Update!

 The first week of January we'll be closing on a house... right down the street from my nephews and nieces' house. Aidan and Ainsley will have their own place, own room, own stuff again. Once we are established in this new home... we'll have more time to ourselves. The extra bedroom will be their schoolroom/ playroom. Here's hoping that I'll be posting again by January's end!

Halloween

We stayed in GA for Halloween. Although I missed the big kids and the usual excitement at their house... I also really enjoyed just being with John and the girls. We only trick-or-treated for an hour... as opposed to the 2-3 hours we usually do in NC but A & A were happy and they had a lot of fun. John and I kept smiling at each other... we were enjoying them.

Bumblebee... to the rescue!

All night, people kept asking if she was a nurse. "No, I'm a Doctor." or "Actually, I'm a surgeon." she'd reply. LOL! I love my little nerd.

It usually went something like this...

"TrickorTreatHappyHalloweenThankYouTrickorTreatHaveaGoodNight"  Aidan would yell this all out in one breath and Ainsley would quietly echo her.

Where've you been?

Why haven't I been writing? Well, that's easy .... because the only schooling done was 2 weeks of it in late July/ early August. I don't know when we'll start back... if we'll start back. LOL  You know what the proverbial "they" say about God and plans and such....

Guess what I got!

A Nikon D300s!!

Bridgett left me with instructions that I was to buy my real camera with some money she left me. I'm glad she made me promise because I almost talked myself out of the expense. I'm so happy to finally have a real camera. But, oh, I have a lot to learn about it!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy!!

5 years old today!!!!  

Happy Wonderful Birthday Aidan McKenna!!!

5

5

5

Revving the engines..

Older 4 are back in school.... scouts, sports, lessons have resumed. Life is busy. I'll be ordering Singapore 2a and 2b this week for Aidan. I'm also adding Yoga to our homeschooling schedule. Watching A & A do Yoga is great fun.

New Beginnings is right

I'm resuming blogging. When I feel like it... I'll try to back post pictures at least... but for now....we'll just move forward. I now have 6 kids to blog about.

An ending and a beginning

My sister's battle is over. We buried her this Saturday. A & A will start their fall semester September 5. We're here in N.C. for good, I think. Aidan will also be starting gymnastics next week.

Cool Link

While playing on the computer, I came across this neat website for kids...

www.ABCya.com

It's great! There are a lot of engaging, free games for young kids.

On another note: We're here in N.C. The older cousins will be starting school next week. I'm planning on starting school with A & A a week later. My Mother is living here as well so she will be helping me out in the mornings so that we can get some work done.

Crossing fingers here

My sister's battle is ending. School is again on hold for now. We're moving to N.C. this week.

What we're watching..

A new favorite! 

I put about 14 of these on hold at the library. A & A are sick this week so they've been hanging out on the couch watching them. Aidan especially likes them.
 "Science is cool!" she says.

Teaching Ainsley

Keeping it fun: Reading a home-made book.

        

Keeping her engaged: Circling the words as they're played on Meet the Sight Words.

Keeping her active: I call out a word and she must be the detective and find it.

Our Schedule

(well, at least for a few weeks....)

Monday- Thursday

Aidan

 9:00-9:15           Brainteaser

9:15- 10:15         Math

10:15- 10:45      History

10:45- 11:00      Writing/Copywork

11:00- 11:15       Spelling

11:15- 12:00       Language Arts

12:00- 12:30      Art (drawing)

12:30- 1:00        LUNCH

1:00- 2:00         Computer

2:00- 3:00         Reading

Ainsley

9:00- 9:30         Video

9:30- 10:00       Math

10:00-10:30      FREE

10:30-11:00      Reading

11:00-12:00      FREE

12:00-12:30     Art (drawing)

12:30-1:00       LUNCH

1:00- 3:00        NAP

**Science is on Fridays with Daddy**

Some of My Favorite Things......

I LOVE these velcro coins! I have found them to be super useful with many things.

This is a little folder game I made for the girls. (well... I guess really for Ainsley) The time cards are removable with the velcro coins. I can either set the clocks to a time and they have to match the card to the time showing or I can show them the card and they have to make the clock reflect it.

The calendar on our school wall uses them.
 Each number is detachable.

 I also use them for various other things like this poster that Aidan helped to make. When we change our subject, we just replace the paper strip.

(The mini clocks, the paper strips, and the calendar were all found at Dollar Tree. They carry a lot of good stuff.)

Now YOU post some of your favorite things!

Summer Break

Well, it looks like we had a Summer break after all. My sister's illness has put a lot of life on hold. We have 3 maybe 4 weeks until we'll have to move permanently to N.C. I've given up on elaborate plans. There is no point to them. Everything will be done one day at a time.

Presently....

Aidan is reading through at least 5 different series concurrently. (Much to my ocd induced consternation) I've started collecting books on cd for her to read along with since I don't have the time to always read with her anymore. As I type this, she's listening and reading along with another Magic Tree House book. I've allowed her to stop taking naps so while Ainsley sleeps, she reads. She also uses T4L and Dreambox sporadically. However, she is still on track with the goals I set for her so that she'll finish 1st grade in December. On her own she's advanced in math and in language. I'm quite confident she'll be ready for second grade in January. Really, I'm wondering why I ever buy curriculum. A piece of paper and a pencil seems to be all she needs.

Ainsley has finished half of her reading chart. I haven't sat down with her to read in 3 weeks so it's been slow going. She is, however, with her imagination, humor, observations, and general logical sense showing me that when we really do get down to schooling with her... she's going to be a fast learner.

A Peek

Proof that I am, indeed, a curriculum junkie!   

                       Yard Sale finds this week!

 

One of the games I play with Ainsley. After she learns a certain sound phonetically, I then show her the word family. I like using word families as long as they understand the phonetic rule first.

7 Days!

I have officially made it through my first week of my 60 day challenge! I did O.K. 2 days this week I made bad choices with eating and I only exercised 3 days... so hopefully I can get myself together and do better next week.

Weight Loss?  4.5 pounds!

Yay!

Surprisingly, the exercising wasn't all that bad. The 3rd time, my legs hurt but otherwise I actually enjoyed it.

Stepping Up

Notice that awesome 1930's bed?

 Aidan's bed was put up tonight.










  She's officially graduated from the toddler bed. We did, however, take the box-spring off because it was too high for my comfort. They still only have a concrete floor.

Happy Girl!

Soccer Star!

Ainsley finally has started her soccer! She has been asking about it for over a year and the whole time Aidan played baseball... Ainsley kept talking about soccer. So, for 6 weeks, she gets to "play."

 The first class was a little crazy. One kid wouldn't stop picking the balls up. One kid wouldn't stop crying for his Mom. Another kid (the only other girl) wouldn't play at all. Ainsley was nervous and didn't want to run out there at first. She kept turning back to give me a hug or a kiss. I just encouraged her and told her that she was brave and I was proud of her and I knew she could do it. So, she finally joined in and contented herself with waving madly at me and Aidan. After a little while, she did really well. Only she and two other little boys seemed to be able to follow directions.

I got a flash in my head today.... a picture of her as a teenager playing soccer.

 

It was hot but FUN!

Father's Day Celebration

 Our supper.... roasted hotdogs and ketchup with s'mores! Yum!











The girls had fun swimming.

 The fire was too hot for me to brave so John had to do it.

Cute

Unwanted Visitor

I took this picture right off of our back patio. Needless to say we're being a little careful when we go outside now.

My 60 day Challange!

I have been gaining way too much weight and I realize that I really need to do something about it. So, to get me motivated, I've decided to give myself 60 days ONLY to eat right and exercise. I am hoping that I will get into the habit of eating appropriately and of exercising. (EEK... I haven't exercised in YEARS!) so that I'll continue with it after the 60 days. For now, I am only promising 60 days because any longer than that and I'll give up. 

Yes, I'm playing mind games with myself.

Everyday I plan to write in a notebook all the calories I eat so that I can keep track. I'm hoping to stick to about 1,200 calories a day. I also am keeping a count of the days left on my fridge... to help me stay motivated.

So, crossing fingers here!

??

Is it just my biased nature... or is Ainsley turning into a beautiful looking kid?

Cheesy

A quick picture session before heading off to Church.

Taking Off

We're home! Monday, we shall start back with school. This week we're settling in and having fun.

 However!

Ainsley is working on her sticker chart every day now. She's initiating it because I told her that when she finishes the chart, she'll get Buzz Lightyear... the one that lights up and makes sounds. So, this week, she has been reading many new words, new sentences, and has read the first 3 Bob books. She has also started reading out of regular books... a page here, a word there. I am so PROUD of her! Our daily sessions are lasting only 10 minutes... give or take a few. She doesn't like to sit still for long and she's quick to tell me "Mommy, I'm tired!" when she needs to stop.

I LOVE this part! I LOVE when the lightbulb clicks and they take off. I LOVE seeing the happiness in her little face when she figures out a new word! I LOVE that the world of words is now open for her.

Go Ainsley!

It's fun to stay at the....

 We've had a membership for 5 years... and have never used it until this week. Why oh why?

More to come

4 more days until returning home. I have MONTHS of back posts with pictures that I will be working on putting up throughout the Summer.

Correction

I stated in a previous post that I hadn't taught Aidan to read. I've never considered that I had because "teaching" her meant the equivalent of telling it to her. In my head, I was helping her along, not teaching. However, looking back at her weekly list of her assignments, I realized that I was teaching her. For a small period, I was giving her assignments and using curriculum. (beg. of 2010) So I was wrong in writing that I don't have any prior experience teaching it.

 I had actually forgotten all the things I used (like her decoding sentences with her vocabulary words) so that once I started reading her lists I thought to myself  "hey that's a good idea! I can use that with Ainsley!"

4 more dayz

We have 4 days until we go home for the Summer! Whoo Hoo! I'm getting all our stuff ready for school. The girls' work folders are full and ready. (think I'll post later about what's in them)

This week we have continued with doing school a little bit in the mornings. Again, Aidan is only working on math. I asked her "why do you like math?"  She shrugged and said "I just like learning about numbers." Lately, I have been working on different methods of addition and subtraction with her. When Aidan completed all the Singapore 1A problems, she did so by doing it her way, not by the way in the book. So, I've been going through it and showing her the alternative methods she missed. However, we'll be done fairly soon and I have decided to just continue with Singapore 1B this Summer..... so that by the end of December (the end of our school year) she'll be ready for 2A. (I doubt I'll go straight into 2A if she finishes it early but it'll depend on our circumstances at that time.)

Right now we're practicing addition and subtraction by....

making 10              (9+6  you take 1 from 6 to make the 9 a 10 and then add 10 plus 5)
counting backwards and forwards   (self explanatory)
using place value     (add the tens and ones separately)
make doubles and + or - from that   (8+9 would be 8+8=16+1)

I'm having her do problems both mentally and on paper/wipe board.

Ainsley has been writing randomly on her wipe board.... letters of course. But! Everyday for the last 5 days she has been reading for me.... as in actually reading. 5 days ago she pointed out another sight word. I was curious as to how many she actually knew (she's only seen the first sight word video 3 times) and I started writing some on the wipe board. She read them. So, I wrote a sentence for her... something like "The dog is sad." She read that easily so I made it a harder sentence..... something like "The big dog is on a sad mat." I had to help her focus but she read that too.  I was not overly surprised.... I know she's very smart and that she's just not interested in academics like Aidan is... but I couldn't help but be impressed. So, since then, I've been taking the wipe board and writing one or two sentences for her to read once a day. She's also been getting a sticker for each time she practices so her chart is finally being used.

I am not going to push her too hard because her focus is limited. She'll grin and stare at the ceiling and look everywhere but at the board. However, so far I have come up with a few methods to help her focus. For example, today, knowing that she's an active child, I told her to stand up when she was reading and with each word she jumped high in the air as she read. For whatever reason, it worked. I'm also trying to think up other ways to engage her... like writing out the sentences where the words are on separate cards and having her jump from word to word as she reads them.

Anyway, I'm planning on really enjoying this Summer with the girls. I love watching them learn!

Reality Check

Oh My! I just looked back at what Aidan was doing at 3.5 years and I cannot believe it now that Ainsley is almost the same age. Aidan was writing confidently, solving math problems, and reading whole books. Wow! And to think I somewhat took it as normal. I mean.... I knew she was advanced and was proud of it... but now that I have another slightly more "normal" daughter to compare her to.... Wow!  (In her defense...let me just say that Ainsley is a brilliant and quick-witted child and all signs point to her being "gifted"... she's just perhaps not quite at the same level as Aidan ... unless the difference in the attention I've given them because of our situation with my sister has made all the difference?? I dunno. )

What's Up Part 5.....

June 6th... the girls and I are coming home for an undetermined amount of time. Hopefully we will be enjoying the whole Summer there.  Aidan, Ainsley and I will be "catching up" with school. For months, nothing has really been done except for the last three weeks. The last three weeks, Aidan has been working on a lot of math (today she sat down and did 14 worksheets! Crazy Girl!), playing Dreambox, and both Aidan and Ainsley have been using T4L a few times each week.

This Summer....

With Aidan, I plan to read with a lot, continue math, and concentrate on writing. Short stories, poems, and letters will be written. Other than that....we'll dabble with whatever strikes her interest.(Lately she likes for me to read out of a book I picked up ..... Encyclopedia of World History: The ultimate guide to the world's past.)

As for Ainsley....I will actually start teaching her to read this Summer. She has been showing what is termed "reading readiness."  She's initiating reading periods and is finding words on her own. Yesterday, she kept pointing out words she recognized ...

"Look Mommy. This page has two "the(s) !  One, two, three.... there are 3  "on(s)"

This will be a new experience for me because I'll actually be teaching her. With Aidan, she taught herself and I just pointed out things. I helped her a little but not much. (By Ainsley's current age, Aidan was reading step 2 and 3 books.) So, my plan is to focus on reading by playing games with her, sitting her in front of Meet the Sight Words videos and of course, reading with her. I also will use the Bob books and Hop On Pop like I did with Aidan. (I LOVE Hop On Pop for beginning readers!!)

I refuse to make elaborate plans because never have they worked out. But... hopefully.... this blog will have a lot more posts.... with pictures.

What's Up Part 4..... random pics of random days

Math Rider

Old phonics sheet

Being Silly

300+ puzzles

Her "B Family"

25 piece puzzles

Worry

This year seems to be the year of death. My grandmother was put in the hospital with congestive heart failure. The idea of her being gone is as frightening as being told the moon will dissolve. My grandmother is an immovable rock... solid, strong, and meant to last forever.

What's Up Part 3

Ainsley

Ainsley is mostly content to just play with toys and the cousins. However, she does not like to be left out and so she'll do school whenever she sees Aidan doing it. Right now her favorite thing to work on is the Drops in the Bucket worksheets. Like all 3 year olds... she especially loves the cutting and pasting part. She does work in the ETC primer set but likes to hurry through it because it's easy. She LOVES to use the small wipe board and practice writing letters. She makes "families." If she's practicing the letter "b" she'll make a Daddy, Mommy, Grandma, Sister, Brother, and Baby "b".    :D  This last week, she's been on a puzzle kick and is doing all the 24 piece ones. I think she's ready for a harder one, however, so I plan to try out a 50 piece with her soon. On occasion, I'll find her counting things. She'll take toys and do math problems."Two barbies and three barbies is 5 barbies." It's cute. I'm proud. Also, her vocabulary is awesome.

"Apparently, Daddy is here."

 "Ah, this is so obnoxious!" she says as her blocks don't fit together quite right.

"Please stop aggravating me!" she'll say to one of the other kids.

"I was really exited yesterday because _________ is exciting."

As for reading... she's just not as interested. She prefers to make up the stories herself. I made up a sticker chart for her and whenever she practices reading... she'll get a sticker. Well, LOL, she has 1 so far. Admittedly, because we never do school, I don't really ask her or remind her but still, it's funny.

To be continued...

What's Up Part 2

Writing

With the exception of random sentences she writes on drawings or cards she makes... Aidan hasn't done any writing... not even in her workbook.

Yikes!

Reading

Aidan is always reading things on her own. Every night before bed she prefers to unwind by reading for a little while. Mostly, it's all in her head at this point (so as not to disturb the others). I have no clue how much she skips or how much she's retaining. I cringe to type this but the kids and I reading together has lessened to the point of being nonexistent. I have a basket of books that I had brought with me... months ago... for us to go through and so far they have remained untouched except by them. You can easily guess my feelings on this one.

Since we are living with 4 older children I am having to take books away that I feel is inappropriate for her to be reading. A few weeks ago I had to argue with her over reading Harry Potter. LOL. She wants to read what the others are reading.

Other

There really hasn't been much else. No science, social studies, read alouds, etc. T4L was only done once... a few weeks ago. Exciting ... huh? Oh, Aidan did put together a 300+ puzzle the other day. I helped with maybe 20 of the pieces.

To be continued....

.

What's up Part 1

Well, I suppose "shortly' is a relative term. HeHe. Now that its nearing May I thought I'd write.

First of all, life is very busy. Six kids, a sick sister, and lots of family drama take up a lot of time. School doesn't really exist anymore. We have 1 good school day every week and a half to two weeks now.

Yes, about 2-3 days a month.

This week, however, we've had 2 days of school and have broken our record. LOL

Really, I'm not happy about it. I see my girls struggling and stagnating. Their minds are not properly being nourished and I'm letting them down.

Ah Mommy guilt!

So, what has been going on?

Aidan

Mathematics

Aidan still seems to magically be gaining math skills. The random days she's done school... she's worked on logical math problems or the mixed math sheets and I haven't yet seen something be too hard for her. (In fact, I wish I had bought Mathematical Reasoning for 2nd graders. The 1st grade is too simplistic for her.) Unfortunately, because of our lack of schooling I cannot tell you precisely what she can do. I'm really not on top of everything. However, when her older cousin (who is in 2nd grade) brings home schoolwork, I have seen Aidan help her cousin and/or tell her the answers. So, obviously, she has moved into at least 2nd grade math. (I have a sneaking suspicion that if I sat her down and systematically showed and tested her with any Elementary math... she'd be able to do it all.) Let's see? Sometime in late February/ early March she took the workbook from her Singapore 1A and went through and did the whole thing just because she wanted to. I also discovered a fun computer game called Math Rider. Aidan and all 4 of the older cousins enjoy playing it. I highly recommend it for anyone wanting their kid to practice their math facts. At first is can be frustrating because they have to type the answers in fast. The first two times Aidan tried it she broke down in tears. But, then she tried it again and the 3rd time she used it, she did well. Now she really loves playing it.

The only other Math is that I bought Aidan a watch. She wears it and at random times I'll ask her what time it is. So, she's learning to tell time in a very old fashioned way.

Oh, and I still have a subscription to Dreambox but unfortunately, using the computer, is nigh impossible here so it is left unused. 

Geography

I have to laugh at myself again. I knew Aidan was interested in the states and that she wanted to learn the names. So I had the idea we'd go through and learn each one by one. Aidan and I picked out a blank sketch book and we've been planning to scrap all the states, territories, and major cities. Stuffed in a drawer next to my bed is scrapbooking supplies I've already started collecting. Well, Aidan knows all 50 states already. Again, I forgot that I just need to TELL her things for her to know them. Anyway, I found a blank map of the USA in a dollar store. Makensie, Aidan's cousin, told me that she wanted to learn the states because she would be learning them next year. So, I showed them both the blank map and started pointing to a few states at at time and repeating the name of the state. For example... I started with Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and both Carolinas. "Okay, show me Alabama Aidan," I'd say. So she'd show me the state. After running through the states that way I then played a game with them. They had to turn over a little card with a state written on it, read it correctly, and then show me where it was located. If they got it right... they kept it. If they didn't... then it was put back face down. Aidan won. She messed up only twice. Afterward, Cole told me about a website called Cool Math games.  (Seriously... if  you don't know it.... try it out. It's free and has A LOT of cool games.) One of their games is called State the State. It's a great way to review the states. All the kids in the house ended up in a mini-contest on who could get 50/50 first. *Brag Alert* Aidan led the pack with 48/50 from the start. The others all originally got about only 30/50. Because they were embarrassed a 4 year old beat them... they all (good naturally by the way) started studying them and practicing them. Kensie spent hours playing State the State over and over again until she finally reached the coveted score of 50/50 first. I was really proud of Kensie.. she really made a big effort. Sooo, long story short.... snicker.... we still will do the whole scrapbooking the states thing but I'm going to just collect the supplies and we'll just do it really slowly so that next year, Ainsley, at four, would be able to really help as well.


To Be Continued....

On break... back in NC.... will return shortly........

ON ORDER from Rainbow Resource

I LOVE Rainbow Resource!!! Almost everything I wish to order, from all different companies,  can be ordered from them and if I buy at least $150 there is no shipping charges. I always save money when I order from them. (They offer "bargain" copies and discounted prices.)

 Well, tax season is here and I've set aside money to pick up things I've been wanting...

 A nice, plain Base 10 set. These will be fun to play with and, I think, a great visual-helper with place value.







Real Science 4 Kids Pre Level 1 Biology... every example I've found on the internet seems to be perfect for Aidan... it's simpler but advanced.

 

I'm crossing my fingers on this one.. the examples are so simple but cute.

Finally! From Critical Thinking Company...

 Language Smarts B... I love the examples I've seen. They have a simple way of introducing early grammar.

Mathematical Reasoning:

 Level B for Aidan as a supplementary and Beginning 2 for Ainsley as her main math.

 

Brian Puzzles!

(We've starting reading the Magic Tree House books and I bought these just for fun)

I cannot wait to see this box in the mail!!