Day 273 - inseparable

They have each other and it's just the neatest thing to observe.  I love listening to them play... the way they talk, protect each other, laugh and just take care of one another.   They bicker too but moments like these erase all of that.

Adventures - Week 2

I think I have a problem with not sticking to the plan!  I see so many wonderful things we can read and use related to our topic and I definitely need a little more self control.  If I don't stop adding to our curriculum then we'll be studying U.S. History for the next several years.

We really enjoyed the read aloud, American Pioneers and Patriots.  It was her favorite. We also read Christopher Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parrin d'Aulaire and she did some notebooking pages.  Now we're listening to the Columbus tapes from Your Story Hour but we haven't finished those yet.  We'll continue with those as I find time to fit them in.

She made and sailed her Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria across the Atlantic Ocean.  It was a windy day and they made it quickly and safely to America.

She was so excited for science this week.  Right now she wants to be a scientist so she was eager to record the results of her experiment with air.   I love how the rest of the girls take part in her activities too.  The little ones experimented with air and water for the next hour.

In Bible we're studying the names of Jesus.  I included Caroline more often in Bible this week and it worked well.  These are the name bracelets that the girls finished from last week.

Calista painted her poster with watercolor paint and then added salt.  We got this great idea from Ginger and her girls at Ginger-Snap-Shots.  It's so fun to see what other MFW families are doing (and copying :)

We also had a friend from church come over and teach the girls how to sew.  I'm learning too since I don't know how to do much more than sew on a button.

Oral presentations started this week with our homeschool group.  The girls were prepared but got a little nervous as more and more children entered the room we had at the library.  I'd say about 25 children presented, more or less.  Calista did a wonderful job despite her nerves but Caroline was overcome with fear and didn't want to do it.   Nothing I could say worked until Calista offered to go up and stand beside her.  Whew!  She went up with her big sister and whispered her poem to the group.  It was a sweet moment that I'll never forget.

Day 272 - practicing her songs

Caroline loves being an Awana Sparky.  She moved up this year since she's a big kindergartner and she is taking it really seriously.  I love working with her on her Awana lessons.   She just wants to cuddle on the couch and practice with me.  So sweet.  :)

A friend of ours lent us a CD with most of the verses she has to memorize in songs.  It also has the Sparky theme song which she adores.   I put it in her school workbox on some days and she just stands at the hutch, singing the Sparky song over and over.  I offer to bring it to the floor since she's there so long but she's happy just singing her song.

Day 271 - summer's end

The weekend temperatures were still close to 100 but by today it had dropped down to almost 90.  We had to take advantage of this last pool day.  I'm not ready to put their summer clothing away.   They are growing so quickly and I know that most of their little outfits, that remind me so much of now, just wont fit next summer.  I need to freeze time, for just a little while.

Day 270 - courtney and claire

They are growing faster than I can keep up with.  They say the funniest things totally keep me on my toes. Every time I call them the babies they tell me that they're big girls now.

I wish I remembered to write down the conversations I overhear.  They are constantly talking with each other and rarely play apart.   Today they were talking about potty training.  Claire said she wasn't ready but would be on Sunday.  She goes with Courtney every time and gives her stickers when she's done.  She's really supportive of Courtney's progress but wants no part of potty training at all.

Tonight after Awana they were telling me how they are using words instead of crying when they are in Cubbies.  The teacher always tells them to use their words, which is great.   They are involved in more things away from me lately so they have been adjusting.  It's not always been easy but we're getting there.   It's such a sweet age.

Day 269 - banana brownies

One of our favorite recipes, banana brownies.  The girls did it without me today.  I wanted to check but I didn't .  They ended up yummy but with one less cup of flour.  :)

Day 268 - friday school co-op

On Friday mornings we attend a homeschool co-op.  Caroline takes a class on oceans and another called 'Sing and Sign'.  Calista has art appreciation and science and the twins have a preschool class.  We're there for a few hours and during that time I have a mom's group time and then I work in Caroline's class.  So far the girls love going to Friday school and I'm really enjoying the other families I'm meeting.  It's neat to have other homeschooling moms to chat with.

Today, during Caroline's class, the preschool teacher walked in with two crying tots.....Courtney and Claire.   The transition time, with the new teacher coming in, shook them up and they just couldn't be consoled.  They just wanted mommy and to go home.   So they stayed with me in Caroline's 'Sing and Sign' class and eventually joined in the fun.    It's just going to take a little time.

Sun Lapbook

This was Caroline's first lapbook.  As we studied the sun lessons over the past 2 weeks we collected her work with the plan of making the lapbook.  I love how she has her pictures in the center and how much pride she took in putting this together.   I added the captions under the photos but she wanted to make sure it was written just as she said it.

I learned a few lessons from making this one.  I'm going to purchase some colored file folders instead so she wont spend so much time gluing the colored construction paper all over.  It made it a little bulky and warped.  But I suppose those are things that I just had to learn since I didn't read enough about making lapbooks beforehand.  I also want to make a lapbook with samples of mini books, pockets and other shapes she can add so it isn't all pockets.  That way she can have some other choices and add some variety.

The most important thing though is that she totally enjoyed it, she learned and she is proud of herself.

Day 267 - painting

Caroline painted the different phases of the moon today for school.  Courtney and Claire wanted to join in on the fun too!

Day 266 - dollhouse with the duggars

The dollhouse continues to be the most played-with toy amongst the girls.  Calista and Caroline look forward to their time once their schoolwork is complete.  I hear them making plans throughout the day about what their dolls will do.  Lately it's been about Awana and being old enough to be in the main sanctuary with mommy and daddy for church, both of which are happening in real life.  


Although bickering about who gets what drives me crazy sometimes (and I have to close it for a day or three) I do appreciate how it reveals so much of their world to me.


The scene below is the Duggars and the Roberts at church learning the Awana Sparkies song.  Carly Roberts and Caroline Duggar are leading.  Pastor Henry (our pastor) is up there with them for support.  They make me laugh. :)

Day 265 - oral presentations

Calista and Caroline had their first oral presentations today.  Our group met at the Cameron Park Library where we had a room reserved.  I'm guessing there were about 20 kids who presented plus their siblings.  I would have been nervous.  The girls had their poems memorized and were totally prepared.  Their excitement dropped as more and more kids entered the room.  I could see that Caroline was going to stay firmly planted in her chair.  Calista stood and recited her poem perfectly.  I could tell she was a little nervous but it didn't stop her.

When almost everyone had gone Caroline was still refusing.  Only she and the other 2 kindergarten children needed to present.  At that moment, sweet Calista offered to go up there with her and stand beside her.  I was so happy that she agreed they walked to the front of the room hand in hand.  Calista put her arm around her and pulled her hair away from her face.  She whispered something into her ear and then Caroline started.  She recited the whole poem perfectly although it was close to a whisper.  I don't think anyone really heard what she said but they clapped anyway.

We'll be doing this every month so I'm pretty certain she'll get better with time.  I was really proud of both of them.

Day 264 - special names

As a part our bible curriculum we've been learning about names and what they mean.  The girls learned about their own names to begin with and how we chose those names.  I wrote them each a letter describing how we selected their names and what each one meant.  The funny thing is that the reason I loved Calista's name so much was because I was a HUGE Ally Mc Beal fan and loved Calista Flockhart.  I omitted that part of course.  The girls made bracelets which are to be reminders that they are very special to us and to God.

Day 263 - horrendous hair night at awana

This is about as horrendous as it got for us.  Some of the kids had spray painted their hair and really created some wild hair styles.  Ken just gelled his hair and made it stick up - not too crazy but fun.

Day 262 - Sutter's Mill

We had a nice visit with Grammy and Grandpa today.  They arrived yesterday and took us to dinner at Chili's.  Today we all went over to Sutter's Mill to explore.  It was a gorgeous day and the girls loved playing in the American River.

Our Second Week of Adventures and K

Since we started on a Tuesday last week I felt like we needed to carry Adventures into a second week.  I also had a little more I wanted her to do in History so it worked out well.  Our week was very choppy because we had a number of outside activities (memorial service :( , field trip and our first day of Co-op).   I know that flexibility is one of the benefits of homeschooling and this week was my first real experience with that fact. It made me a little nervous at first but I also didn't want to rush the their learning so we could stick to specific timeframe.

Calista has really enjoyed learning about The Vikings.  The read alouds have been wonderful. One in particular, Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire has been our favorite.  I added some lessons from the Early American Study Guide from Beautiful Feet and was really pleased with that too.

I'm using Singapore Math with Calista and that continues to be the more challenging part of our day.  We will continue with it for now but I'm working really hard on building her confidence again.  At the beginning of her 2nd grade year in public school she started saying she wasn't good in Math.  Since she came home to school last February it's been a slow process building her back up.

Science was a favorite for her this week since she was able to do an experiment.  She is explaining to her little sisters that the salt in the water keeps the egg afloat.  Since this lesson,  she has been experimenting to see what else she can float.  I'm nearly out of salt.  :)

In MFW Kindergarten we finished up the Sun Lesson this week also.  Caroline proudly wears her badge and made a little pocket in her Sun lapbook to hold it when we move onto the next lessons.  We made a sundial, played with shadows and read many books about the sun.  She made a little mini book with some of the facts she learned and we then decided to make a lapbook to contain all of her projects and pictures.  I'll post a picture of her lapbook when it is complete.

The reading section was also great for the twins and they participated in most of the activities.  Luckily I made a copy for them too.  I'm happy they love school so much.

Caroline painting the sun for her lapbook.

The girls checked the sundial every hour to see how it changed.

Caroline continues to measure her grapes as they become raisins.

Our field trip to Apple Hill with our homeschool group.

I'm so happy with how the past two weeks have gone.  We love the workboxes and we love our curriculum.

Day 261 - sewing lessons

The girls love watching me sew buttons onto their dresses when they pop off or even the patches onto their Awana vests.  Little do they know, I have no idea what I'm doing.  They have been so impressed that I have a sewing kit and asked when I would be able to teach them.  That's when I had to admit that my skills were lacking in this area and we all needed to learn.  Luckily, we have Ms. Anne.  As the girls now say, "she knows everything".  She kindly agreed to come over and give the girls a lesson.  Little did she know that it was for me as well. :)

In this photo she is giving the girls a little sewing kit that she put together for them.  They were really excited and surprised.  She brought everything they needed to make either a blanket or a pillow for their dolls.  They worked for over an hour and then continued sewing on and off throughout the weekend.  I can't wait to see their completed projects.

Day 260 - picnics

We've been doing this a lot lately for lunch.

Day 259 - apple hill

We went on a field trip to Apple Hill today.   It was our first field trip this school year and I was only a little nervous  that it would go smoothly and chaos free.  :)  It actually did and they had a blast.  The apple donuts were so  melt-in-your-mouth yummy.  They loved the maze, the wagon ride and picking apples.  I loved the donut!

Day 258 - still summer

It's still up in the high 90s so there is nothing better than going to the pool when daddy gets home from work.  We only have the club membership until the end of the month so I hope the temperature drops a little by October.

Day 257 - memorial service and library

We attended a memorial service today for a friend from our homeschool group.  Ken was able to leave work and meet us there.  Although it was very sad, it was a beautiful service.

Later in the day we spent some time at the library.  I'm still trying to teach the twins to use a quiet voice in there but it's not working too well.

Day 256 - awana started

Sunday, our busiest days are back.  I usually don't like busy days but the things we do on Sundays are really enjoyable.  Awana started again today!  The girls have been so eager for it to start and they kept dancing around with excitement today.  Courtney and Claire started Cubbies.  When I picked them up they said they wanted to go home and do their work so they could earn their vest.   I peeked in on them several times and they were always happy.

Caroline started Sparkies this year and liked everything except the game time when they had to run some relay races.  She actually refused.  Other than that she loved it and has great leaders!  Calista is now a T&T which is unbelievable.  I remember seeing them as such big kids back when she was just a little Cubbie.

Ken is part of it too.  He is a leader for the Sparkies group.  He has a group of little boys and it was adorable watching him with them.  Even though he was a little nervous about it, I know he will be awesome at this.

Day 255 - waffles and co-op picnic

The girls anxiously waiting for the waffles this morning.  I kept hoping that Courtney wouldn't decide to jump!  She likes doing that.  

Today was a big day for Ken because USC was playing Ohio.  We had a picnic to attend in the afternoon for the homeschool co-op we were joining this year.   He wouldn't be able to stay for the whole thing but it  was important for us to be there so we stayed without him.  It didn't end well....some upset tummies and stinky messes...but still glad we stayed.

This picture was from the picnic.  Some of the kids found a dead snake so they decided to have a memorial service for it.  I wish I could have captured what they wrote on the tombstone.  It was pretty sweet (and gross).

Day 254 - babies in the tree

It's their new favorite thing to do.

Day 253 - laundry

Courtney and Claire learn to fold laundry too.  

Courtney helped right until the end.  

Day 252 - my little kinder-girl

She is so proud :)

They love it!

Even though I have been doing the Creation lessons with Caroline, Courtney and Claire for the past two weeks we didn't officially count it as starting school.  Today was our real first day and boy were they excited!  They had their clothes all laid out last night and we all enjoyed a special back to school dinner.

Everyone got ready before breakfast and we started by 8:30 am. They wanted to see everything together so  it was a huge production just to walk into my room where I kept the workboxes.  We spent some time looking through everything and they were so happy with the new crayons, clipboard and other supplies.  It was so sweet.  They thought the workboxes were the neatest things ever and were just itching to begin.

Here are some highlights of our day:

The girls reading their devotional together.  We also do one together at breakfast but this is just for the two of them to do before we start school.

Caroline made some cookies for the tactile activity in today's reading lesson.  She was expecting play-doh so it was a fun surprise for her.

Calista joined Caroline outside for our Sun activity.  The blindfold is to create a dark environment so we can begin to discuss how the sun helps us find our way and walk safely.  Just as Jesus is called the light of the world (our theme this week) and helps us to go the right way in our thoughts and actions.

For the first day of the Adventures Calista received a new bible.  I wasn't sure if she would really want one or not because she likes the one she has but it was obvious that it meant a lot to her.  This one has larger print and some illustrations that her other bible doesn't have.  She was so thankful that we had this for her today as a special gift.

This is Calista during the Book Basket time in Adventures. I know it's a box but I just can't find another basket right now and this seems to work just as well. :)

Overall it was such a great first day of school.  I had a little trouble with the timing of the workboxes and  know that I need to re-think it a little bit to make it run more smoothly.   Oh, and we started potty training Courtney on Saturday (round 2) so that was built into the day as well.    It was a little hectic at times but I really felt good about the day.