A big haircut for my big girl

Hannah's been wanting a short haircut for a long time.  She is sick of the tangles and braids.  She talked her dad into letting her cut her hair to just below her chin.  He finally agreed, so we went to a salon and had them chop it all off.  It looks cute. Brian thinks she looks too old now which he is obviously not in favor of.  I don't think so though. 

 Hannah and I went alone to the salon.  On the way back she said that she thought Genna would want to cut her hair short now too.  I didn't think so, but Hannah was right.  I am not ready to cut Genna's hair short.  I love those curls!  And I have to have someone's hair to braid and try new styles on.  It won't be mine or Hannah's, at least for a while.

Matchy Matchy

It is not often that these boys get to match.  I wish I could have gotten Drew to cooperate and give me a better picture.

The big game around our house is pretending to be Drew's mom or dad.  They are constantly calling "Drew's my son today!" or some variation.  He has no idea he is so popular!

Captain America!

My Captain America!

This was a late birthday gift for Isaac.  I meant to have the shield ready on his birthday to go with his mask that I gave him, but with Drew's bursitis thing and visiting my sister it got put on hold.  I finished it last week since I didn't have to do school prep anymore.  I found this tutorial a while back on Pinterest.  It wasn't hard, but it was a bit time-consuming with lots of steps.  I just worked on it a little every evening and finished it up during a nap time.  It is a lot bigger than he needs, but I didn't want to mess with shrinking the pattern.  It was raining when I finished it and he couldn't wait for it to stop so he could practice throwing it.  It is made out of cardboard, polypropylene rope, and colored duct tapes.  I also cut some straps off a bag that we didn't need to make the straps on the back of the shield.  (You can see the white straps a little in the picture with Drew, below.)  It is light enough that it won't kill anybody or give anyone a concussion (although I am sure it would feel good to have it thrown at you,) but sturdy enough to throw and play with, I hope. 

Even Drewy likes it.  I may just have to make a mini version for him.

The Second First Day of School

Saturday these three cuties had their first day of German Saturday school!  Yay for them, and a double Yay for me!  I get Saturday mornings free since I will be leaving baby Drew with his daddy whenever I take them to school, and Drew takes a morning nap anyway. 

Drew wanted in the picture.

Seeing as Isaac never gets left anywhere but with people we know well, I wasn't sure how he was going to do in a classroom without anyone he knows and without his sisters.  He did super great!  He insisted on bringing his teacher an apple, and that got him a hug from the teacher right off.  There was a big wooden pirate ship in his room, and that made him sooo happy.  He said he had the "best room."

When I picked him up, the teacher said that he did very well and was a sweet boy.  I already knew that, but it is always nice to hear it from somebody else!  He is a sweet boy!

Showing off their backpacks

The girls were a little nervous until they found out that they were combining the first and second graders into one class.  Then they were fine!  Genna was excited to make new friends.  They were all excited about packing up backpacks.  When I picked them up, they showed me their zahlenbuchen, which is a "number book" that they made in class.  The girls' teacher spoke almost completely in German the whole class.  Hannah said that she showed them what she was saying instead of translating it for them.  I am hoping Hannah's German comes back easily.

I like how this will give them a little taste of "real school" without having to be fully in "real school."  They are even going to get to take a bus to school starting next week because of limited parking and traffic problems.  They encourage you to use the bus drop off system.  I think it will be fine, but I may ride it with them next week to make sure Isaac gets to and from his class okay.  I haven't decided yet.  It means I have to sit in the cafeteria again during the classes, but I don't mind that too much.  I just did some sewing and had a German pretzel. 

First Days of School: The good, the bad, and the ugly

One of many problems.  Drew's a little thief!

The Good

My planning paid off!  When the kids were in bed, I got to relax!  I did not have to do a thing to prepare for school or even my co-op this week.  That is just what I was hoping for, and I am so satisfied with all my preparation. We also made it to Mass in the mornings, except the first day because I wasn't sure if Drew was still sick or not that day.  And everyone seemed to enjoy school.  Hannah, especially, is much more pleasant to teach this year.  Plus, God answered my prayers, and Drew took good naps which gave us time to work.

The Bad

School took too long everyday.  This is for lots of reasons.  One, the kids are still learning the binder system and it takes time to explain it to them.  Two, Genna is a dreamer like me, gets distracted a lot, and is slow doing her work.  Three, we have some kinks to work out with the transitions and flow of the day.  The really bad is that we haven't even had to start our memory work yet.  That starts next week and will add some time everyday to review it.  That means number 4 is what I feared (and anticipated,) I planned for more than we can actually do.

The Ugly

We have had more accidents around here than I can take.  Hannah has had a few more episodes with her concussion and hasn't been careful enough with herself.  She has been mildly hurt on her head twice since school started, once involving her sis, and once by her brother (Isaac).  This just scares me to death, but Brian handles it well, luckily.  Then Isaac walked into the corner of a counter and split his upper lip...lots of blood there.  And finally Isaac was trying to walk through when we were all spread out on the floor doing some math.  He stepped on a pencil and somehow it tipped up and got lodged (yes, lodged) in his leg.  It just stuck there and we all stared before we all freaked out.  He's fine now, but it was a little freaky to see a pencil just sticking out of his leg.  Too much for me is all I can say!

Drew Diddly

Drew Diddly is one of his daddy's nicknames for him. He is almost a 1 year old!  It makes me teary-eyed to even think about it.  What happened to my baby?

Drew started patting me when he hugs me last week which just melts my heart.  If you ask for a kiss, a big smile spreads across his face as he very carefully head butts you.  Hey, you take what you can get when you have a non-cuddler.  

Independent babies make a mess at meal time, in case you didn't know this already.  His highchair gets scrubbed down after dinner every day.  Notice the towel instead of seat cover.  I have to hand wash the seat cover, and I think old towels that can be shaken out and laundered regularly are much more suited for this messy kid.  He is number four, you know.

"I'm gonna smear it on your lens too!"

He also will show you his tongue when you ask (most of the time you ask anyway.)  He's still refusing to sign, but if he wants something he is very good at communicating it to you without sign or word.  He reaches for what he wants to stares at it.  He doesn't scream for it most of the time which I guess is why it is hard for me to hold out for the sign or word attempt.  He has said "All done" (more accurately "Ah duh") very quietly a couple of times.  He doesn't repeat it over and over like Isaac used to do.  He says it once no matter if you do it or not. 

I put a curler in his hair.

Drew has been sick this past week.  He had a fever for 6 days straight of 102 which was no fun for anybody.  He didn't eat well, had a runny nose, and slept a ton!  I am super thankful that on Tuesday morning, our first day of school, when he woke up his temperature was down.

You know this guy is sick when he lays on your chest.  That just doesn't happen with our non-cuddler.  Poor guy had a fever for so long!

He is still crawling more than walking, but he stands up and takes steps a lot.  He is getting faster with his steps, but it usually means he falls more quickly. 

This Year's Curriculum Plan

First things first, I prepared for this year a lot different than in the past.  Someone mentioned during a homeschool discussion that they read you should do all copying and lesson plans for the whole year before the year starts.  My first thought was, "That is just crazy!  I would never be able to do that!"  The more I thought about it though, the more it made sense.  I wasted time either every evening  or every Sunday evening getting ready for the next day or week.  Then I thought I wouldn't have to do the laborious copying myself.  I could go to a copy center.  

Yes, I actually did it.  I have lesson plans for my co-op, lists of supplies for each week, library books, lesson plans for the kids down to the page numbers, and a lot of copies.  I copied coloring sheets, maps, tests, some math worksheets (if I only had one, the girls both are on the 2nd grade math level,) and various other items.  I even got some things laminated.  It was a lot of copies and turned out to be a bit expensive too.  It took some serious time too.  I am talking about 5 weeks of working on it during most of Drew's naps and many evenings, 2-5 hours a day.  The rest of the time we tried to enjoy summer though.  As of now, I am glad I did it.  The only prep work I should have is to put library books on hold and gather supplies for crafts and science experiments every other week.  (I will have to do the lesson plans for the last 10 weeks of school over Christmas break for math only because I didn't order the second set of books yet.)  I am hoping this solves my problem of never having time to do anything but school stuff during the year.  The time I used to spend getting ready for school during the year better not be replaced by everyday junk.  I better have time to get ready for Advent, do Christmas shopping, sew gifts for people, and that kind of stuff.  Well, that seems like a lot of stuff, but I better have time for at least some of that!

My favorite part was putting this all in binders for the girls so they can do more self starting.  I love organizing!  I was showing it to Hannah and explaining the new system to her.  She said, "Wow, I can't wait to start school!  You made it all look so exciting!"  A girl after my own heart!  Genna's is the dog one, and Hannah gets the kitty one.

The binders have a page for each week that has lessons on a chart broken down by the day and on the back of that sheet is library/reading lists for the week.  I know Hannah will love checking stuff off.  Genna will not, especially when Hannah marks things off more quickly than her.  Behind the week's lesson plans are any loose worksheets for that week.  So organized!  Only half of the year fit in these binders, so I put the rest of it at the back their big binder that will hold all their completed work.

I am loving The Well Trained Mind curriculum, so we are continuing with that.  The only thing I am not super happy with is spelling.  We switched over the summer to Spelling Workout, but I am not thrilled with it.  We are going to continue with it until the books I bought are finished and if I feel like we need a change then I am considering the Phonetic Zoo.  It was recommended to me by a friend and looks great from what I read.  The girls may be slightly lagging in the spelling department, but we'll catch up here soon, I hope.  (Disclaimer:  I am the worst speller and am so thankful for automatic spell checks!)  

Hannah's and Genna's curriculum and textbook books are listed below.  Genna's books are almost the same with the exception of health.  I have pieced a few things together for her health to cover fire safety, hygiene, nutrition, and first aid.  Genna will also not being doing the Intensive Practice for math because, although she is a math whiz, she is very easily distracted and slow at her worksheets (just like her mother.)  Hey, slow and steady wins the race!

Curriculum & Textbook List

2^nd Grade 2012/2013

Classically Catholic Memory: Beta Year (CCM)

Grammar/Writing

First Language Lessons  (Part 2) by Jesse Wise

English from the Roots up: Volume 2 (flash cards)

Spelling

Spelling Workout A & B

Science

REAL Science Odyssey Earth and Space  

Rock and Mineral Kit

Math

Primary Mathematics Textbook , Workbook, and ~Teacher's Manual 1B by Singapore
Primary Mathematics Textbook , Workbook, and Teacher's Manual 2A & 2B by Singapore

Extra Practice 1 & 2 by Singapore

Intensive Practice 1A, 1B, 2A & 2B by Singapore

History

Story of the World 2 (textbook, activity guide, and test book) by Susan Wise Bauer
The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia by Charlotte Evans
The Usborne Internet Linked History Encyclopedia

CCM Maps and Timeline Cards

Health

The Care and Keeping of You (American Girl book) (Hannah only)

Religion:

Seton Religion 2

CCM Beta

Languages:

German Saturday School

Latin-Classically Catholic Memory Beta Year (Teacher’s Manual) & English from the Roots up:  Volume 2 (flash cards)

Art

Discovering Great Artists by Kim Solga and MayAnn F. Kohl

Music:
Piano Lessons 1 hour/week (practice 15 minutes/school day)

PE:
basketball

We are starting school today!  So pray for us!