Summer School Plans

I really meant to get this post written a couple weeks ago, but apparently blogging was a lower priority than packing and preparing for our big Texas vacation (from which we just returned ... it's next in the blogging line-up).

So, in a nut-shell, we will be doing "summer school."  Why? 

Why not?  Around here, school is generally fun.  When my kids have a routine and we have school things planned, they seem to get along better and never complain about being bored.  Why change what works?  Also, by schooling year round, we can take breaks whenever we want throughout the year without worrying about getting "behind."

School will, however, have a slightly different flavor.  Summer here in Washington is the time to get outside and stay outside; it's breathtakingly beautiful.  I plan to get out as often as possible.  We've got some fun hikes and a trip to Yellowstone planned.  We've begun Nature Journals where Aubree and Bryce can draw pictures and write about what they encounter on their outdoor escapades.  If we still lived in Florida, I might make summer our "serious school" time (since it's miserable outside) and go lighter in the winter months. 

For our indoor school, we're going to "visit" different countries.  During our Five in a Row studies, we "visited" China, Japan, Ireland, Canada, France, and England.  Learning about the different countries was one of our favorite activities, so we're extending the idea into summer.  We'll be heavy on the literature (lots of picture books as well as non-fiction information books), and do some drawing, crafts, and/or cooking.  We'll also make a lapbook for each place we visit. Since it's summer, I plan to take a slower pace, so we will take two or three weeks on each country.

We'll be learning about:

*Australia (almost done)

*Mexico

*USA (with an emphasis on Montana, since we'll be visiting Yellowstone)

*Russia

*Africa (yes, I realize this is a continent.  We'll be focusing on Africa most of August - just in time for my brother, Ian, to leave on his LDS mission to Accra, Ghana).

Aubree and I will be doing a little bit of math, mostly time and money concepts.

And, of course, no Winters Family school would be complete without reading.  Lots and lots of reading.  I've got some fun read-alouds lined up.

Let the summer fun begin continue!

**Did I mention that Washington is BEAUTIFUL right now??  Who wants to come visit?

One!

Thane had a birthday, shout Hurray!  The first birthday is such a joyous occasion.  The first year is great, but it's also hard for me.  Once my kids turn one I feel like we've usually hit our stride - we understand each other and have some semblance of routine.  I love it when they start to communicate and when their personalities start to shine through.  This is an amazing and fun stage - learning something new everyday. 

The other morning Thane woke up and immediately started jabbering.  That's not uncommon, but this particular morning he had suddenly developed the "ssss" and "ffff" sounds and delighted in showing off his new skill.  Later that day the "ssss" sound progressed to "ssshhh" and became his first official word (besides "Mom" and "Dad") to designate "shoe." Love it! 

First birthdays, though highly anticipated and welcomed, are usually a low-key event in our household.  We paid extra attention to Thane and sang to him all day long, but I don't think he cared one way or the other.  We had SCOOP in the afternoon and I felt guilty because that meant he missed his nap.  

Luckily, a it was a GORGEOUS day (the first 70+ degree day this year) and a friend suggested an impromptu dinner picnic at the park.  It was the perfect ending to Thane's special day.  I packed up some birthday cupcakes and we shared them with friends (I wanted to make Thane a birthday cake, but couldn't decide on a theme.  "What does Thane really like?" I asked myself.  Socks.  Shoes.  Cups.  None of those seemed like good cake choices, so I went the easy route). At the park, Thane got to swing, eat rocks and sticks, and steal toys and assorted goodies from the other babies.  What could be better? 

Aubree and Bryce did all they could to make sure Thane had a good day.  Aubree instructed Bryce that he wasn't allowed to hurt Thane all day.  They both told everyone they saw that it was Thane's birthday.  If he cried, they immediately rushed to his side insisting that he couldn't be sad on his birthday.  Super cute.

And speaking of cute, we got Thane's first birthday pictures taken.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Kinder-pletion

Aubree "finished" kindergarten last week.  To say she was thrilled would be a tremendous understatement.  "Mom!!" she enthused, "You should make a shirt for me that says 'First Grader!'"

"Uh," I halted, "how about we make a sign?"

"Great!" she announced, "then you can take a picture and put it on your BLOG!" And she scooted off to grab paper and markers.  (The "5" is to indicate that she's 5 years old and is in first grade.  She thinks that's pretty neat.)

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Now is the time for some accountability; a chance to reflect back on the year and consider what worked and what didn't.  

Our primary curriculum was Five in a Row and it was perfect.  Just the right blend of structure and flexibility.  Both Aubree and I enjoyed doing the weekly lapbooks and now have a great record of all the books and topics we studied this past year.  

For math, I signed Aubree up for Dreambox Learning, a game-based internet program.  She usually played 3 times a week for 30 minutes a time.  With all the changes of the last 8 months, it was nice to have something she could do independently.  I think she learned a ton as well.  We quit doing Dreambox at the end of March because she'd finished the kindergarten and 1st grade levels and was getting bored of playing.  

For Handwriting we used the Handwriting without Tears kindergarten workbook.  Very simple and effective.  I've noticed significant improvements in her handwriting over the last year.  When we finished HWT, I found a Starfall journal that a friend gave Aubree.  The journal has fun and engaging writing prompts.  Aubree loved it.  She finished this book as well (anyone know where to find similar books?).

We did a lot of reading.  Aubree's a voracious reader, but we also found many great read-alouds (sometimes me, sometimes Mark, we even roped in Grandpa Winters when he came to visit).  Here were some of our favorites:

*My Father's Dragon (Gannett)

*The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Baum)- then watched the movie

*Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (Dahl) - then watched the movie

*The Ordinary Princess ( Kaye)

* Because of Winn-Dixie (deCamillo) - then watched the movie

*Mr. Popper's Penguins (Atwater)

*James and the Giant Peach (Dahl) 

*Tale of Desperaux (deCamillo) 

*Ramona and Beezus - then watched the movie. (This read-aloud was pure torture for Aubree.  She couldn't stand to wait for me to read.  She begged and begged, "please, please can I read it on my own?" We finally came to an agreement: If she would be patient and wait for me to read it to her, she could read the rest of the series on her own.  She loved the Ramona books.)

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So, those are the things that worked well.  What didn't pan out?  

Weekly cooking classes? - never even got started.
Drawing lessons? - another good idea that never made it past the idea stage. 

Starting each morning with circle time/devotional? - I still think it's a great idea, we just haven't gotten that organized yet.  

Involving Bryce? - Not as much as I would have liked.  Usually Aubree and I did school in the afternoons when both boys were napping.  Bryce is three now...it's time to include him more.  

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This post is getting long (and tomorrow is Thane's 1st birthday [!!!!!!!!] and I still have things I need to do to get ready), so I'll hold off writing about our plans for the summer and beyond until later this weekend.
In summary, though, it's been a great year.  I think homeschooling is wonderful.

Onward and Upward

Guess what Thane can do?

I LOVE it when my kids learn to walk.  Thane was on track to be my earliest crawler and my latest walker, but he edged out Bryce by about 2 weeks.  Thane's been working diligently on his walking skills for a long time.  He is an extremely self-motivated and persistent kid.  About a week ago something clicked for him and since then he's been improving rapidly.  He prefers walking, but can only get 7 or 8 steps before falling. 

You know what he learned to do before he learned to walk?

Yep, climb.  The little monkey climbs up everything these days.  He keeps a careful eye on Aubree and Bryce to get new ideas of things to scale.  He has no fear (except for the hair clippers - those terrify him).

He'll be one in a week.  One!  Hurrah for Thane.

Domesticity

            Alternate Title: "I'm Trying to be Like Holly"

Lately I've been wanting/trying to make more of our food from "scratch."  I don't consider myself particularly gifted in the kitchen, but I think there are a lot of things I could make more affordably and healthier. 

One week I went to buy bread at the grocery store and couldn't find an acceptable loaf that cost less than $3.  That must be my threshold because since that day I've been making our own bread.  For Mother's Day I got a gift that can help with bread making and other "from scratch" endeavors:

 I really don't know what I'm doing yet, but the prospects are thrilling.  

I've tried a few other homemade experiments with varying results: wheat crackers were passable, graham crackers were a flop, granola bars were scrumptious.  I aspire to learn homemade yogurt.  The other day I thought, "Since Mark loves to have chocolate milk, I wonder if I can find a recipe for chocolate syrup?"  Sweet success!

So here's my question: What (relatively simple) things do you make from scratch?  Will you share the recipe and or/link?  In addition to helping me in my personal quest, you'll also be helping me plan an upcoming Relief Society Midweek activity on making foods from scratch.  I've got a list of ideas started, but would greatly appreciate any suggestions, especially if they're "tried and true."  Thanks in advance!

Bryce's Slice

Yesterday Bryce had a minor surgery.  Mark took the day off work and spent the day with him at the hospital.  I stayed home with the other two kids and tried not to think too much about my honey boy lying asleep on an operating table (aaauuuggghhh!). He wasn't allowed to eat anything the morning of the surgery, so I was also worrying about him being hungry.

Ultimately, the surgery went off without a hitch.  Mark says Bryce handled everything like a champ.  He was nervous, but stayed calm and brave.  The nurses and doctors commented on how well he did for such a young patient.  After the surgery Bryce only had to stay in recovery for a couple hours then got to come home.  Once in the car, he promptly puked over everything, then fell asleep.

When he got home he put on comfy pajamas and spent the afternoon cuddling and "resting."  He thought the day was great because he got to have medicine (who knew Tylenol was such a special treat?), jello, juice, and ice-cream.  No, he didn't have his tonsils out, I just wasn't sure what kinds of things he'd be up for eating and I felt bad for all he'd been through that morning.

By this morning he was largely back to himself.  He's running around, wrestling with Thane, and eating regularly.  His belly is still a little sore at the incision site, but other than that, everything is great and there shouldn't be any additional issues.  I am extremely grateful for competent doctors and nurses!

Noteworthy

I'm spoiled.  Rarely does a day go by when I don't recieve at least one love note from Aubree.  Usually she tucks them into my hand while I'm busy with some task.  Sometimes I find them on my pillow when I go to bed. Occasionally she'll even sneak them into my book so I can use them as a bookmark (best bookmarks EVER).

With Aubree, every day is Mother's Day.