School 2014...3rd 6 weeks of Having a B-L-A-S-T!

The third 6 weeks of the school year flew by! It was definitely some of the busiest, but best days of school this year. The funnest day we had was probably when we celebrated Columbus Day with some of our friends. 

For our Columbus Day party, we made boats (the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina) from aluminum foil to race. This was really fun, and all ages enjoyed the boat race.

We followed the boat races with a Columbus Day Parade. CJ was the "grand marshal."He took his job seriously and even directed the other "floats" where to go.

Here was the procession from the back- a tractor, a go cart, a wagon, and a stroller!

The evening was complete with a cake, decorated by these two ladies!

 

BA has been studying a brief overview of USA history. For each state we try to do a lil' something to make the lessons come to life. Below he is pictured with his peach cobbler we made when studying "The Peach State."

We also made a homemade bird feeder to see what kind of birds we could attract. While studying each state, we look up which bird is the official state bird.

Some of the great things about the fall part of the school year is getting to go out and watch the local high school play football. Our "students" mark the calendar and count down the days until they get to see the Bulldogs play. Through their enthusiasm about the sporting event they get to learn about time- months, days, years...Go Bulldogs!

And of course my favorite part of the past six weeks of school...Thanksgiving Break & Christmas Break :)

It's hard to believe half the school year is gone... we have started up the family school house again. More pics to come later!

CJ's Baptism

My favorite memory by far from 2013 was when my second born son, CJ accepted Jesus as his personal savior. In the weeks following his decision, we read from the bible a lot, talked about what it meant to be a follow of Jesus, and how that should reflect in the way we live. We also talked about what it meant to be baptized. After these talks, CJ was baptized. Thus far on my parenting journey I can say two things- 1. Nothing is as special as when your child enters the world. 2. Nothing is sweeter than seeing that child become a Christian. Here are some pictures from this joyous occasion.

CJ,

We are so proud of you. We pray that you always follow after the footsteps of Jesus with passion and reckless abandon. We pray you never enter a period of rebellion of God's ways, that through you God may be glorified, and that the kingdom of heaven is fuller because of the life you lead.

Much love,
Dad & Mom

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday- Crayola style!

 GG showing Mom what he did...

 Recognizing what he did...

 Crying because of what He did...

And the closet floor masterpiece!

Happy 4th Birthday Princess EE!

Over the past 4 years God has transformed this...

...into this!

EE is our precious princess! When she requested a Cinderella ball for her 4th birthday, I knew it was the perfect party idea for her. She has been in love with the Cinderella story for quite some time now. As we started planning, she had most of the good ideas. I just listened and put them into action. EE told me, "Daddy is my prince, and at my party I'm going to marry him, and we are going to dance." Technically, she didn't marry her daddy, but he did commit to be her prince and take care of her until God sent her the man of her dreams.

For the special occasion I knew she needed a special dress. When I was a senior in high school my Grandmother made me a dress to wear. It was special for a lot of reasons- my Grandma made it, I went to the prom with her Daddy, and I was the prom queen that night. This is a picture of me with her dad.

A special lady I know sized that dress down for EE. She did a fantastic job. Here is my little princess all dressed up for the Cinderella ball. (She borrowed the tiara I wore at my wedding for her princess crown!)

She was absolutely adorable! So much so that she had two body guards...

 I'm sure she won't have to worry about any thing...she has the best prince- Dad!

At the party the little girls dressed up and made crowns. They were given wands and necklaces. The little boys also made crowns and were given swords. Then "Cinderella" danced with the prince.

They even went on a carriage ride.

While they were on the ride, her Daddy gave her a special gift.

When she returned we sang "Happy Birthday." Every one enjoyed cake, and all the other lil' princesses and princes when on carriage rides.

We had a fun time at the ball. Some of her friends from the party are pictured with her below.

We are blessed beyond measure with the gift of parenthood. We enjoyed making our princess feel special for the day. She is truly a special girl, but not because she was dressed all fancy. She's special because God made her, and for that we are grateful!

School 2013...2nd 6 weeks of F-U-N

This post is actually slightly behind...we are almost finished with the 3rd six weeks of school. We have been busy learning about all sorts of fun things. I have included a few pictures that capture some of my favorite days during this cycle.

 CJ and EE are holding a glass soda bottle with a yeast mixture in it. The gases from the yeast mixture inflated the balloon. They LOVED this experiment!

When we learned about some of the pioneers of America, we studied how they made everything they ate- even butter. We made some to try ourselves. It was DELICIOUS!

CJ made this paper indian canoe. He even decorated it with his own indian drawings.

BA made a canoe too. They were quite proud of this project.
 

This is BA's first attempt at kneading the dough to make homemade bread. It doubled as a history and science project- history with learning how people used to make their bread and science concerning yeast and how it's gases make things rise.

 CJ having a great time kneading :)

BA and CJ...proud homemade bread bakers!

 While studying the letter 'A' we made homemade applesauce. It was quite the hit!

 

 We made a model of the solar system. It is now hanging in the boy's bedroom!

Outside school is the best! Here we are on the back porch. Pretty cool 'T,' right?!

Braden is finishing up some seat work in US history. They love learning outside! If only the weather would stay just right for it.

Our dear friend Ms. Phyllis showed the kindergarteners how to make a homemade apple pie when we were studying the letter 'A.'

As you can see from the picture it was very tasty!


I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of our favorite moments from school. Being able to do school at home is such a joy to me. It isn't always easy, and sometimes isn't always picture worthy, but it's a blessing to my heart to have my babies with me everyday. Teaching them has taught me one big lesson...every day I realize how much I don't know. I'm learning right along beside them. Perhaps that is what makes it so fun!