drilling math

After school ended last year, I had good intentions to continue to do some school through the summer. That didn't happen! So when we started up again this year, it was a little rocky. It's a lot better now, 

Evie had forgotten a lot, especially math. At the end of Kindergarden last year, she was nearly through the first grade math book. We found out pretty quick that she had forgotten all of her addition facts. Before we could start subtraction, we really needed to have those addition facts memorized. So we stopped the math book and just worked on drilling those facts. I had been doing this for a couple weeks with hardly any progress. A friend suggested I use cards. For some reason, this seemed to help more. It could be because they were cat cards, which made her more excited about doing her addition. The visual blocks helped too. I'm happy to report that she's doing much better now. We're about ready to start back in our book.

Samuel is a champ at entertaining himself. Of course, I should mention how he's come a long way from what used to happen during school: making huge messes and spending lots of time in the pack and play for being naughty. Now-a-days, he often gets out a game and plays with the pieces. This day it was Blockus. Today it was The Game of Life.

Noah is naturally better at math than reading. He struggled more getting back into reading. Mommy struggled being patient (and failed more than I succeeded). But I'm also happy to report that both of us are doing better. I guess on this day I was having Noah drill his multiplication facts, though it's amazing how quickly he remembers them. His mind works better than mine does, that is for sure.

Samuel's first day of school

At the very end of last school year, Samuel started at the Communication Preschool a mile down the road at South Canyon Elementary school. To make a long story short, when Samuel turned three the doctor referred him for speech therapy (because he sounded like a caveman). But since our insurance wouldn't cover it, the speech therapist suggested we check with the school district. They could have come to our house but thought he would benefit from more than a single visit a week. They recommended this preschool let by a speech therapist, I attended once with Samuel and really liked his teacher and what they were doing. So Samuel got in like a month of preschool last year.

He's back there again for this whole year. His first day was one day after Noah and Evie began at home, Tuesday, August 26, 2014.

How cute is my little caveman? But actually, his speech has improved quite a bit. We do the speech preschool homework and work on the cards the Children's Care speech therapist gave us while we were still up there.

Daddy drops him off twice a week and then goes to work. An hour and a half later the three kids, Snap and I go pick him up.

Bye bye Samuel!

We bought him his very own backpack this year instead of the huge, old one of Terry's he used last year (the blue and orange one behind him which he loves) and a Spiderman notebook for his homework. He very much enjoys school and his teacher says he's doing great and improving steadily. Check out that cheesy, excited smile :)

first day of school 2014/2015

This is will technically be our 9th year homeschooling. We count from the very beginning:  Noah's birth. We have had to teach him everything since then after all! But more officially, we've been doing this since he was three for preschool in 2008. Crazy looking at this old post from that time.  

After that, there was formal Sonlight preschool when Noah was four. Here's all of our books, which was crazy because it was JUST preschool and he did not need all of that stuff! It was definitely more like kindergarten or even first grade! I was so worried though.

Then we had so much curriculum left over and I didn't want Noah to be the youngest boy in his class (April 19 birthday) that we decided to hold him back for kindergarten. So when Noah was five, we did preschool again, using up the other half of our Sonlight preschool curriculum. 

Finally then there was Kindergarten when Noah was six.

For First Grade in Rapid City, Noah was 7 years old and Evie did preschool at four. 

For Second and Third grade Noah was 8 years old and Evie did Kindergarten at five.

And this year, for third/fourth grade Noah is 9 years old and Evie is doing 1st grade. I've decided that Noah is too old to be doing 3rd grade and he's ahead already so we're pretty much doing 4th grade work this year.

That was a fun trip down memory lane for me! Wow, we've come so far already.

In South Dakota, in order to homeschool, all you have to do is fill out a little form and get it on file with your school district. Evie and I took care of that on the last possible day - the Friday, August 22nd, before school started in Rapid City (and our home) on the 25th. She wanted her photo taken in front of the School Administration's funny blue fountain. 

So Monday, August 25th, dawned clear and bright and we started school. I had good intentions of getting Noah ahead in some subjects over the summer to get him closer to 4th grade work, but that did not happen. So we started cold turkey. This is what I found when I went down to the nearly remodeled school room:  The kids are also learning piano this year. Not Samuel though. Just Evie and Noah.

One last relaxing rest on the couch before we buckled down. 

Okay, so maybe I took some photos real quick first. Here's 1 year old Ezra who is learning to...walk better. Yeah. 

Next is three and a half year old Samuel who is continuing to improve his caveman speech through some speech therapy and the school district's communication preschool. 

Goofy six year old Evie is doing first grade. 

Firstborn (in every sense of the word) Noah, who is nine, is essentially doing 4th grade. 

I had to get a group shot before we sat down at the table together and realized how difficult it was to begin after a long summer break. Here we are blissfully unaware.

Everyone knows home schooled kids are "weird" so here you go.

another bike path ride

I have realized lately, or rather remembered, that I really enjoy being outside. In high school my email address was outdoorsy5221. Ha! Terry and I joke that I should be called "indoorsy" now. 

So anyway, I feel better about life the more I'm outside. However, since we homeschool, I'm home all day every day with all four of my kids! Sometimes the walls start to close in and I feel I must escape. I would like to get out into the Hills more - it's just lovely living here! But nap times always throw a wrench in hiking some place "far" away. It seems easier to go for a bike ride through town on the bike path. On Friday we went on our third time down the bike path in the last month or so. 

The leaves are just starting to turn here and it was so picturesque that I got out my cell phone and took some photos while I was riding. This is back behind the disc golf course. 

You can see Mr. Dinosaur on the hill :)

Here's Old Storybook Island.

Next to the creek by Sioux Park.

Rapid Creek is quite high these days - I think perhaps they are letting out extra water from Canyon Lake since they're going to drain it to re-do the dam. Under this bridge by McDonalds, the water wasn't as deep as it appears and was fun riding through.

This is coming up on Omaha Street with M Hill rising up. The School of Mines students were actually all at the park for the annual white washing of the M so we got to ride right through them and see them washing all the white paint off themselves in the creek. 

Once we made it to Memorial Park, we parked our bikes on the bridge and enjoyed the view for a while.

Ezra was especially glad to get out of his seat.

Me and my baby.

Noah and Evie were "so bored" so they got on their bikes and rode around the flowers pots. 

I love the creek and would be in heaven if I could ever live by one. 

first snowman...and apples

On September 11th, it snowed. Even though it was still summer. The snow and clouds and furnace heat and jeans and socks were totally depressing and unwelcome to me, but my kids were excited. Probably because the boys got to break out their new winter coats and there's more to do in the back yard when there's snow - Evie went out in the morning and made a snowman (she especially likes to do this). At least we didn't get an Atlas for our first snow like last year - shudder.

The following day, Friday, was Terry's day off. He's taken the lead as far as our apples go. He got out the ladder and apple picker and got to work gathering some together. I should really be making a pie, applesauce and apple butter right now. But I don't want to. I might go eat one though...

Dropping apples.

Thankfully the snow melted very fast. The snowman held on through the day :) 

3 in 1 ranch birthday

Terry turned 36 on September 3rd. His birthday always slides under the radar because it's before Youth Group has started and it's not listed on facebook. He gets this day off from work so we were able to go shopping for a gift all together. He chose to get his mountain bike tuned up. Kind of boring but that's what he wanted! It needed to happen. The seat had even fallen off. 

That evening I made spiral sandwiches without the cheese soup since it was so hot out. Terry made a break from his usual favorite angel food cake for chocolate cake and frosting. I was all too happy to oblige. We celebrated just the six of us since we were planning to go to the ranch to celebrate Alice's birthday from August 26th, Terry's on September 3rd and mine coming up on September 17th.

So that Saturday, the 6th, we headed out the ranch for an afternoon of fun outside, dinner, cake and games. 

While Terry and his dad were trying to get the motorcycle to work (for some mysterious reason, it quit after we had only driven it a couple weeks before), Samuel was impatiently asking to go on the four wheeler. He used to be terrified of the thing just a few months ago. I'm glad he's wised up.

They got it started by pulling it, however that works. 

Terry just looks so big on it. Ha!

But get it started they did, and then Noah took a few turns up and down the drive way in first gear. He doesn't want to learn to switch to second gear yet but he'll get there. 

Jerry has some renters in the house we lived in before we went to Gburg and they have kids Noah and Evie's age. So Carson came by for a bit. 

While Shari and I were comfortably watching the fun from the shade, I took a creepy photo of myself with baby Sarah. She's just so darn cute! 

I don't know why but the bike died. They had to tow it back. Nice tow truck right? Hehehe. 

Terry wanted to go for a ride on his bike and we thought Samuel should go. He did not want to. This used to be his reaction to the four wheeler.  

He calmed down pretty quick though. 

While Terry and Samuel were off, Carson learned how to drive the golf cart. Noah didn't want to for some reason. 

I went to find Terry and then we went out together with Noah and Samuel. 

Samuel had to ride with me on the four wheeler. He tries to drive the thing and turns the handle bars when he wants us to turn. Little punk.

Terry wanted to go over some little hills overlooking the creek and field next to the road. 

Noah was freaking out at this point because it was a little steep. But really he had fun. 

"Are you coming or what?" 

It was just so pretty out there that I had to take some photos. I wanted to keep going forever! 

Here we are close to where Terry proposed to me.  

We made our way back to the one corner of land that has some pine trees on it. Having a cabin back there would be amazing. 

I just wanted to sit there and enjoy the view but we kept riding. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect. 

One more shot. I had so many pretty pictures that maybe I should have posted them to facebook, but I settled for a long blog post :)