another little girl who is the same age as he is, both testing for their 3rd geup, they were awesome. Master Panizzo said it was the best test they had had at the studio in a long time. I have never seen Jacob do his forms and fundamentals with such power and determination. Congratulations boys!!

Monday

Yesterday we were able to get quite a bit accomplished. Jonah is doing great with Alphaphonics and showed off his emerging reading skills to Bob last night. Jacob is enjoying history and starting to make connections with different things we are reading, SOTW, An Island Story and the Bible. The girls did a Montessori activity. Sarah practiced pouring beans and Leah was supposed to practice scooping the beans from one bowl to the next, but she enjoyed putting them in her mouth more. Shaving cream in a ziplock was a hit with everyone except Leah. Normally she needs to see something a couple of times before she is ready to really enjoy it. Now we are off to get Tuesday going.........

First Week of School Photos

Jacob ~ 2nd grade


Jonah ~ Kindergarten

Starting Lessons

Yesterday we started easing into our lessons. We talked briefly about Johann Sebastian Bach. We listened to his music while we attempted to sketch some sunflowers we have in a vase on the table. Today we accomplished a bit more. We have been trying to start each morning with a decade of the rosary and a short story about a saint. The boys each worked in their math books and practiced handwriting. Jonah reviewed the previous Alphaphonics lessons that we had done together. Jacob worked on a couple of phonics pages. Sarah wanted to do the colored bear activity again, but was interrupted by Leah. We will have to try that again when Leah is sleeping. The girls did stay occupied at the "water station" (kitchen sink) for a little while. It always seems like it takes a couple of weeks to get into a good routine. Each year is a new and different adventure :)

Attempt at Montessori

I have been doing some reading on how to implement some more Montessori type activities in our day. I have read a lot on the web, but I am waiting on a couple of books to go more in-depth. Here is our first attempt at a sorting activity. We were "making do" with some of the items we already had around the house. Sarah really likes to do these type of activities, especially when a certain little sister is otherwise occupied. I am looking forward to introducing more activities like these to all the kids.

Sarah

Here is Sarah spouting off her knowledge of all her colors (at least most of the time!), her address and phone number. The other day she said "I was born in South Korea and you were born in Milan, Michigan". Well, she is mostly right!!

Soccer Camp

Jacob and Jonah did soccer camp the week of August 4th-8th. The boys had a great time playing soccer. Madeline also did the camp and had an equally enjoyable time. The last night they had pizza for the campers and the Milan Fire Department came to cool all the soccer players off. Even though it was a cool night, it didn't stop the kids from being drenched by the fire hose

Zoo Fun

We always love taking a field trip to the Toledo Zoo!

Blueberries & the Beach

Yesterday we took a trip to South Haven on the west side of the state. We started our day here picking blueberries. It was our first time picking blueberries and we really enjoyed it. I think Leah ate her weight in blueberries. She was shoving them in her mouth as fast as I could throw them in the bucket! We managed to fill a couple of buckets and then ended up purchasing a 10lb box, they will not last long with us. Then we headed to Lake Michigan to eat our picnic lunch and hit the beach.