Welcome to this year's school photos!
A few weeks ago I gave our
drowned camera a go of it. The mantle and walls were still displaying year old pictures of the kids. So, new ones were needed. I think our camera is truly on its last leg, but it hung in there for this drizzly morning photo shoot.
Z-Our second grader.
I am looking forward to an increase in school independence for him this year as his reading skills are miles beyond last fall. And he is looking eagerly forward to our new homeschool co-op this fall in which he will get to spend some great time with some of his friends from church. I hope, this year, to balance encouraging him plenty (he needs it and I am not the best in this area) while developing some consistent diligence in him.
T-Our five year old first grader
T is becoming a natural writer and it is very exciting. She is the over-achiever in the family and demands perfection of herself. Rules are her way of life and she sticks closely by them. It is a delicate balance of challenging her while not overwhelming her young mind. I am excited to see the world of writing and reading grow so much wider for her this coming year! But then will come the challenge of finding her enough books that don't trouble her very tender heart.
J-Our four year old 'partial' kindergartner
First of all: Don't you just love the dimples! J is our instinctive learner. She reads by feel; you can almost see it. Phonics rules are what got her reading, but not what keep her going. She picks things up quickly if they 'make sense'. In reading and writing I expect her to easily travel through the K material. I am going to wait to see how her stamina for 'school' is before adding math in. But I'm sure she will readily join us in great history and literature reading. And hopefully Z and T will be able to make
some scientific discoveries before J informs them of the 'logical' conclusion.
M-Our 2 and a half year old P.E. specialist
Fortunately M is excellent at entertaining himself. Unfortunately this often involves some round projectile. Thus, he adds many good P.E. elements (and unexpected laughs) to our school day. He can be found coloring from time to time and
hopefully tackling playing a great deal with S.
S-16 months and marching
If you aren't very familiar with our S I invite you to click on the very-commonly-written-about-category labeled S on the right. Let's just say that when it comes to school this year she has
a lot to learn and none of it can be found in a book. We might begin with 'no dancing on the school table'. During the second week I might tackle 'no climbing on
top of Z's desk'. The third week I am thinking she might learn that it is not kind (nor safe) to take her older siblings' pencils away and then run squealing around the house. On the fourth week, well, we might have to have a spiral curriculum for her and go back to the first week. You get my drift...
Those are the students in our school. We will begin in about three weeks....
This post is linked up with
HOTM's Not-Back to School Blog Hop. Watch next week for a day in the life of our school (where I post my schedule which no one is allowed to inform S of)!
4 comments:
You have wonderful students! Each brings their own flavor to the school room. :-)
I had to chuckle at your humor!
I hope that you enjoy the homeschool co-op. It was a day that we looked forward to each week.
Love J's dimples!
Remember to step back and remind yourself what each of the children would be learning in "regular" school. For the most part they are above their age level in many areas, and just as with Z's reading... they may start off slow and then take off like a rocket, once time has passed and they are ready.
Luckily, S can not read so I think your schedule is safe for a few more years (flexibility will be the name of the game with her fitting into your schedule) ;-)
For M, and S, following orders, sorting, learning colors, numbers, etc. will come about in just common daily activities, as they listen to what the others are learning. They are all sponges even when they are not in school!
You are a wonderful mother and teacher! Truly, a Proverbs 31 women.
You have such a beautiful family, and those pics are great. I left my camera outside in the rain. I thought it was a goner, but just today I tried turning it on again and the silly thing is working lol. Not sure if I'm going to let dh know, though, as he wants to go camera shopping...
Two things:
#1 - Your kids are adorable
#2 - You wrote that at 6:28 am . . . crazy . . . that is all I am saying.
Tal,
Ya, sleeping in is getting rarer by the day...especially if I want to get anything done in peace!
Post a Comment