Preston is a Bobcat!

We started attending our local cub scout meeting in early April when I finally figured out when, where and how to make it happen (which, dang... wasn't easy at all!).  Preston's first reaction to hearing he was going to a Cub Scout meeting was that he didn't want to do it.  Then, after explaining what kind of fun things the Cub/Boy Scouts do, and how Daddy and Grandpa were Eagle Scouts, he changed his mind.

It's very close to the end of the school year, and we were told Preston could try for Tiger if he wanted or could just wait til next school year kicks off and start towards Wolf, but the Bobcat is something that every boy has to do first.  Preston did great and memorized the Cub Scout Promise, the Pack Law and the other several things he had to... and repeated them to his leader the very next week!  And this evening at the Pack Meeting, he was awarded his Bobcat patch!  Woo hoo!

Sorry, he's so far away in the picture.

He also earned a basketball belt loop.  Which, is kinda of amazing because last week, when they did the basketball session, Preston had a major meltdown and decided he didn't want to do Cub Scouts anymore (again).  He was upset that none of the kids were letting him in their game when we first got there, but he wasn't exactly asking to play either... he was just standing there hoping they'd invite him in.  They didn't, and it bugged him.  Several times when the leader gave instructions, he came running to me instead of what he was supposed to do... it was just very confusing to him since this was only his 3rd time being with the group.  He was distracted by the other groups of kids when he should have been paying attention to the rules of basketball being taught by the leader.  Then, later he took his shot and then came running to me again, when he should have gotten back in line.  Just a bunch of things like that.  Then, at the end, the leader called everyone together, and then said "Wolves, listen up..." He was going to tell the Wolves something specific, but Preston thought that meant he didn't need to be in the group, so he came running, crying to me and said he didn't belong.  He was very emotional and upset, and while I was trying to comfort him several other parents came over to make sure he was ok (they thought he had been hit by a ball or something).  He was just overwhelmed by it all, I guess... it was a little much for him.  Since he is homeschooled he doesn't have a lot of experience with large groups of kids like that, and taking instruction from other adults in settings like that (where there is a lot of stuff going on at the same time).  Definitely showed me that we have some stuff to work on!  Ha!

Anyway, I think this evening's fun meeting, where he got his awards and got to participate in a skit with the other Tigers on the stage convinced him again that this Cub Scout thing might be kinda fun afterall.  We'll see!  Lol.  We're going to try to get him to work quickly through the Tiger handbook so he can earn his Tiger Badge by the beginning of next school year!

Goof ball, but at least he's a happy goof ball.

Homeschool Recap, April 27th (Week 30)...

In my life this week...
This week was crazy, ridiculous, out of control.  Monday we took the Kia Soul in to the shop to get the hail damage fixed, and thankfully got a rental so that we could remain a two-car family for the week.  On Tuesday, the kids and I picked up the grandparents from the airport.  They were in town to visit quickly and pick up their belongings and home furnishings, which have been in storage since they left for Michigan in February.  It was a very rushed, busy visit, but the boys enjoyed some time with them for sure!  On Wednesday, I kicked off my preschool book fair in East Dallas, which took place on Thursday and Friday as well.  I also worked Power FM's Share-A-Thon on Wednesday and Friday, and added in an evening book party on Friday too.  On Friday, I was out of the house from 7:30am until 10:30pm!  Whoa.  I'm glad all that business is over!  Whew.  It was fun, but man... I'm not used to that much going, going, going anymore!  And a giant thanks to my mom and husband for watching the kids so much the past few weeks while I've been busy with Usborne things.  I am about to have met my April goal and am working towards meeting my May goal, to earn that iPad3!!!  So excited!

Needless to say, our homeschooling this week was extremely light!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen sings little songs and is starting to hold conversation.  He loves pointing out things and stating their names or characteristics, like "blue!" "red!" "bus!" etc.

Bible: Preston and I went over Proverbs 10:1, "A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother."  We also went over the parable of the Lost Son, the Blind Man, Zacchaeus and the Last Supper.

Reading/Writing: Preston has been reading aloud to his brother a lot again lately.  LOVE THAT! 

Math: Worked adding and subtracting three-digit numbers this week, and he FINISHED the Complete Book of Math!

Science:  This week's science from book Science with Plants was about how flowers and trees.

Music/Art: Our hymn this week was still "Eternal Father, Strong to Save."

Spanish: This week we went over days of the week and months of the year.  Very briefly, so those need more work. 

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

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Homeschool Recap, April 20th (Week 29)...

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen is picking up on some songs, numbers and letters lately.  He's also adding tons of new words to his vocabulary lately - a lot of them sound exactly the same to me, but he knows what he's trying to tell me!

Bible: Preston and I went over Proverbs 22:9, "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor."  We also went through Jesus raising the dead/healing the sick through the parable of the lost coin.

Reading/Writing: Preston has been reading aloud to his brother a lot again lately.  LOVE THAT! 

Math: Worked adding and subtracting three-digit numbers this week, and he only has one page left of his Complete Book of Math!

Science:  This week's science from book Science with Plants was about how plants need and use water and light.  We continue to watch our bean plants grow taller each day.  Our snapdragons do not appear to be making it, though, inside of their little individual greenhouse.  Not sure what happened there. 

Music/Art: Our hymn this week was "Eternal Father, Strong to Save."  And we completed the last page in our Musical Instruments coloring book, it was a page on the harp.  We listened to some familiar songs on harp, and then finished up with The Lord of the Rings soundtrack performed live by a symphony so Preston could see and hear all the instruments working together.

Spanish: We continued learning some new words... action, describing and what not.  We're very near done with our Complete Book of Spanish too!

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

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The Lord of the Rings Symphony...

Today, Preston finished up his Musical Instruments coloring book. Each week we've been going over various instruments... talking about them, watching and listening to their sounds on youtube and whatnot. Today, we watched parts of this video... the soundtrack to The Lord of the Rings, so he could see the full symphony working together to create beautiful music that tell a story! So fun!

Homeschool Recap, April 13th (Week 28)...

In my life this week...

I have another van!  It's a 2000 Honda Odyssey (yes, another Odyssey).  It's so much better than the last one... looks nicer, runs better, just overall so much better!  Praise God for His blessings and His timing.  Hoping to keep this one longer than a week, of course! 

Honda Odyssey, you are the van for me!

Playing while getting the van detailed.

On Friday, I watched a friends 2.5 year old daughter.  That was an interesting experiment.  I don't think Callen ever really adjusted to her being there (he swung at her a few times and she shoved him a few times, so... yeah).  At first, they just stared at each other, giggled every once in a while and stood there.  Then they warmed up a bit, Callen "showed her around" the house, pointing out things and babbling.  I had a play-date Usborne book party so I took the kiddos with me and all three had a blast playing with all the kids and toys at our friend's house.  On the way home, both littles fell asleep and stayed asleep for a good, long while.  Overall, it was a good day with an extra toddler... definitely went better than I had worried about, haha!

Getting used to each other.

Chalking w/a friend at the party.

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen had a complete breakdown on Saturday morning.  He dropped his bowl of dry cereal in the kitchen floor and Michael told him to pick it up.  He said, "no."  Michael tried to get him to pick it up and it turned into an hour long ordeal (I'm not even kidding, an hour) where Callen refused to pick up the cereal, was screaming, crying, resisting.  We sat in the floor with him, tried to "reason" with him, took away toys, tried to bribe him, gave him a spanking and more... he just absolutely refused to pick up the pieces of cereal and put them back in his bowl or the trash can.  It was CRAZY.  He is very strong-willed, but I had never experienced anything like this before.  We finally just left him alone because we had stuff to do... Preston came along and picked up most of the cereal, then Callen picked up the last few and poured the bowl into the trash.  Geez.  He is definitely in a defiant phase.  I pray it passes QUICKLY!

Rolling around in the plastic Easter eggs.

Bible: Preston and I went over Proverbs 15:16, "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil."  We also learned more about the calling of Matthew, Jesus choosing his 12 disciples, the parable of the farmer and the seeds and the stormy sea that Jesus calmed.

Reading/Writing: Preston's writing is certainly improving when he is in the right mood to do well.  When he isn't, it's a mess.  

We took school to the car wash, lol.

Math: Worked on money... recognizing, adding and subtracting coins.  He did really well with this, like adding a bunch of coins to see if you have enough to purchase something.  We also finished up the last page about fractions and did some two-digit adding that required regrouping.  Preston is getting it down.  And we are getting close to being done with the Complete Book of Math!

Science:  This week's science from book Science with Plants was about growing plants.  We kept watching our bean seeds, and boy, have they sprouted.  I actually just replanted them in some soil and a pot because they were so tall!  Our snapdragons are starting to sprout a bit too.

Our growing bean stalks!

Music/Art: Our hymn this week was "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past."  And we talked about the accordion.  I also picked up Drawing with Children again, and we did an exercise that had us drawing an object without looking at our pencil/paper.  That brought upon quite a bit of giggling between Preston and me... it was pretty funny!  I think he rather enjoyed it, as did I.

Spanish: This week we learned some action words.  Preston isn't picking up on these (remember them) as well as he has been with words in the past... so I'm trying to take it a bit slower.  He's also just not really giving his best effort either, so ... he might be a bit burned out.  But hey, only 23 days of school left!  Wow!

The countdown has begun!

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

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Homeschool Recap, April 6th (Week 27)...

In my life this week...

Um. Yeah.  What?  I dunno where this week went.  Crazy how that happens.  Let's see...  I can tell you that yesterday I watched a friends kids... 6 yr old girl and 4 yr old boy.  They all had a blast together, playing and doing stuff.  For the most part.  I watched them for about 10 hours, and by the end of the it, the kids were pretty much done with each other.  Hehe.  It made for an interesting day, for sure! 

Preston & Natalie working on Easter sticker scenes.

The kids did some drawing & stamping.

Other than that, we did get our insurance check for the van so now we look for a new (to us) family vehicle!  Praying for God's guidance in finding the right van for us.  Again.  Today (Saturday), we got up early, went out to the Grand Prairie Farmers Market for the Easter fun.  The boys got some candy, got their faces painted and we bought some random treats: blueberries, white chocolate chip & cranberry cookies, beef jerky and honey lip balm (mmm!).

Callen was not excited about Easter Bunny!

Callen got a baseball on his cheek!

Preston got Mickey!

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen's vocabulary is exploding.  He is copying nearly everything we say.  He is also ALWAYS hungry so I imagine he'll be having a good growth spurt here soon.

Bible: Preston and I worked on memorizing and understanding Proverbs 10:8, "The wise in heart accept command, but the chattering fool comes to ruin."  He read and illustrated Jesus as a boy, Jesus being baptized and Jesus helping the fishermen.

Reading/Writing: Preston didn't read on his own as much as last week.  We're still reading Hank The Cowdog #12 at bedtime.

Math: Worked on time some more.  Did a refresher and added in to the 5's (he had previously done whole hours, half hours and a little bit of quarter hours).  Doing pretty well with this!

Science:  This week's science started the book Science with Plants.  We talked about seeds and how plants start to grow.  We are doing the bean plant thing, with the beans in a clear container against moist paper towels.  A few of them sprouted after just a few days.  We also planted some flowers in a little VeggieTales greenhouse thingee I bought from Mardel last week.  We'll see how those work out.

Beans!

Tiny flower pots on the window sill.

Music/Art: Our hymn this week was "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past."  And we talked about the piano, and listened to our Peter & The Wolf CD.

Spanish: This week we worked on el, la, los, las, un, una, unos and unas.  It's a bit confusing, but after working on it a while he was doing pretty well with it.  Just gotta keep practicing, keep it fresh on his mind and he'll figure it out!

We are using My Father's World First Grade. See our curriculum here.

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March 2012 Tweets to Remember...

Mar 3rd - Callen spotted "Bob!" at Subway! Ha. @veggietales twitpic.com/8rkaa1

Mar 3rd - After his bath Callen knew he needed to go, went over, sat on the potty & went peepee! We had quite a celebration! #ProudMama #PottyTraining

Mar 4th - Disappointed we didn't end up with a van this weekend, but I suppose God has other plans. Continuing in my patience lessons.

Mar 6th - My new-to-me '97 Honda Odyssey! Yes, we are parked on a steep hill. Ha. twitpic.com/8sz10j

Mar 10th - At this time 2 yrs ago, I was in a hospital room watching old game shows and trying to find a comfortable position. 4 hrs later = Callen

Mar 12th - Preston told me a joke he observed from watching The Monkees: "What kind of dog says 'off off?'... A British one!" RIP Davy Jones!

Mar 14th - Dear Health Insurance, how many ways will you attempt to swindle us this month? You think we'll just pay it & ask no questions? WRONG.

Mar 14th - Prestonism: "Hot sauce is my arch enemy!"

Mar 17th - The boys have called a meeting, it appears. twitpic.com/8xqtyi

Mar 18th - Just dropped my babies off for 2 nights with grandma & grandpa. Michael & I get to enjoy each other's company! Um, what do we talk about? =)

Mar 20th - Preston just sang me a song about Indiana Jones being a Christian. "He reads the Bible every day, and loves Jeeessuuuusss!"

Mar 21st - Oh snot, the 2yr-old has figured out how to work the kid-proof doorknob things AND the safety latch at the top of the doors. WHAT?!?

Mar 23rd - Fairwell van, u served me well. For a week. #fb twitpic.com/909gr4

Mar 26th - Nothing like pretty much ruining a whole batch of pancakes & having the kids declare them as the BEST EVER!

Mar 26th - Things I don't like having to say to my precious children: "STOP LICKING EACH OTHER!" Sigh.

Mar 30th - I was about 3 feet away from a sloth today. Didn't even cry. However the leafy seadragon sent me into total meltdown.