Joseph’s birthday party

 Joseph had a small backyard party for this 5th birthday, but we celebrated in a BIG way!  We rented a double racer, 20ft water slide.  His decorations and cake were all Ninja themed as that seems to be his obsession for now.  We invited some new friends to celebrate with us but kept it pretty small.  The kids played on the slide for more than 8hrs!  It was a wonderfully fun way to cap off the summer too!

Scarlet’s compositions continued

 More in depth thoughts from Scarlet...

Composition 15: Write about a reptile

"The lizard is green.  It can hide in the trees.  They like leaves."

Composition 16: Write about what you want to be when you grow up

"I want to be a nurse.  I will hold babies.  I love babies."

Composition 17: Write about a bird

"I like blue jays.  They eat seeds.  They fly high in the sky."

Composition 18: Write about a game

"I play Don't Wake Daddy. When you press the clock Daddy wakes up!"

Composition 19: Write about a family gathering

"We have Thanksgiving together.  We eat a big turkey."

Composition 20: Write about an invention you wish for

"I wish to have a cleaning robot.  He would clean everything.  We can leave our toys out!!"

Composition 21: Write about a nest

"The birds get twigs and leaves and mud to make a nest.  The birds sit on the eggs."

Composition 22: Write about something colorful

"I made a rainbow.  There are a lot of colors.  They come after the rain."

Compositon 23: Write about your bike

"My bike is blue.  My bike has flowers. I ride fast!"

Composition 24: Write about a sport with a ball

"Soccer is a fun sport. I kick with the sides of my feet, then BAM! I kick it far."

Composition 25: Write about washing your car

We wash our car at the car wash.  It gets us so soapy! Then it sprays us off.  We are clean!"

Slow down Joseph!

 This little boy turned 5 years old yesterday and, not going to lie, I am struggling with it. He’s my last baby and I’m just not ready. Slow down!

Homeschool

 As all of you know, we are homeschooling.  I don't know if it'll last forever (I hope it does but for now we will take it one year at a time).  I CAN say with certainty that my kids will never again set foot in a public school.  I am trying to be the best educator to these children.  It is my new life goal and education itself has developed a whole new meaning.  It's hard, I'm not going to lie.  Especially in these earlier years when they need so much of my time and help.  By Friday, I'm pretty exhausted, but they are flourishing and I feel so blessed to have this opportunity.  You will probably be seeing more homeschool pictures as it's such a large part of our home life now.  

Lorelai is now thinking she wants to be a lawyer

Evelyn wants to rescue animals when she grows up

Scarlet wants to be a Nurse!

...and Joseph wants to be a Ninja

Preschool is very hands on this year and a lot of prep work for me because there's no video with this part of the curriculum.  But I do love doing assignments and crafts with him. 

First official day of school was August 29th 

I love Scarlet's composition assignments and this is my favorite so far.  It says she wants to be a nurse.  She will hold babies.  She loves babies. 

Joseph working on his busy binder and practicing his alphabet

This Science chapter 1 test is such a big deal.  Most likely a bigger deal than you all know.  Evelyn's learning disability had started to affect her schooling over the last couple of years.  The problem is she was becoming more aware of her disability and started to fake it and pretend to understand the information, even if she didn't.  Teachers had a harder time knowing what she did and did not understand.  The word "test" brought on tons of anxiety and she would automatically forget everything and not know any answers.  I truly think homeschool has saved her because this Mama won't let her fall behind.  Science test 100%!

Joseph is working on his letter alphabet.  "A" is for "alligator"!

Little gymnasts and ninjas...

Evelyn and Scarlet are enrolled in gymnastics and Joseph does ninja warrior training.  I'm loving that we are getting these kiddos back in extracurricular activities.  This is Joseph's first activity and he LOVES the boy time.

Joseph on his first day of Ninja training

Evelyn is the best rope climber in her class!

 

 

August wrap-up…

 pictures from August...

I know this picture doesn't seem like much but it did warm my heart.  This picture was taken from our new home, in our new neighborhood on our very first day there.  All these kids just showed up to play!  It is something we definitely didn't have in Durango.  There are lots of friends to be made.

The kids are getting used to the idea that we live in a tornado prone area

This is how my children help me to unpack.  They find old toys, lost treasures, and dress up and play while we open boxes

Homeschooling is hard...but it sure has it's perks as well!  All kids are in school, Dad is out of town, so a matinee movie with the whole theater to ourselves seems pretty cool!

Another perk? Having the community pool all to ourselves while the neighborhood kids are in school.

I am also happy to have trash pick up and not have to go to the dumpster myself.  Joseph especially loves the weekly CLAW that comes to pick up bulk items.

Daddy and Joseph went to the grocery store.  I asked them to pick me up a bottle of wine.  Daddy let Joseph do the picking so this is what I get.  Joseph picks the bottle based on the label's cool factor.

More helpers... this time it's yard work

And this is how she homeschools today

These magnet tiles have to be the most used toy the kids have ever received!  I highly recommend!  I just love the see the creativity and imagination bloom