AO Year 1, Day 1

After a few weeks off from school, we started 1st grade today.  What a fun day it was!

Done with Our First Kindergarten

I've been really terrible about blogging for about, oh, the last year.  It hasn't been a priority, and life has been busy.

But I wanted to get a quick blog post in to mark the end of Kyla's kindergarten year.  This is momentous for me.  It means, "we did it!"  We homeschooled, and it was a success!  We took 2 1/2 months off in the middle when things weren't going so well, and now are taking almost another month off at the end before we start 1st grade.  We took days off when we had places to go and days off when we didn't feel well.  But most days, we "did school."

The Importance of Habits

Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online

Painted by Frederic Yates (public domain)

Charlotte Mason was a British educator who lived from 1842-1923.  Though she never had children of her own, she devoted her life to the education of children.  Thus, she grew to understand the behaviors and tendencies of children very well.

Happy 3rd birthday, Kamryn Joy!

My dear, sweet, little Kamryn,

Happy 3rd birthday!  What a joy you are to our family.

Let's look back.

The Beginning of a Long Journey

Today was the beginning of what will - hopefully - be a very long {and very amazing} journey for us.

Tomorrow We Start

After years of thinking about it and preparing for it, the time has come.

Tomorrow we're going to start school.  For. Real.

I wasn't planning on beginning for a few more weeks.  But then I realized that I could either spend the next few weeks doing more (unnecessary) planning, or I could just start.

Timelines and Twaddle

School starts in less than 7 weeks.  I alternate between excitement and dread on a rotating basis.

Here are my random thoughts lately, in no particular order.

Timeline.

Oh, I need a timeline.  We need to be able to visually see where in time events fell.  Our history curriculum is going to cover Adam and Eve, David, Jesus, Paul, Augustine, lords, knights, castles, Marin Luther, John Calvin, Columbus, the pilgrims, Patrick Henry, George Washington, Dwight Moody, Douglas MacArthur, the Alamo, and many people and events in between.  How will this make sense without a timeline?

Mother's Day and a Tire Swing

Mother's Day morning I heard Kyla get out of bed but then didn't hear anything for a long time.  I figured she went back to bed.  But when she came downstairs, she presented me with a card.  It doesn't matter that it was actually a 5th-birthday birthday card from her grandparents that had a coloring picture on the inside.  She wanted to give me a real card.  So she got up early and very quietly spent a long time coloring the picture so that she could it to me.  It was one of those "I'm gonna save this moment in my mind to smooth over the next time she is goofing around at the table and spills her milk all over the place" moments.

Bugles and Cheese Sticks

Sometimes I like my Kindle.  Other times I love it.  Like yesterday when I went rummaging and needed to keep the kids entertained.  Amazon Prime lets them watch their favorite Wild Kratts and Fireman Sam episodes without an internet connection.  The only drawback?  I may have the Fireman Sam theme song in my head for the rest of the day.

I found a Dooney and Bourke bag for $5.  (Actually only $4.75 since I found a quarter inside it when I got home.)  It looked expensive and well-made and like it could possibly be pretty functional.  I'm pretty sure it's a knock-off and not really worth like $300.  But that's ok since I'd never even heard of Dooney and Bourke bags before yesterday.

The Walk That Didn't Happen

Yesterday afternoon I told Kyla we could take a walk and look for some more asparagus.  We've really been in asparagus-hunting mode lately.  We had picked everything we could find close to the house in the morning, but I told her we could walk farther and look some more after lunch.

Real Life, Uncut.

I have been feeling like I have no time for blogging lately.  Between the giant time machine that I'm attempting to make for VBS and the birthday party I just threw and the Mother's Day gifts I was making and the trips to town for expected and unexpected doctor visits and the ten eggs that need washed and put away every day and the three kids who expect to eat three times a day, I just have no brain energy left to write.

But what I actually mean, is that I have no brain energy left to create cutesy, entertaining, inspiring posts graciously interspersed with perfectly-captured, Photoshop-enhanced photos.

Bleh.

Happy 1st Birthday, Kiahna!

My little Kiahna Hope.

What a sweetheart you are.

My little I-will-eat-anything-and-everything-I-can-get-my-hands-on-even-if-it-came-out-of-the-trash girl.  My nothing-is-safe-from-me-and-I-believe-that-every-shelf-should-be-empty little pumpkin.

Easter Egg Fun

It was a fun morning coloring Easter eggs at our house.  We tried numerous methods.  My only regret is that I took lots of pictures of eggs and almost no pictures of the Littles who were decorating them!

Dan and Louie

My 5-year-old has two new friends.  Their names are Dan and Louie.  And they're old.

Really old.  They were friends of mine when I was little.

Living the Farm Life

Some days, I bemoan the fact that I can't just make a quick trip to Walmart when I realize I ran myself out of brown sugar.  (Most of the time, Bryan can bring home what I need, though he prefers to not have to stop more than once a week.  :) )

On Mornings Like This

It's mornings like this that grace shines through.

When you're up four times before 2 am.

When you argue with your spouse before he leaves for work.

When you're crying alone.

When your child is sitting at the table with fingers in ears in protest.

When strife seems rampant and patience is hard to come by and you want to walk out and slam the door on this day.

'Cuz What's Cuter Than a Baby in a Bath?

Seeing as how this post is already worth 5000 words, I really don't need to add anything more.  :)

View from the Ground

Sometimes, I let the entire day slip by without ever crouching low enough to get a good look at life.  Not today.  Here's what I saw, when I took the time to look.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss

Dr. Seuss books are both Kyla's and my favorite books to read before bed, so when my sis texted me this morning to tell me that it is Dr. Seuss's birthday today, we just had to celebrate.  Despite the cold I've been fighting for several days and the sinus headache that was threatening to crush the bones in my forehead, I hit Pinterest for ideas.