First Grade

I realize we are in October and many of you have been in full swing for 2 months now with school. We just past the 1 month mark for first grade. It seems that first grade takes on a very serious role. The task are more, the activities have increased and the interest of a little one seems to expand even further. Plus, the responsibility list has lengthen. We school M, T, W & F. Thursday is our activity day and reading day. Little man is so involved in swimming and gymnastics that we have lumped them in one day. We have other activities that occur 3 times a month with cub scouts and then AWANA on Sundays. Typically, our cub scouts is at night so it still fits in our schedule. Throw in Nature and Science group on Monday afternoons and well, we are busy. The good kind of busy! Not so busy that we feel overwhelmed. The right kind of balance! Anyone else feel that the jump from kinder to first is a big one? One of my bestie's has lunches prepared for 4 days in different bins in the frig. A fruit, sandwich, lunchable(only 1 for the week), dessert and a drink. Chips or pretzels are in a bowl next to the frig. Each child is responsible for packing their own lunch! Brilliant idea! I love it. Even though we home school it is still a great system to build into our routine. Sometimes, it is easy to just fly by the seats of our pants since we do home school. However, I find it more productive and a timesaver when we prepare ahead of time such as packing our lunch everyday. How about you? What do you do to make life easier or what system do you have during the day to help your family be successful? 

We still school with bear! Shows his tender side. 

I decided a new tradition on the first day of school is to add a book to our collection.
Thought this to be so appropriate! 

Seriously! & ANSC

Wow, I honestly can not believe that I have let this blog go. I guess you could say we have been busy busy busy little bees here in Austin! I have so much to say but not enough time to do it. I guess it is true what they say about homeschool life, it just gets busier as time moves forward with age. So funny I have a friend who once told me she was busier once her kids hit elementary age than she ever was when they were littles. I now believe her! Ha! It is just a different kind of busy. Do you agree? 


Obviously, I can not catch you up in one post so I will focus on one topic. Our Nature & Science group! This is our 3rd year I believe to participate in the Austin Nature and Science home school program. It has been such a blessing in our schooling. This year the moms decided to take the group outside of just meeting once a month at ANSC! Of course each group changes year to year. It seems this year the group we are with is excited about continuing the studies beyond once a month. It fits our busy schedule so we are joining in on the fun! Little man is very excited. This past Wednesday was out first gathering. We are studying ponds & live things. Plus, it is always fun when one of our friends is already part of the ANSC home school program. I look forward to this year in so many ways! This group is just one of many. Once or twice  a month the group will also focus on art that is applicable to the study and sometimes not! We are a great mix of different temperaments to compliment the dynamic of the group. If I want to head it up one week I can. I love crafts! I see myself creating something fun for our group to do in the near future. 

Little man is in the old school cub scout hat tot he right 

Little man's friend is the one on the left with the yellow bucket!

I pray that your school year whether you home school or have your children in public or private is a great year. I am on my knees for all of us moms! We need it. 

Hebrews 11:6 
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 

Catch up!

My intentions were to be better at blogging. Well, you can see that has not happened! Where have I been? It has been so busy the last few months. We had a shift in our curriculum in November. I was not pleased with the phonics program we had started in September. We took a long break and I started to search for a better program that would fit our needs. Once I found what I was looking for we began our new phonics program in January. Basically, homeschooling has been in full force with phonics. Which makes me happy! All of us! Plus, all of little man's activities(swimming & gymnastics) have kept us busy this year. 

Along with those changes we took time to visit family, friends and have some good one on one time. It was much needed! We enjoyed the Holidays! Which ones you ask? All of them! ha! Christmas we spent at my husband's family this time. Our little guy thought that was so cool to spend it at Paw's and Memaw's! It makes my heart so happy that my own child enjoys his grandparents. I did when I was young. Spring break we were sick. First time for me in a very very long time. That was tough! However, the benefits of homeschooling is Spring Break is when you want it to happen. While the crowds were piling up here in Austin we were home in bed. I don't like crowds. In a way I was happy to take our sick days during that week! 

This school year I have committed to two passions. First, I became a "team leader" for children's ministry for the kinder zone. I help during third hour worship service. I am responsible for welcoming new families, checking to make sure our teachers have what they need, stepping in where it is needed, gathering snacks, making sure children attend worship and many many other duties. Secondly, I stepped up to help with our local MOPS(mother's of preschoolers-kinder) group. They asked me to become a DGL(discussion group leader) for a table. It has been great year and we have 3 more meetings for this year's topic. 

It has also been a transition time for me. Exercise has become a priority again. Praise God for that! My friend asked me to attend a Camp Gladiator at 5:30 in the morning at 27 degrees with rain! So, I did! I loved it and joined officially in February. It has been good to get up early and take care of myself before I attend to everyone else's needs. Yay, for me I am not last on the list! 

Then I have been having some fun. Yes fun! The friendships I formed last year in MOPS has been a big blessing in my life. I can honestly say I love those ladies. We still get together for a GNO(girls' night out). My favorite so far are the sing a longs at Alamo Draft-house or the tea times with a Jane Austen movie. I highly recommend finding something you love to do and do it with people you enjoy to be around. That is a very important life lesson. 

So, how are you? Hope & pray all is well in your world. 

Momma's Lil Bat

Last month at the Austin Nature & Science Center we learned all about Bats! They explained the difference between micro-bats and mega-bats. We learned where bats fit on the food chain and what they need in order to survive. We observed a bat skeleton, a live bat up close and discussed their behaviors along with the anatomy of the bat. It was a very interesting class! 

Micro Bat(small eyes, large ears)

She made this bat costume! Ah-Mazing! 

waiting patiently to see the live bat. 

Now the best part about was my son thought we were going to learn about Batman. I was relieved that he was not disappointed to know it was truly "just about bats." However, at the end he did ask about Batman. The teachers looked at me with a smirk and chuckle. I just shrugged my shoulders. After all it is so close to Halloween and he does have an imagination! 

*below I took pics with my iphone and then used Rhonna Desgins to add the captioning along with editing. 

 

Austin Nature & Science Center

Last year, we participated in the Austin Science & Nature Center Home School program for our science lab. They picked different topics to feature for each group every month. My son's group assignments included insects, fossils and faults, reptiles, roller coasters and very small(fish). They enjoyed learning what qualifies as an insect. Once the group determined that they collected samples from the field.  The whole group gathered their nets then off they went to search for specimen. My son's group did an excellent job of finding different insects. Then we had the opportunity to take the insects to the lab and studied them under a lens. That was super cool according to my son. He loved the petri dish and all the different type of bugs that he investigated. They also had the opportunity to make a craft. A butterfly! WE.LOVE.CRAFTS! 

For the reptile unit I don't remember much. I know sad, right? My son did walk away with a reptile tie craft. 

The roller coaster unit they built a roller coaster together. They talked about g- force. Very cool stuff. 

The fish unit was all about catching them in the pond. That day was messy! 

We will be partcipating again this year starting next week. We are so excited to learn all about bats next week! 

Here are a few pics from last year! Enjoy! 

"Unofficial" Kinder Pics

These are not our official Kinder pics. The reason why I say that is my son needs a haircut and I need to pick the outfit for his official pictures! We wanted to continue to participate in the Not Back to School Blog Hop since this is picture week. So here they are...."unofficially"(lol)

He loves the color orange so he picked a flower to hold! 

He wanted to show his big feet! They are the wrong size but he thought it was funny! 

My Favorite Part

was his prayer from the first day of homeschooling....


"Dear Lord, Please help me to be a good learner so that I can become a reader. Thank you for listening and for school."

star wars shirt with spiderman glove is what every boy needs to pray! 

Root Beer(PEMDAS-Please Experiment Mathematically, Directly And Scientifically)

There is not a specific recipe for making root beer from the group experiment today. We participated in a science lab to learn about root beer and the process of making it! So, you can go here for a recipe that came close to it. PEMDAS is the name of the group that organizes the science & math labs. 



We have joined a home school group, The Little Texas Homeschoolers in our area that offers varies activities for anyone to be a part of. It varies from science, math, plays, language & arts, games and many many other wonderful subjects. It is not everyday or every week. Science & Math are once a month. This month was about Root Beer! This was our first time to participate in the adventure.  I was very impressed with this husband and wife team that put together a root beer experiment. First, they bought an old farm house on on acre in the middle of the city and the backyard is every child's dream. Swings of all kinds, slides, trampoline, play house, homemade teeter toter and many many other things for a child to create or dream up for play time. Plus it was shady with lots of trees! 

The husbands stays home on Tuesdays to teach science and math for his family. Then he helps his wife with the science and math experiments for group learning on the second Tuesday of every month. Very impressive indeed. 

Anyway, they explained how sodas become carbonated. They showed a yeast version of root beer and a dry ice version. Also, they had different flavorings for the root beer. It was interesting! Little man did not want to taste but I did. Vanilla was my favorite. 

What I love about being part of this group is you can participate as much as you want to. Some come to every event and others come only a few times a year. Very nice to not be pressured and yet welcomed to any event! Enjoy the pictures below! 

Best part of the whole day was little man made a new friend. His mom invited us over for some play time earlier this afternoon. For only knowing each other less than 2 minutes they sure do get along. His new friend was so sweet to take him under his wing. 

"I truly enjoy this time in my life."

Our Little School Room

The NOT Back to School Blog hop continues...The School Room! Go here to see other blogger's school room! 

Once upon a time there lived a room that was filled with breakables, dining chairs and a table. People came and they enjoyed themselves. Dinner was served and conversations were held. Even the children loved to eat from this fancy room. My son loved to set the table and use the "fancy dishes." Sometimes candlelight was the preferred choice of lighting for the night. Yes, yes it was the Dining Room! Well, we said goodbye to the dining room and enter the school/play room area! The heavens opened up, the children gathered as they spread out with their beloved toys in this new space and much fun was born. 

I know I know a bit dramatic! Sometimes I miss my dining room. It is just a season of our life for now. I know their are many more talented people than me when it comes to utilizing space. You do not have to give up your dining room to create your school room or even a play room. It was something I decided to do. Below are pictures where we learn, grow and play everyday. It is not fancy or neat. Maybe that will make those who are frustrated in the messy department feel better. My pictures were taken from my ipone so it is raw. Enjoy! 

 So where are you homeschooling?