We've had a good week here. Since we school year around we are finishing up with some stuff and starting some new stuff.
Grady started reading, The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare. It's his last book of LLATL 4th. He has come such a long way in a year. He has gone from almost not reading at all to reading at or above grade level! Children really do read on their own time. Grady started Teaching Textbooks 7 this week. He completed lessons 1-5. So far, we are all liking it. It's our first time with TT. We have been using Singapore. Singapore's great and we will continuw using it through 4th grade with Andrew and Madison. Math is not my strong suit, so I decided to use TT since it involves little help from me.
Madison is finishing up 2nd grade. She's doing great with LLATL 2nd. She started fractions today in Singapore. Thankfully, she seems to get it. The rest of 2B should go by quickly. I checked out the rest of the lessons and they look pretty easy.
Andrew finished Kindergarten sometime last month. He is waiting on his first grade math to get here. I ordered it, but it hasn't arrived. I need to get his LLATL student workbook ordered. He is enjoying some time off right now.
Both Andrew and Grady started karate classes on Wednesday. I was really impressed with what they were taught. They enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next class. Madison is cheering and we are all looking forward to the first game.
I have been reading out loud the last Harry Potter book in anticipation of the movie coming out in November. We are almost done! Also, we have all been enjoying the last days of summer. We are usually in the pool as we hear the school bus go by. Life is good:)
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Our First Alone Vacation
Last weekend Jason and I went on our first vacation without kids, ever. We went to a small town, close to St. Simmons called Darien. Here's a pic of the cottage we stayed at.
We visited downtown Darien, which took about 2 minutes :) It's a small fishing village on the intercoastal waterway.
That evening, we went to St. Simmons Island. We went to the beach and ate dinner there before heading back to the cottage. We were amazed at the amount of sand. It was low tide and the beach was huge.
The next day was spent on Jekyll Island. We first visited Driftwood Beach. I read about it online and it sounded nice. We were surprised to find rocks instead of sand! We did see a lot of dolphins following a shrimp boat. That was nice and the view was certainly beautiful!
We then moved further down the beach and set up for the day. We spent about 4 hours there enjoying the warm, calm water. It was nice to not have to watch 3 kids in the ocean for a change. Who knows when or if we will take a trip without the kids again. We missed them a lot and kept saying. "The kids would love this" and, "We should bring the kids here".
We visited downtown Darien, which took about 2 minutes :) It's a small fishing village on the intercoastal waterway.
That evening, we went to St. Simmons Island. We went to the beach and ate dinner there before heading back to the cottage. We were amazed at the amount of sand. It was low tide and the beach was huge.
The next day was spent on Jekyll Island. We first visited Driftwood Beach. I read about it online and it sounded nice. We were surprised to find rocks instead of sand! We did see a lot of dolphins following a shrimp boat. That was nice and the view was certainly beautiful!
We then moved further down the beach and set up for the day. We spent about 4 hours there enjoying the warm, calm water. It was nice to not have to watch 3 kids in the ocean for a change. Who knows when or if we will take a trip without the kids again. We missed them a lot and kept saying. "The kids would love this" and, "We should bring the kids here".
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Future Plans
We are still plugging along. Grady and Andrew finished up their math books last week. That makes Andrew officially a 1st grader. He's a full year ahead of where he would be in public school. He picks up everything I show him. Grady finished Singapore 4 and since we are switching curriculum to Teaching Textbooks, I had him take the placement test for it. He placed into TT 7. That's exciting because he can finish all the TT by the end of 10th grade and be ready for college math at 11th grade. Since our plan is to send the kids to college for joint enrollment in 11th, that works out. Madison is working hard and is on schedule to finish by September.
We have vacation next week. We have a lot of local things planned to do like Six Flags and Stone Mountain. Jason and I are going to a cute little cottage in Savannah for 3 days at the end of the week, by OURSELVES! It'll be our first trip without kids. I think we are all ready for it. Jason's bday is July 31 and our anniversary is Aug 8, so it's a nice gift to ourselves :)
At this point, I am planning on taking all of September off from school. We have another week of vacation where we are planning to rent an RV and do some road-tripping. The rest of the time we be full of house projects, maybe a yard sale and just down time. We all could use some. In October, we will be full swing into 1st, 3rd and 5th grades!!
I'm looking forward to it :)
We have vacation next week. We have a lot of local things planned to do like Six Flags and Stone Mountain. Jason and I are going to a cute little cottage in Savannah for 3 days at the end of the week, by OURSELVES! It'll be our first trip without kids. I think we are all ready for it. Jason's bday is July 31 and our anniversary is Aug 8, so it's a nice gift to ourselves :)
At this point, I am planning on taking all of September off from school. We have another week of vacation where we are planning to rent an RV and do some road-tripping. The rest of the time we be full of house projects, maybe a yard sale and just down time. We all could use some. In October, we will be full swing into 1st, 3rd and 5th grades!!
I'm looking forward to it :)
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Life is precious
On Tuesday, May 25, 2010, my stepmother, Denise Gunter died. She was 43 years old, mom to my 8 year old brother, Ian. Less than one year ago she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. We will miss you, Denise. We will all take care of your beautiful son.
Vacation! May 17- 23, 2010
Last week, we drove to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It's a 10 hour drive from Atlanta. We spent the first night in a hotel in Raleigh since we knew it was going to be raining that night. The drive was horrible. It was raining pretty hard and there were lots of accidents. When we arrived at the campground and started to set up our tent we were unsure our tent could withstand the winds. Thankfully, Jason was able to stabilize it enough to survive the 20 MPH winds.
We got to visit the NC Aquarium, The Roanoke Island Festival Park,The Wright Brothers Memorial, the beach, and 2 lighthouses. We learned a lot about the Native Americans and some of the first English people to come over to America. The Memorial was awesome! We learned a lot about aviation and about Orville and Wilbur. This was great given that Grady had read a biography about them and this was the inspiration for the whole trip :) We spent 2 days playing in the Atlantic Ocean. The kids are crazy fish and spent a lot of time in the cold water!!
This was the first time we camped without power or water at our campsite. The showers were also cold water only. Thankfully, we planned ahead. We brought solar showers, an electric converter and a big water container. It wasn't bad at all. We were camping on the beach so I was willing to give up some "luxuries".
We had a good time and would consider going back sometime in the future. On the drive home we drove the whole 10 hours home. The kids were fantastic and it was a relatively pleasant drive, thankfully!
Here's a link to some photos of our trip: Outer Bank Photos
We got to visit the NC Aquarium, The Roanoke Island Festival Park,The Wright Brothers Memorial, the beach, and 2 lighthouses. We learned a lot about the Native Americans and some of the first English people to come over to America. The Memorial was awesome! We learned a lot about aviation and about Orville and Wilbur. This was great given that Grady had read a biography about them and this was the inspiration for the whole trip :) We spent 2 days playing in the Atlantic Ocean. The kids are crazy fish and spent a lot of time in the cold water!!
This was the first time we camped without power or water at our campsite. The showers were also cold water only. Thankfully, we planned ahead. We brought solar showers, an electric converter and a big water container. It wasn't bad at all. We were camping on the beach so I was willing to give up some "luxuries".
We had a good time and would consider going back sometime in the future. On the drive home we drove the whole 10 hours home. The kids were fantastic and it was a relatively pleasant drive, thankfully!
Here's a link to some photos of our trip: Outer Bank Photos
Saturday, May 8, 2010
May 3-7, 2010
This week, we spent a lot of time at the pool. 4 out of 5 nights. The other night was spent at the gym. One of the 5 nights we were at both the gym and the pool! Daddy's been gone since Tuesday. I hate 5 day trips. 4 days are doable. 5 day trips are insane. I need a break!! Thankfully, it's Saturday and he'll be home later this evening. I plan on relaxing today and finishing up Mother's Day Gifts for the Grandmothers. I hope to cook a nice dinner that isn't rushed. We'll see.
Wednesday was our last co-op day for this year. It was a little sad as I won't be seeing my students every week. I have really enjoyed our time together. My kids loved their classes. Grady will forever love computers. I don't know if he will work with computers. He loves being outside too much to be stuck inside, I think. Who knows? The teacher did say that he tries new things that she wouldn't have thought to try. She did say that he would never be unemployed! That's a good thing. Madison and Andrew both finished up clay class. I have more cute little clay pieces than I know what to do with!
Some of our friends are close to finishing up their school year or are done already. I have been very jealous of them this week. We school year round. We are far from through with math and reading. We are done with everything else. My husband likes to remind me that we took a month long beach vacation when everyone else was in school. Yes, I know that and it was great, but now I want to be done teaching and play! Thankfully, we have another beach vacation in a week and we will all get a much deserved break and hopefully come back renewed.
The kids are doing great work and are learning, as usual. Progress is being made. Grady is learning how to write a research paper. His topic is the state of Georgia. We are learning some interesting things about GA as we do our research. He picked out a book to read on his own and he finished it in 2 hours! That's probably the best thing that happened this week. Grady just didn't read before this year, his 4th grade year. He's dyslexic and it took a while to figure out what works for him. I'm so thankful that he's reading on grade level. He's so intelligent I didn't want reading to hold him back.
I know I haven't said much about Madison and Andrew yet. They are both doing well. Andrew's halfway through Singapore KB. He's reading well. He continues to amaze me daily with what he can handle. Madison's learning mental math in Singapore 2B and is getting it. It's something I wasn't taught, so it's cool seeing Madison do it.
Next week holds packing for vacation and getting ready for a Saturday swim meet. Grady's 3rd and Madison's 1st!!
Wednesday was our last co-op day for this year. It was a little sad as I won't be seeing my students every week. I have really enjoyed our time together. My kids loved their classes. Grady will forever love computers. I don't know if he will work with computers. He loves being outside too much to be stuck inside, I think. Who knows? The teacher did say that he tries new things that she wouldn't have thought to try. She did say that he would never be unemployed! That's a good thing. Madison and Andrew both finished up clay class. I have more cute little clay pieces than I know what to do with!
Some of our friends are close to finishing up their school year or are done already. I have been very jealous of them this week. We school year round. We are far from through with math and reading. We are done with everything else. My husband likes to remind me that we took a month long beach vacation when everyone else was in school. Yes, I know that and it was great, but now I want to be done teaching and play! Thankfully, we have another beach vacation in a week and we will all get a much deserved break and hopefully come back renewed.
The kids are doing great work and are learning, as usual. Progress is being made. Grady is learning how to write a research paper. His topic is the state of Georgia. We are learning some interesting things about GA as we do our research. He picked out a book to read on his own and he finished it in 2 hours! That's probably the best thing that happened this week. Grady just didn't read before this year, his 4th grade year. He's dyslexic and it took a while to figure out what works for him. I'm so thankful that he's reading on grade level. He's so intelligent I didn't want reading to hold him back.
I know I haven't said much about Madison and Andrew yet. They are both doing well. Andrew's halfway through Singapore KB. He's reading well. He continues to amaze me daily with what he can handle. Madison's learning mental math in Singapore 2B and is getting it. It's something I wasn't taught, so it's cool seeing Madison do it.
Next week holds packing for vacation and getting ready for a Saturday swim meet. Grady's 3rd and Madison's 1st!!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Weekly Update April 4-11, 2010
Sunday, was Madison's 8th birthday. Yes, it was also Easter this year. Since she had her bday sleepover last week, we had a family dinner on Sunday. Madison decided to embrace the Easter theme. We had ham for dinner and a Easter egg hunt! She's such a sweet girl!
waiting to open the gifts!This week was Spring Break for most of the kids in the area. Not us. We had a whole month of beach vacation from mid-August to mid-September. We really needed to continue our lessons, so we did. We are planning a trip the end of May, so don't feel sorry for us:)
Madison finished up her Singapore 2A and will move into 2B on Monday. She's about half way through LLATL 2. She'd doing great and reading well. She also had 2 cheer practices, a tumble class and a horse riding lesson this week. Next weekend, she has her first individual cheer competition!!!
Grady is almost done with his autobiography on the Wright Brothers. He has one chapter left!! That's amazing for him. He's dyslexic and has made huge strides this year. He is reading on grade level!! We are so excited :) I started looking for his next reading book and soon found out that it is not in print anymore and it was only printed in a small printing. This book is hard to find and about $20 for a soft copy! CRAZY! He is progressing well in math. Decimals are easy for him. He'll be done with Singapore 4B in a flash!
This week, both Grady and Madison started Sequential Spelling. We are all loving it. They are exicited to learn how to spell big words! Next week, we will begin our Egypt studies and finish it up with a trip to a local museum with Egyptian artifacts.
Andrew's doing great in his Singapore KB math book. He's adding problems like 2+5, etc. Not bad for a child who would be in pre-k this year, if in public school. He's also reading simple books,
like those on starfall.com. It's amazing! So far, he's been the easiest to teach. He just seems to get it. I'm sure that's because he has 2 older siblings whom he has grown up watching learn.
I have been busy with yard work, planning our vacation to the Outer Banks, cleaning, sewing, cooking, you know, the usual :) Daddy was gone most of the week, flying. We had a good week and a beautiful Saturday with most of it spent outside in our backyard as a family:)
Madison finished up her Singapore 2A and will move into 2B on Monday. She's about half way through LLATL 2. She'd doing great and reading well. She also had 2 cheer practices, a tumble class and a horse riding lesson this week. Next weekend, she has her first individual cheer competition!!!
Grady is almost done with his autobiography on the Wright Brothers. He has one chapter left!! That's amazing for him. He's dyslexic and has made huge strides this year. He is reading on grade level!! We are so excited :) I started looking for his next reading book and soon found out that it is not in print anymore and it was only printed in a small printing. This book is hard to find and about $20 for a soft copy! CRAZY! He is progressing well in math. Decimals are easy for him. He'll be done with Singapore 4B in a flash!
This week, both Grady and Madison started Sequential Spelling. We are all loving it. They are exicited to learn how to spell big words! Next week, we will begin our Egypt studies and finish it up with a trip to a local museum with Egyptian artifacts.
Andrew's doing great in his Singapore KB math book. He's adding problems like 2+5, etc. Not bad for a child who would be in pre-k this year, if in public school. He's also reading simple books,
like those on starfall.com. It's amazing! So far, he's been the easiest to teach. He just seems to get it. I'm sure that's because he has 2 older siblings whom he has grown up watching learn.
I have been busy with yard work, planning our vacation to the Outer Banks, cleaning, sewing, cooking, you know, the usual :) Daddy was gone most of the week, flying. We had a good week and a beautiful Saturday with most of it spent outside in our backyard as a family:)
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