Saturday was the big birthday party! We are celebrating Jacey turning 5 and Abbey turning 4 (on Sept. 3rd). The party went well, lots of friends there. I think everyone had a really good time. It was mostly stress free. I did get a little wigged out when they started opening gifts and I didn't have paper or pen to write down who gave which presents. I know, it probably shouldn't have been such a big deal, but I really wanted to know where the gifts came from so I could personalize the thank you notes. I guess in the whole big scheme of things, that really isn't so important. But thankfully, I did get them written down when we got home, and I think I got most everything identified!
We had two cakes (I'll post pictures later, once I figure out how to do that!) Abbey had a Fairytale Unicorn cake and Jacey had a 12 Dancing Princesses Cake (Barbie, for those of you who don't have 5 year olds!). We have lots of cake left over, which isn't good because now I'm tempted to eat it!
Today began our second week of home schooling. I am really enjoying it and it's not as hard or as stressful as I thought it might be. The girls are doing well and it's so much fun to watch them learn things. I'm going to withold official comment on who is going to be good at what, because I think it's to early to tell, but it is fun watching them do the subjects they enjoy! We are loving MathUSee. I made flash cards tonight to help Abbey in recognizing her numerals. She does great at counting, but she's having a bit of trouble identifying the actual written numbers. We'll work on that though.
Now for the blogging perfection. I HATE the fact that I am such a perfectionist! I really wish that was something you could outgrow or go to a 12-step program for! I've meant to start a blog or at least a journal for the last 5 years (since I became a Mommy) but I never did because I didn't think I could do it right or that I wouldn't write in it EVERY day. I missed writing about so much because of my perfectionism. There are so many things that have happened in the last five years that I would love to go back and read about now. I guess there's no use in crying over spilt milk though. I'll just start now (well, I already have) and continue on. I keep reminding myself I don't have to write something every day and I keep telling myself that any and all recorded memories will be cherished in the future, both by myself and the girls. I just have to keep that in mind and do the best I can.
I'm excited about another school day tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
What Happened??
Today school started off pretty well, but went downhill quickly. We did manage to get everything done, but it wasn't without considerable effort. Actually, I think Abbey didn't finish her 3 pages in Explode the Code, but that's ok, she can move at her own pace. Jacey did well academically, but the attention and obedience was lacking. I suppose since it's all new all of this is to be expected. I just need to pray and ask God to keep my spirits up. Tonight on the way home from Church, Abbey really hurt my feelings. She said she didn't want to do school and that she didn't like it. I suppose all kids say that at some time or another and I should get used to it as I suppose I'm going to hear it a lot, but it really did hurt my feelings :(
Speaking of church, I began my 3rd year teaching kindergarten Mission Friends. It looks like we will have a smaller class than last year, but it also looks like they are going to be more unruly. There were only 7 of them and it took 3 adults to keep them contained and on task. This is another first for me - teaching my own child at church. I hope tonight is not an indication of how it's going to go. Out of 7 children in the class, only two of them behaved themselves and guess what - mine was not one of them!! I suppose it will be fun to look back on tonight around the middle of the year and then again at the end and see how far they've come in both maturity and spiritual growth (hopefully!).
Speaking of church, I began my 3rd year teaching kindergarten Mission Friends. It looks like we will have a smaller class than last year, but it also looks like they are going to be more unruly. There were only 7 of them and it took 3 adults to keep them contained and on task. This is another first for me - teaching my own child at church. I hope tonight is not an indication of how it's going to go. Out of 7 children in the class, only two of them behaved themselves and guess what - mine was not one of them!! I suppose it will be fun to look back on tonight around the middle of the year and then again at the end and see how far they've come in both maturity and spiritual growth (hopefully!).
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
A Day of More Firsts
Today was our second day of school and it went well. Actually, I think it went better today than yesterday. At least I was less nervous and the girls seemed to like it. They were a little slow getting to the school room this morning. I think I'm going to have to be better about keeping them on a time-line in the mornings. Although, it might not really matter, as long as we get everything done. We visited the nursing home where Terry works today and took Scarlett for the Dog Day's of Summer Dog Show. Scarlett won the award for being the shortest dog, but I was most proud of Jacey. She got up in front of all the residents and workers and talked about Scarlett. She told her age (8) and how many brothers and sisters she has (2/1) and also told about the tricks Scarlett does. She wasn't the least bit afraid to talk in front of that many people. I think we might have a little public speaker on our hands!
Today was the first day of music class with Mrs. Pam. Both girls did really well and seemed to like it a lot. We have things to practice for this week, which we will begin doing tomorrow. I was surprised at how much they remembered from the 4 days we spent at music camp this summer. Another first today was the first soccer practice for Jacey. Coach Chris says they all did a good job. It was VERY hot (the car thermometer said 99 when we got out) and the kids were in full sun the whole time. Jacey was red and sweating. She did pretty well handling the ball and showed a little bit of competitiveness in going after the ball a few times. That is something that we'll have to work on. She is so sweet and kind and polite, I don't know if she will chase someone down to 'steal' the ball from them. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Right before soccer practice, while I was in the store grabbing a Gatorade for Jacey, she and Abbey got into a little fuss. Abbey wouldn't give her the soccer ball so Jacey decides to hit her in the face with the seat belt buckle! I got back to the car (gone less than 3 minutes and the car was in my sight and running!) and Abbey was bleeding profusely from her nose. It bled on and off all night. Needless to say, Jacey was punished when we got home part of which was going to bed without watching America's Got Talent (which might actually be considered punishment by some!). It just breaks my heart when my children are mean and hurt someone on purpose (only the second time she's done it as far as I know) but it's especially bad when it's their own sibling. I hope and pray that she will learn to think before acting.
Today was the first day of music class with Mrs. Pam. Both girls did really well and seemed to like it a lot. We have things to practice for this week, which we will begin doing tomorrow. I was surprised at how much they remembered from the 4 days we spent at music camp this summer. Another first today was the first soccer practice for Jacey. Coach Chris says they all did a good job. It was VERY hot (the car thermometer said 99 when we got out) and the kids were in full sun the whole time. Jacey was red and sweating. She did pretty well handling the ball and showed a little bit of competitiveness in going after the ball a few times. That is something that we'll have to work on. She is so sweet and kind and polite, I don't know if she will chase someone down to 'steal' the ball from them. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Right before soccer practice, while I was in the store grabbing a Gatorade for Jacey, she and Abbey got into a little fuss. Abbey wouldn't give her the soccer ball so Jacey decides to hit her in the face with the seat belt buckle! I got back to the car (gone less than 3 minutes and the car was in my sight and running!) and Abbey was bleeding profusely from her nose. It bled on and off all night. Needless to say, Jacey was punished when we got home part of which was going to bed without watching America's Got Talent (which might actually be considered punishment by some!). It just breaks my heart when my children are mean and hurt someone on purpose (only the second time she's done it as far as I know) but it's especially bad when it's their own sibling. I hope and pray that she will learn to think before acting.
First Day of School - At Home!!
Well, today is the beginning of a new era. We are an official home schooling family. Our first day went exceptionally well and I am very pleased. I was so excited and nervous about our first day that I could barely sleep last night. I think Jacey must have been excited too, she woke up and ran into the school room singing, "Time for school, Time for school." Wouldn't it be wonderful if she could feel that way everyday for the next 12 years? O.K., I know I'm dreaming, but it really would be wonderful!
We got dressed and ready for our 1st day of school. Abbey started Pre-K and Jacey is in Kindergarten. Jacey wore a beautiful pink and white striped dress and Abbey wore an adorable red and white checked dress (think table cloth at an Italian restaurant). We made the first day of school pictures and then proceeded to get to work.
We started with prayer, as I hope to do every day. From there we went on to math, we use MathUSee and then on to Language Arts, Story Time, Handwriting, Science and Reading. I'm so glad I chose Sonlight as our curriculum, at least so far. I love that it has the lessons all planned out and gives me tips and pointers to help with teaching. As I sat looking at the lesson plan for today, I thought to myself, "There is no way we'll get all this done", but we did!
Tonight, Donny asked Jacey if she liked school today and she said yes, and then he asked her what her teachers name is and she said she didn't know. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not! I prepared them tonight that we would be getting up and doing it all again tomorrow. They seemed to take it well, although they weren't doing high-fives or cartwheels. I guess I shouldn't ask for to much.
We got dressed and ready for our 1st day of school. Abbey started Pre-K and Jacey is in Kindergarten. Jacey wore a beautiful pink and white striped dress and Abbey wore an adorable red and white checked dress (think table cloth at an Italian restaurant). We made the first day of school pictures and then proceeded to get to work.
We started with prayer, as I hope to do every day. From there we went on to math, we use MathUSee and then on to Language Arts, Story Time, Handwriting, Science and Reading. I'm so glad I chose Sonlight as our curriculum, at least so far. I love that it has the lessons all planned out and gives me tips and pointers to help with teaching. As I sat looking at the lesson plan for today, I thought to myself, "There is no way we'll get all this done", but we did!
Tonight, Donny asked Jacey if she liked school today and she said yes, and then he asked her what her teachers name is and she said she didn't know. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not! I prepared them tonight that we would be getting up and doing it all again tomorrow. They seemed to take it well, although they weren't doing high-fives or cartwheels. I guess I shouldn't ask for to much.
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