Homeschool Recap, Weeks 1 and 2...

Alright, in previous years I have managed to post a detailed, weekly recap.  Well, I have a feeling that's not gonna happen this year.  So, maybe, just maybe I can shoot for every two weeks, and go easy on the details as well.  Plus, our themes are about two weeks long, so it kinda makes sense anyway.  We have finished our first two weeks of school for the year.  Woo hoo!  It went smoothly.  Just a few whines, grumbles (from Preston) and shenanigans (from Callen). 

Callen (Preschool):  Callen is doing a laid-back version of Before Five in a Row and tagging along with us through some parts of MFW ECC.  Our first book to row has been Molly Bang's Yellow Ball.  The first time I read it to Callen, I wasn't sure he'd be interested in reading it more than once, but I was wrong.  He asks for it by name and gets excited when it's time to read it again.  There are only a handful of words in the book, and he seems determined to memorize them.  He points to the word "What's this say?"  So far we have played catch, throw and roll the ball, used punch balls, done a few of the lapbook type activities I found online emphasizing 'y' and yellow, above/below/high/low, and Callen stamped some yellow balls in the big, blue sea using a bottle cap and toilet paper roll printing.  He also colored a bunch of worksheets of the continents since that's what we're going over with Preston.

Callen's handprint

Coloring Yellow Balls

Playing Topple with me.

Preston (3rd Grade): Preston officially started My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures.  We are learning about maps and continents these first two weeks.  Plus, some of the main religious groups in the world.  We had a worm niche to observe how they churn up the ground for a week, ewww!  He is doing great at getting the concept of multiplication down using Math Mammoth.  His Spelling Power work is going well, we started on the last few groups in Level B. 

Observing a section of our backyard habitat.

Learning about animals, like frogs.  Eww!

Worm niche.  Eww, again!

Lots of reading time!

Working on a detailed map.

Map from our house to church.

One of the fun things about homeschooling is getting to school wherever we want.  We had a house showing from 10-11am on Thursday, plus a homeschool group lunch/playtime at 1130, so we needed to be out of the house for a while.  We were going to go to the library to do school, but I forgot they didn't open till 1pm.  We ended up Starbucks and got our schoolwork done there!

Taking school on the road.

Preston concentrating on spelling, Callen enjoying a treat.

All in all, I have to say that the first two weeks went well!  As well as I could hope with the distractions of a 3-yr-old and having to be in and out of our house because of the showings and other activities.

Preston got a bug/spider bite this week that got infected, just like mine.  Took him to the doctor and had her drain it and get him on antibiotics.  Poor guy, it's right on the back of his leg so when he sits, it rubs and hurts.  Dunno what's getting us, but it ain't nice!  Hoping his heals a lot faster and easier than mine since we caught it earlier.  Mine is still in the process of healing.  Blech. 

Also, we have a contract on our house again, so we will be launching into hunting mode this weekend, gotta find US a house now, pronto!  But first, Preston and Callen are going to spend the night with my folks and Michael and I are having a date night.  We're going to see Five Iron Frenzy, House of Heroes and Mike Herrera in concert.  What?!  I know, right?  So excited for tonight!

Batman Xtreme Customz MommyParties, sponsored by Ridemakerz

On Sunday, we invited a group of 10 boys and their parents over for a fun afternoon that included getting to build their own Batman Xtreme Customz Vehicle by Ridemakerz, products sent by MommyParties!  The boys were so excited and could hardly wait to begin once they caught sight of the kits!

The boys were eager to dig into these right away!

After getting them all settled near a parent, everyone opened their packages and got after it!  Opening the packages was certainly the most difficult part of the building process, lol.

Getting started with lots of parental help!

Checking out all the parts.

Giving instructions on making them customized.

Working hard at building it just right!

The initial building did seem to take quite a bit of parental involvement for most of the boys.  The younger boys told their mom or dad how they wanted it built and helped where they could.  Some of the oldest boys were fine doing it on their own with just a bit of help or instruction.  These toys are aimed at ages 5-7, though I would definitely recommend them for the upper ages.  But once they were on track, the boys quickly figured out how to interchange the parts and make them different again and again.  They really enjoyed showing off their finished, customized Batmobiles and playing with them!

Look at what we did!!!

Xtreme Customz by Ridemakerz come in a variety of different styles, including other superheroes like Spiderman and Iron Man!  They retail for $9.99 online and at stores such as Target or Toys R Us.

My boys woke up this morning, and the first thing they did was grab their Batman cars and get to work on changing out parts again.  A friend of mine from the party said her kids wanted to take theirs to bed and keep customizing them!  I'd say these were a pretty big hit with the boys I know!  Fun!

[Disclaimer:  I received free products from MommyParties to use at the party and give to the guests.  I was not compensated in anyway for my review, this opinion posted here are my own.]

New Remedy Drive CD on the way...

Remedy Drive is definitely one of my favorite bands. Their last album was all about hope, and every single song reached out and grabbed me. I've seen them perform live several times and had the privileged of speaking to David Zach, the lead singer, at concerts and in radio interviews on a number of occasions. He has a precious heart, a humble spirit and way with words. I am excited that they are FINALLY coming out with a new album...Resuscitate, on September 18th. Check them out!

I want to play with you, Baby, but...

I let Preston play a game on my iPad while I was trying to get Callen asleep last night.  When I got back to the room, Preston handed me the iPad and said, "Here, I made a video for Callen."  So. Stinkin'. Cute!

Proof That They Can Get Along...

Being cheesers at Sarah's Shear Hope Event.

Playing in the "wah-wah" the other evening.

A little Callen Update...

Callen is... a handful.  He cannot be left alone for more than 60 seconds before he is, literally, destroying something.  I have never had to watch something or someone so close in all my life.  He breaks stuff, spills stuff, ruins stuff faster than anything.  Ever.  And I don't know what his obsession with taking his diaper off is... but I'm really tired of cleaning poop out of the couch, the rug... everything.  He's definitely two.  Despite his craziness that keeps me constantly exhausted, he's a sweet, smart boy... and I wouldn't trade him for the world.  But catch me at the right moment, and I might just hand him over for a good, long while.

His vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds just in the past few weeks... he repeats nearly everything.  He can sing songs, tell stories and will certainly make known what it is he wants.  "Want snack!  Want breakfast!  Want Mama hold me!"  

I was able to catch some sweet video of him cooperating the other day (this was in between him breaking a Dublin Dr Pepper coffee cup and chucking his sippy cup at Preston, splitting his lip right open, sigh).  He was singing "Bob Song," which is the VeggieTales Theme Song and he said his name, ABC's, counted, etc:

We also finally cut his hair a bit.  It was getting really long and he had these precious ringlets in the back (like mine!).  

Sad to see these little curls go!

For a while he was going to bed really well, would just lay down in his bed and fall asleep.  The past few months have had him standing at the gate in his doorway, screaming and crying and trying to climb over for 20 minutes or so, sometimes less, sometimes more.  Michael has gotten really good at calming him down and singing him to sleep.

He wasn't feeling well.

We are working on potty training, attempting to be more consistent.  He gets SO excited when he goes on the potty and will run around announcing it over and over: "I poop on potty! I poop on potty!"  I think if I make a point to be more consistent, he'll get it down pretty soon!  That'd be nice!

Callen is so far nothing like Preston - in looks, in behavior... so it's definitely been an interesting ride thus far!  I pray that as the boys get older, they'll get along better... right now they tend to fight more than anything.  They do play well together at times, which blesses my heart so much, love to see them being sweet and helpful with each other....but it almost always ends up in Preston getting hurt by Callen somehow.  =(

Brothers w/haircuts.

No matter how much trouble this little one gives me, I treasure these moments of toddler-dom.  I know they'll before over before I know it. 

Homeschool Recap, May 16th (Week 33) DONE!

That's it, folks.  First Grade is over for Preston.  Man, it went by so quickly!!!  We had fun, we had tears, we did some really fun stuff, we argued a lot, but all in all... we learned.  And that's what matters!  We both enjoyed using My Father's World First Grade and look forward to starting up Adventures in My Father's World in a few months as a Second Grader!  Woo hoo!

On Monday, Preston finished up the last of his Science With Plants book, learning about how plants use other plants to grow, spread and function.  Then I gave him a Math Mammoth First Grade end-of-the-year test, which he passed with a 97%!  So proud of him.  The rest of the week we've been reviewing and putting together his First Grade Binder, which holds a little bit of everything we want to keep and remember from each subject.  It was fun looking back at all the things we've done since September.  He's learned hymns, some Spanish, adding and subtracting double digit numbers, lots of Bible history and plenty of science concepts!  His handwriting has improved, as long as he WANTS to write, lol.  He is reading exceptionally well.  I couldn't be prouder of him!  Way to go, kiddo!

I didn't really do "Tot School" as much as I hoped... or at least not in the way I envisioned it in my head as we started out.  Obviously, Callen has grown and learned by leaps and bounds since we started our school year, so I certainly can't complain about that.  He did what he needed to do while we did what we needed to do, and it was frustrating and majorly distracting for Preston and me at times... but that's the way it goes.  Here's hoping next year we can figure out a better system, though.  Haha!

Here's Preston's reaction to being DONE with First Grade:

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, Feb 10th (Week 20)...

In my life this week...

Despite a ton of run-around with the bank and the buyers, we finally sold our Rav4 and purchased a Kia Soul!  Woo hoo!  It's super cute and drives like a dream!  That was a huge relief off my shoulders.  I swear it's just been one thing after another and I have been wound so stinkin' tight, I can barely breathe!  When we get our tax refund, we plan to buy a cheap mini-van or 3rd row SUV that I can use.  I'm so tired of being a one-car family and not being able to even run to the store when I need to!  Praying that a certain pizza place that Michael worked at last year gets our flippin' w2 to us pronto, so we can file - we're just waiting on you, pizza place!!!  Grr.

Being all stressed out has made me one cranky mama, too.  I have been a total jerk to my kids lately, and I feel so bad about it.  But every two seconds one of them is doing something naughty.  It's hard to keep from losing my cool when it's just a constant battle, one after the other.  Mix that in with some other stuff, and man... yeah, jerk city over here.  =(  I attempt to re-adjust my attitude every few minutes, TRYING to snap out of it, but... blehhhh, just one of those valleys, I guess.

A picture and story to share...
This big cardboard stand up was at the Kia dealership.  I had to go stand next to Vince Neil and send the picture to Rosie to see what her reaction was.  Lol!  When we visited her in California (a million years ago now!), we were sitting outside The Roxy in Hollywood waiting for The Rocket Summer & Watashia Wa show to start, and right in front of us a fancy, red sports car pulls up and scrapes the heck out of the bumper on the curb.  We laughed, and Michael was all, "Don't laugh, it's probably one of the dude's from Motley Crüe or something."  We laughed even harder because Michael wouldn't recognize those guys anywhere!  And then... who was it?  Vince Neil.  Hahah!  Oh man, we were inconsolable by then.  I ended up getting a photo with him, and it was just such a ridiculous nite... something we'll never forget or stop laughing about, I'm sure!

With Motley Crüe, haha!

Praying for...

The pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.

In our Homeschool this week...

Tot School: Callen is picking up some new words, but he is as ornery as ever.  You cannot leave him alone for two seconds before he's either on top of the cabinet or has already destroyed something into a million pieces.  My goodness, he wears me out.  But then, we have nites like this, too.  Cutie pie!

Bible: Proverbs 20:11, "Even a child is known for his actions, whether his conduct is pure and right."  Been trying to use that one to convince Preston to behave!  Haha. We started in on the books of the New Testament, Matthew-Acts so far.  And we talked about the Israelites not having enough faith to enter the Promised Land and having to spend 40 MORE years wandering.  Here is a video of Preston reciting the books of the Old Testament from memory!


Reading/Writing: Preston has been reading a lot of books on his this week because we're doing the Winter Reading Club at the library.  Other than that, just continuing through our MFW workbook.

Cute drawing of a mouse under the chair!

Math: Worked on reviewing addition and subtraction, just continuing on with some pages in his Complete Book of Math, moving into subtracting bigger numbers and adding three values!

Science:  The subject this week was water's skin.  We did a few activities from Science With Water, like floating a needle on top of the water and playing with water drops.  Today we went outside to enjoy the sunshine and played with bubbles!

Blowing bubbles!

Stitch blows 'em, they chase 'em!

Music/Art: This week's hymn was "Rejoice, Ye Pure In Heart."  We also talked about the sousaphone and french horn and watched some youtube videos of those instruments to hear the differences.  For art, we looked at a painting of a country road and house and Preston worked on some abstract drawings using various designs/shapes/lines.

Spanish: We continued with words having to do with our community or neighborhood.

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

Blog Hoppin' with:
 

Sometimes I could just EAT HIM UP!

Like tonite's cuteness...

More Tickles!


Who Loves You?

As in, Bob the Tomato. Yep.

And, of course, this:

Rock it, Callen!

Seven Lies About Homeschoolers (Hilarious!)

http://www.facebook.com/blimeycow
http://www.twitter.com/blimeycow
http://www.blimeycow.com/

Uummmmm... I love this dude. Lol.

Homeschool Kids Who Don't Do Anything...

This is adorable. And... oh, so true:


"And we have the same great teacher every Fall!"

The Story of Christmas...

Here's another video from a mixture of Christian musicians/artists, telling the story of Luke 2...

Some Holiday Cheer via Music Videos

This one is hilarious because it's various Christian artists singing The 12 Days of Christmas (some not very well, I might add). Includes Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, The Afters, Addison Road, Casting Crowns and many more!  Definitely worth watching!

This one is Tenth Avenue North, and these guys are hilarious - they have done a fine job of a video here. You HAVE to watch till the end to see the awesome choreographed dance! I'm serious, you wanna see the dancing.

And, of course, I have to add Relient K's Sleigh Ride video. I just love their version of this song!

The Chevy Traverse Makes a Great Homeschooling Car!

* The Chevy Traverse campaign is being sponsored by the North Texas Chevy dealers. They are letting me test drive a Traverse for two weeks as well as providing me with a gas card and a spa gift card.

My Favorite Feature in the Chevy Traverse...

* *The Chevy Traverse campaign is being sponsored by the North Texas Chevy dealers. They are letting me test drive a Traverse for two weeks as well as providing me with a gas card and a spa gift card.

Rockin' The Heelys!

Safety first!

My son and I were so excited to pick out a pair of Heelys for review!  I let him look at his options and make the decision, and he chose this pair in dark gray and teal called "Wave."  Ordering online was quick and easy, and they arrived within just a few days!  I opened the box, took 'em out and put in the wheels while he disappeared.  The shoes come with a plug so that you can wear them like regular shoes.  You also get a tool which helps you remove the plug so you can insert the wheels.  The wheels easily snap in and stay put!  When Preston returned, he had found his old bike helmet!

Getting the hang of it!

I read over the card that comes with the shoes, explaining how to use them, and then he tried to stand up!  When you stand up with your feet flat on the ground, you don't go anywhere.  It's when you lift your toes a bit and try to balance on the wheels in your heel, that you start moving.  My son is 5 1/2 years old, let's just say that balance is not his strongest skill at this point.  The boy falls down just standing still sometimes.  But, with the counter or me holding onto him, he was able to feel how the shoes work.

The silly boy was sorely disappointed to realize that this was something he is going to have to work at.  He assumed he would just put on the shoes and be skating around instantly!  He has been a bit less than enthusiastic about practicing on his Heelys every day.  He wants to do it and is excited about knowing that once he gets it down, he'll have a blast with these shoes.  He just doesn't like the idea of having to work for it.  Lol.  He does get a little more confident and stable each time we practice though, so I'm sure it won't be long before he's got it!

I was hoping that by the time we posted this review, he would have a better grasp on it and be able to show his skills in a video.  But, he still needs a lot of work.  Take a look:

Quite honestly, Heelys are probably not the wisest choice for a child as young as my Preston.  He's not quite coordinated enough to pull it off. I know he will be soon, so I'm hoping that happens before he outgrows this pair!  I guess we'll see!  I found out that there are another type of Heelys available that are probably better for a younger child.  They are called the HX2 and have two wheels in each shoe!  I should have requested those to review and my son would probably be skating like a pro by now!  Oh well, maybe I can take advantage of Heely's current sale (see below for details on that!).

I really like the way these Heely's look, they make great every day shoes without the wheels, so that's a plus. They are sturdy and sure to last... hopefully we'll be able to pass 'em down to Little Brother in a few years!  Preston enjoys showing off that the wheels are teal!

Looking good!

Teal wheels!

Heelys is throwing a Back-To-School and Labor Day special! Between Sept 2nd and Sept 5th: Buy one pair of Heelys, get the second pair for only $30!  AND, as an added bonus for bloggers (or those reading blogs!), Heelys is throwing in FREE SHIPPING!  Use discount code: HeelysLovesBloggers.  All you have to do is go to the Heelys Store, put two pairs of Heelys in your cart, and at the top of the cart page you will see a place to enter a discount code, make sure to hit apply to make it work! So, if you can't decide whether to get your kid a pair or yourself, now you can easily get both!  Happy Heely-ing!

[I was provided with a free pair of Heelys through a Business2Blogger campaign.  The statements above are my own words and opinions.]

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Oh boys!

This is a more accurate look at a "Day in the life..." at my house. Lol!

Homeschool Mother's Journal, August 19th

The Homeschool Mother's Journal: Summer Edition, a link-up with The Homeschool Chick.

In my life this week...
- I recently posted about the intense heat and how I couldn't complain too much because our A/C works.  Well, Sunday... it didn't.  We were out nearly all day on Sunday and came home to it being 90-degrees inside our house at 9pm (it was also 90-degrees outside at the time!).  We quickly packed our bags and headed back over to the in-law's house to spend the nite.  There's NO way we could have slept in that.  Just the time we were there packing our bags, the kids' faces were flushed and everyone was a sweaty mess.  Thankfully the repair guys were out the next afternoon and it was an easy fix.  And thank the Lord we have a service agreement with them and it was all totally FREE!  Praise Jesus!  So we are back to "cool" here in the house.  Whew. 

My favorite thing this week...
- On Wednesday, I woke the boys up and we ran out of the house and down to the park.  It was cloudy and cool (y'know, like 85-degrees) and I wasn't about to miss an opportunity to get outside for a bit.  The minute the sun started peeking through the clouds, we ran back home!

I'm praying for...
- One of those opportunities I mentioned a few weeks ago to come to fruition.  I really want my husband to NOT have to drive pizza anymore.  Pretty please?  I don't wanna give too much information, but there is a chance of something else he can do for a 2nd job and it would be great if it worked out!  And I'm praying for more opportunities with my book business!

I'm grateful for...
- A mom who is willing to come babysit two rambunctious boys for many hours several times in a row AND let me borrow her car so I can go make some extra money!

People we're seeing...
- I am looking forward to this weekend because I will be very busy with my Usborne business, but also getting to do it with friends!!!  I'm doing a vendor fair Friday morning with my sponsor, Holly.  Setting up at my church's women's breakfast on Saturday morning and then Saturday afternoon doing a jam-making-and-book-party-thing with my buddy Candi!  Hoping these are successful events and lead to more successful events!

A video to share...


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P.S. While you're here, do you mind "liking" my Usborne FB Page?  Thank you!!!

Homeschool Mother's Journal, July 29th

The Homeschool Mother's Journal: Summer Edition, a link-up with The Homeschool Chick.

In my life this week...
- Working on my Usborne business, reaching out to friends to see if they'll host parties (and catching up with them, yay!), learning more about certain aspects of it, testing out the products with my kiddos.

In our homeschool this week...
- Preston's handwriting is getting better and better (when he is really trying to do his best)!  He loves making lists and stuff whenever he's playing, so he doesn't even realize how much he's practicing!  Love that!

My favorite thing this week...
- Last Saturday we got out of the house and walked around Central Market and World Market.  Those places are so fun for browsing, sampling and people watching.  Despite a few issues with Preston's behavior, but overall we had a great time out as a family.  And there was gelato involved!  =)

A picture to share...

Was it mean of me to snap this photo?

Callen somehow crawled through the two bars at the bottom of our kitchen chair and got stuck.  I took this picture while waiting for the neighbor to come over and help me.  I tried a number of different things, including buttering his head (yes, I did!), but I couldn't get him through by myself - his head would not go through those bars in any position!  My neighbor came over and helped hold the chair up while I slid the rest of Callen's body through (had to take off his shirt and butter his chest and back, YES I DID!).  It made for an exciting Thursday night adventure, for sure. Michael reminded me of the time Preston's head got stuck in a sweater:

Just more proof that I am definitely a Boy Mom! 

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P.S. While you're here, do you mind "liking" my Usborne FB Page?  Thank you!!!