First Day of 1st in photos

it's here!  the day we've been dreading/waiting for...

 oh my baby - 1st grade!  may you go forth being filled with knowledge, being blessed and being a blessing to those around you.

Eliana is 4!! A Strawberry Shortcake kind of Day.

Oh El, you are four!!!  We had your first "girls only" party and it was such a blast.  You are blessed with the sweetest of friends.

Another Hallelujah

"Mama, is Addison a Christian?"
"Yes he is, honey."
"Are you a Christian?"
"Yes, sweetie."
"Is Daddy a Christian?"
"Mmm Hmm."

These conversations have been going on for the last month.  We've been able to tell over the past year that Eli has learned so very much at Sunday School.  I mean, yes, we read the Bible and pray together and talk about the Lord throughout the day, but she's really been picking up so much from her teachers at church; it's been exciting to hear!

Also this year has been quite challenging regarding sweet Eli's temperament and emotions.  When the girl gets angry, I'm quite at a loss for how to handle her!  The last few days have found me begging the Lord for wisdom and patience again as it seems like just nothing works when she's like the.way.she.can.be.

A December Day

Painting homemade Christmas cards

Second Star on the Right and Straight on Till Morning...

Addison is 6.  I truly can't believe it; 6 sounds like such a big number - such a big boy!!  And this big boy, if you know him, is ALL about parties.  His parties, others parties, planning parties, throwing parties.  He likes them and he's good at it.  But...he's a bit indecisive; changing the "theme" of his party just about every week.  It actually started to get on my  nerves cause guess where he got his love of parties from?  Yup, his mama.  And I can't plan a good party if he's constantly changing his mind!!!!!!

So, I finally "helped" him land on an idea and we went to work planning it.  Peter Pan!!  This, I thought, would appeal to both our little boy and little girl guests and be a lot of fun to plan!!  So, Welcome to Neverland!!

The baseboards in the Dining Room were lined with a rough version of the London Skyline.

Vintage prints of Peter Pan framed around the house.

The kitchen became Mermaid's Lagoon complete with Mermaid's Treasure (plant gel beads that proved to be A LOT of fun!  I would highly recommend them as a stocking stuffer)  and blue goo!!

Wendy never looked so good :)

Our room beneath the stairs became the Indian camp.  I hung a gigantic drop cloth from the stairs and put blankets, pillows and tinker toys inside.

Peter, the Indian Chief and Tiger Lilly in the teepee.

Little Indian

Some photo taking fun!!

Peter, Wendy, Smee and Captain Hook!

The crew!!  We have Tick-Tock, the crocodile, Michael, Peter, a lost boy, Indian Chief, another Lost Boy, some Indians, Smee, Wendy and Tiger Lilly!!

Addison's closet became the Lost Boys' Hideout!

The treasure!!

Eli's room became Pixie Hollow

Before long, Hook heard of the fun that was happening and decided to make some walk the plank.

Hook's Pirate Ship

In Neverland, you get to eat whatever you want and so the guests got to decorate their own cupcakes!

The party is over and it's time for bed in the nursery!

Some things you should know about Addison, age 6:
*Addison is a leader.
*Addison loves superheros.  Turning things into superheroes, drawing them, pretending to be them.
*Addison takes his own showers!
*Addison's emotions have started to "mature".  There is not much yelling or tantrum throwing anymore.  He talks politely and is quite calm with his siblings.
*Addison LOVES being with his friends.
*Addison enjoys school at home and is really interested in math and history.
*Addison enjoys arts and crafts.
*Addison puts on his coat and goes outside almost every day on his own without being asked to.
*Addison loves the library.
*Addison has a lot of energy and likes to get it out with running, bike riding, sports and wrestling.
*Addison loves tradition and schedules and plans.
*Addison enjoys being a helper and involved in ideas and planning.
*Addison loves Samuel and is very affectionate with him.
*Addison would like to start karate lessons.
*Addison has read his first 5 books.
*Addison picks out his own clothes every day.
*Addison does not enjoy being alone.
*Addison is not a picky eater and has quite the appetite.
*Addison loves presents.
*Addison LOVES eating out, getting take out, having family night or Daddy night.
*Addison is sweet, creative, affectionate, a thinker, imaginative, a good negotiator and a lot of fun.

I love you, my sweet 6 year old!
~Mama

Bouquet of Pencils

Fall is here!  School time has come!  "I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address." - a quote from my favorite movie, You've Got Mail.  Ahh!  Love it.  Life is all apples and pumpkins.                      

Last year Justin and I much debated, prayed and discussed where Addison would attend school this year.  Ugh!  He's old enough for kindergarten!  I thought we would never come to an agreement and then of course finally did...this year he's staying home.   

It has had its ups and downs.  I've had a really hard time figuring out how to still do "life" - cleaning the house, preparing meals, making snacks, running errands, run a business, go to the library, doing church, having a garden and still spend time with my kids AND teach Addison stuff.    

This third week I think we may be into a routine and the one I post is the one that's been working, but that is sure to change, I know.  I have to remember that it's only kindergarten and that one of the big reasons we kept him home is so he can continue to be a busy 5 year old boy, playing and using his imagination, not to mention that both classical education and the Charlotte Mason Method (both of which I lean toward) agree that formal learning doesn't need to start before the first grade.

I've been reading, reading, reading and loving what I find.  The following books not only helped us  make this decision, but help guide my days and challenge me to always be trying harder.  The Well-Trained Mind:   A Guide to Classical Education at Home  is  just terrific.  The beginning and end give more of the reason as to why and then the rest of the book leads you through a "how-to"   It also has THE BEST chapter on socialization.  Awesome!  Wish I could memorize that chapter.

For the Children's Sake:  Foundations of Education for Home and School   is lovely.  It introduced me to Charlotte Mason and helped me form ideas for the type of home I want my children to grow up in.

I am in the middle of Pocketful of Pinecones:  Nature Study with the Gentle Art of Learning    This is a different book, sort of a story but full of ideas for nature study with your children.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder I borrowed from a friend and I'm bummed it's not mind.  I want to underline every line and write a blog post including all the amazing and devastating statistics I am reading about the decline of outdoor play and how it is having it effects throughout society.

This summer I was given this book, A Charlotte Mason Companion:  Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning, as I have been exploring more of Charlotte Mason.  This book is terrific.

 I decided to piece together the kindergarten curriculum from Sonlight, adding in some Charlotte Mason elements that I have learned about and love.  I'm using this blog quite a bit as she does the same thing:  http://practicalpages.wordpress.com/ and by piecing together I mean, not buying everything from them - it's expensive.  Instead, I am ordering things through local libraries and shopping my used book sites.

We do school on Tues, Wed, Thurs mornings and Friday afternoons.  Monday is our family day and so from time to time we'll do "field trip" type stuff with Justin.  Last Monday we visited the Minute Man trail from Lexington to Concord and Addison LOVED it.  We can tell he's going to be a history buff.  We've been learning about the Revolutionary War ever since.  Not what a typical 5 yr. old would be learning at school!

School looks something like this...Tuesday:   Memory Verse, Phonics and Writing, Math, History/Geography, and Science.

Wednesday:  We play a game to follow-up with math or language skills, write letters (to our compassion children, friends moved away or family), and focus on artists or composers.

Thursday:  The same as Tuesday.

Friday:  I keep Addison up during rest time as we are at Bible Study at the church all morning.  We do math, some more history/geography and practice the piano.  We might also work on an ongoing project like these planet mobiles...

Everyday we read our "read alouds" (right now we're reading The Boxcar Children which I never read and we both are LOVING IT!)  before rest time and do our Bible reading before bed at night.  We spend cozy afternoons on the couch reading, reading, reading library books.  This all occupies a little of Eliana's time as she wants to be  involved as much as possible, but she usually just prefers to be in proximity to us doing her own thing.

This little guy, however, is off doing whatever please his little heart.  He plays really well on his own.  If it stays too quiet too long, he is definitely a child in which that means trouble.  He really makes this whole schooling things pretty challenging!  But oh, how he keeps us smiling!

So that's what I've learned so far.  It will probably all change next week :)  but we're making progress and having fun during it all!