Back to School Schedule & Party

We are in full swing here at our little academy. (need to come up with a name soon)!
We just started our 3rd week, and our routine is working really well, so I wanted to share what our day looks like.

*I wake up at 6:30 (working towards 6:00). I make my bed, read the Bible and get dressed.

*The boys wake at 7:00. They get dressed, make beds, brush teeth, and feed dogs. I assist one child with wiping the boys toilet...they take turns since this has to be done daily!!

*7:15 I make breakfast while they read their Bible; classical music is on in the background. Breakfast usually consists of some combination of waffles, bacon, eggs, toast, oatmeal, breakfast burritos...you get the idea. And, a great big cup of coffee for me.







*We eat, and I read the Bible to them. They "read" the Bible on their own to get used to the idea that they need to every day when they can read well on their own. I read to them so they hear the word and will know it.

*8:05 we take Jaiden to his private theraputic school and we get home around 8:35

*8:35 we do daily chores. Start washing machine, dishes, pick up.

*9:00 we start school
   -we do memory work (scriptures, days of week, months, poetry) and write in gratitude journals
   -I turn on hymns in background
   -I work on My Father's World with Brighton
   -while Tristin does Singapore math or Kahn Academy
   - I let Brighton look at ABC book or do a puzzle while Tristin and I do All About Spelling lesson

*10 or 10:15 we take a 15-30 minute break

*10:30 we read our living History literature or Apologia Swimming Creatures science



*11:00 we do Greek or Grammar

*11:20 we read our Ambleside online reading and poetry or Shakespeare

*12:00 we eat lunch (leftovers, baked potatoes, or chicken salad with fruit)

*12:30 play

*1:00  Trisitn reads aloud to me

*1:30  Everyone goes to their own room to play while I turn on a movie via Netflix and fold laundry

*2:30 boys come put away their own laundry and we go get a snack prepared

*3:00 Jaiden is home, has snack, potty, and they all can watch a movie for 1 hour or play. I clean..or read (grin)

*4:00 movie off. free play (outside) or we can work on a project or take a walk etc.



*5:00 everyone picks up any messes

*5:30 everyone helps with dinner and clean up (chopping salad, stirring, setting table, washing dishes, sweeping)

*7:15 baths, teeth, and devotional

*8:00 bed, where they can read or color...lights out 9:00 ish

That's our school day!

We have really been loving this schedule and enjoying school so much more this year so far.

The night before we started school, I decided to throw and impromptu  back to school dinner.
I love what nienie does with theirs, so I ran with that.

The boys and I made crowns, I made cupcakes and dinner (lime chicken tacos and rice).






It is so sweet how they treasure those crown and display them in their rooms.

Our theme this year is to "Dream Big". I want our boys to learn to do hard things. That's what it takes to reach your dreams. God has such dreams for us, so don't be shy to dream big!



I couldn't believe when I was going through my stash or clearance cupcake liners, that I came across these!!



We had a beautiful night. A perfect way to celebrate this life given to us.










Hope your year blesses your socks off!!

My Craft Room: In Progress

We have a good size closet in our house. We weren't quite sure what to do with it. If you recall, I have a wish to learn to sew. Simple things like pillows and curtains. I've had a sewing machine for 3 years now and have never used it. It scares me. But, I decided to make this room into my own (well okay, I share with the boys) craft room! It fits our old computer desk and has plenty of storage and a door so I can shut it when it gets messy like the pictures I'm about to show you.


The room has come a long way since we moved in, but is nowhere near done, but I thought I'd share so you can see the progress in real time.


So, here we go.

Piled with frames that need to be hung and extra pillows, this room is still serving as somewhat of a storage room, you know how it is.


On the desk is a box of ribbon, and in the bottom of the desk is fabric that I will use for practicing.





To your left of the room is the boys' art station. They use it daily.





The 7Up crate is filled with markers, paint brushes, glue, twine, googly eyes...you name it.





And a small display of our craftiness.





I will post more pictures as I work on this little nook.

Christmas Joy

I mentioned the other day that we had signed up to deliver presents to kids who wouldn't otherwise be getting any. We woke Saturaday morning and headed out to load our car full of gifts to be hand delivered to these kids. We knocked on the doors and were greeted by children who couldn't contain their smiles! They had NO idea, and boy were they thrilled!

Our boys loved it. They were happy to be spreading joy this Christmas. It was such a blessing.

Boys squished together so we could fit all the gifts in the back of our car.



One shy to have his picture taken.



Then we came home to Chritmas movies and make gingerbread houses. We were so excited to have Uncle Seth stop by and make one too.

(no pictures of the process...I misplaced my camera...) But here are the results!

I also can't get the pictures to turn the other way...but this is Brighton's)


Jaiden's


Mine


Uncle Seth's


Tristin's


And my hubby's ....I think he was trying to show us up!


Merry Christmas!

Nature Study Inspiration

Part of Charlotte Mason's method (a large part) is nature study. I have to be honest. We live in a flat, treeless, and windy city. Nature study is a hard thing to get motivated about, especially when I long to see beauty all around me. But, my friends that is not my reality (or the reality of many really) and is NO excuse to give up the study of nature.

I'm always up for a challenge, so I challenge myself to find the beauty where we live. After all, God made this land too, so there is beauty to be found.

My other challenge is the weather. Just as above, I'm sure I could use it on every occasion as an excuse not to go outside (especially in the cold), but am challenging myself NOT to.

Plus, this life, this having children, and choosing to raise them, and school them in the comfort of home allows us the opportunities to show them God in everything. And what is more evident of God than His own creation?

Fist of all, I'm finding that having a bag prepared helps when we want to observe more carefully. Pack a backpack with pencils, sketchbooks, magnifying glass, baggies, books, and paints and a paper towel, and some trail mix just in case. You may not need the bag every time, but it's good to have.

Next up...go outside. Some days we go on a walk in our neighborhood and collect pine cones, berries, leaves, and acorns. Some days we look at the trees and talk about what kind they are or or how they change each season.

Other days, we may sit in our front yard and listen to birds, watch squirls, play with sticks, find bugs, or climb trees.

Some days we head out to a park with a creek, or ducks, or the Canyon to hike and climb.

We used to do this about 4 times a week. Now that it's been so cold, I haven't been motivated. I came across some wonderful ideas to help with studying nature, even when it's cold out!

1) Loved this whole post at the Common Room. I loved the idea of catching snowflakes with black gloves on and quickly observing.

2) I also love making a weather calender and writing what the weather is like each day. She mentions taking note of the moon too!

3)This post at The Educational Life is extremely helpful with getting started and fitting it in your routine.

I loved this idea of creating a bird watching station especially for the colder days.

Source: playfulearning.com via Jeana on Pinterest

And you could put a bird feeder right on your window.

Source: store.imaginechildhood.com via Jeana on Pinterest

Collect items and use them! There are so many neat ideas to put in your journal.
From leaf rubbings, to drawings, or even actual photographs with observations writtin in.

You can even make fun and beautiful crafts!

Source: childinharmony.com via Jeana on Pinterest

Source: kokokokids.ru via Jeana on Pinterest

Have fun with it. It shouldn't feel pressured or hurried. Just enjoy God all around you!

Going On A Bear Hunt

The other day we read We're Going On A Bear Hunt together, and decided we need to recreate the obstacles they went through in the book. It was a fine sensory experience!

We took a cardboard tube and wraped rubber bands around it and painted it green. We rolled the tube on our paper to create swishy grass.



Then, using finger paints, we made a lake.







Next up was mud. We have been so dry here, mud was a hard one ;) plus our boys saw NO fun in getting their hands covered with mud, so they quickly scooped some mud and smeared it on our page before running to wash off.



Next we created a forest. Using old leaves from our nature table and sticks, they had fun making their own version of the forest.



I have no picture of the snow storm, but they glued cotton balls all over the page. It was a BAD storm...

And next we found the bear! I drew a simple bear and cut it out. They traced the outside of it with pastels and we turned it over and pressed hard.





What a project! we now have a big accordion style bear hunt book. They sure were proud of it.

Spring Art for Free!

I just now took all of our Valentine's decor down and pulled out my stuff for spring. I really wanted to go for crisp and clean. Natural with pops of color. I didn't want to buy anything, so as I started putting things together, I really felt something was missing.

I had this old safari picture from Brighton's nursery and I decided to take it apart and stick something else in it.



I only had this brown and white scrap paper which wasn't very "springy" but I had to work with it since I didn't want to spend any money. So I went hunting around online and found these adorable labels to print.




I cut them out, used double sided tape, and put it all together. It really took less than 10 minutes! So simple, and so lovely!  I'm using as spring decor, but it would be fun for a party or BBQ.




 


And just a little peek at my other touches of spring. I'm ready!!

 






 





    Passionately Artistic 

The Stories From A2Z

Small Art Station

In my effort to organize, I made the old record player in our kitchen our new art station. A roll of paper, chalk, crayons, markers, scissors, and glue are all easily available for the kids to get what they need.





I promise I dust. Black always looks dusty in our neck of the woods.

We really enjoy art, and having everything right there allows us to enjoy it even more!



 A little bit of art. The boys' MLK Jr project.



 More fun changes over at Annalea Hart