Wordless Wednesday

Reminder to myself!

I came across this while doing some lesson planning for the month and wanted to share it here.

"There are very few things we as parents can do in this world that will be more important than praying for our kids and raising them to have giving hearts that love and desire to serve God. Parents should not opt out of home-schooling because they do not want to sacrifice their time or put in the effort it takes to successfully teach their children. Ultimately, parents are going to have to answer to God for how they raise and educate their children."

For me, it serves as a reminder (espcially on the tough days) that I am doing what God commands me to do. It is especially helpful when I'm asked the neverending questions from others about homeschooling (but more on that in a future post) who are either misinformed or not-informed at all as to our choice to teach our kids at home.

Long post short, I love this except!

Class Photos

Homeschool doesn't mean we can't have class photos so with the arrival Fall, we went outside and took a few. It was the perfect day for it, and I managed to find a few good ones. Of course 20 years from now we'll truly appreciate it! I also dug out our class photo from last year and what do you know? Our enrollment is up 100%.  Amazing what changes in a year!

2009-2010

2008-2009

And it all falls together...

Right off I said I never aspired to be a teacher, but when it came time to make a decision on where to send Skip to school, the only logical decision for us was for me to homeschool. While I was nervous at first, and often overwhelmed by the undertaking, I forged forward, determined to try it for a year or so. I learned as I went along, made some mistakes, made some good choices, learned from mistakes, and before long, I was not only confident, but enjoying it. Alot. Seeing Skip read for the first time, and the smile on his face each time he sounded out a word sealed the deal. Why would I want some stranger to be the one to see the pride in his eyes? I was in this for the long haul! And despite two 7-week stints where I taught and he learned "abroad" (in Russia that is), he excelled and I gained momentum. I KNEW I would educate both of them this year. No longer intimidated - I did lots of research and decided on curriculum for both. When it came time for school to begin 7-weeks ago I was up for it. I was confident. I was excited. I was wishing we had a few more weeks of summer - but - I knew this was gonna be a great year. Just a few days into our classroom routine reality hit. Teaching two boys - 20 months apart chronologically, yet double that academically & socially was NOT gonna be easy. And so for the next month or so I juggled, I changed, I improvised, I brainstormed, and I prayed. CONSTANTLY.

I can't say for sure exactly when it happened, but four days into this week, we've arrived. We've got a handle on this beast, and we're on a roll. Suddenly it has clicked and to the untrained eye, it would even appear that we know what we're doing! The boys are enjoying school, power struggles (where Harry is concerned that is) are rare, and we've zipping along, happy as clams. I'm again LOVING my job, LOVING teaching the boys, LOVING the enthusiasm they express, and LOVING the fact that they WANT to learn! Above all they are learning only what WE want them to learn. They'll tell you that GOD created heaven and earth, and all things in it, in six days. No evolution in this school. They know that they must do their best each time they sit down to learn because that is what God commands of us. They know that if they do not do what is expected, they are failing in their duties as God's children. They know that I cannot overlook their laziness because I am commanded to train them to only do their best, and to never give up. They can not only recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the Pledge to the Christian Flag, and Pledge to the Bible - they can tell you in their words, what they mean.

At I.C. A we learn only facts, and nothing but the facts! And we're proud to stick to 'em!

Lovin' it...

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6

I needed to post some of the things the kids said recently that really touched my heart! A few days ago Harry was practicing his alphabet letters that he has learned thusfar, and was dawdling - big time. Finally I asked him why he was just lookin' at this paper. He pointed to the lower case "t's " he was SUPPOSED to be printing and exclaimed: Look Mommy, little t is like the cross. Jesus died on the cross for me!"

And tonite at the dinner table it was Skip's turn to pray. After thanking God for the day & the food, and asking him to make HARRY a good tomorrow (note he made no mention of himself) and then closed with "and if there is anyone who doesn't know you, I pray they will come to church so they can know you."

I'm so proud of both my boys, and thankful that they too are coming to know HIM!

Am I six now?

Saturday we celebrated Harry's birthday with his cousin Abby, and all his little friends from Calvary Bible Church. What a nice day it was! The Ocean Explorium's mobile unit came and set up a "touch tank" for all the kids, and taught them all about some of the ocean's littlest critters. Both kids AND parents enjoyed this! Then as we got the pizza ready for lunch, Mike entertained everyone with a few games of Simon Says. I'm not sure who was harder to beat, Jayde or Makayla! Then it was Papa Gino's pizza and drinks for all. Yummy. Next we did the Pinata, followed by cake & ice cream, and of course presents. Harry loved the (well deserved) attention! We waited five years to celebrate his birthday WITH him, and having had three cakes (one with his sister Devin before she left for business travel, one at home ON his birthday with family, and the one at this party), he's making up for lost time! The only problem is, he now thinks he is six-years-old. When he was 4 he began to wish to be 6 like Skip so he could enjoy all the privileges that goes along with being "old". After his birthday, he KNEW he was five, but now, having another cake and party a whole three weeks later - somehow made him think he had aged another year! He's getting used to the fact that he is still indeed five, but lovin' life nonetheless!
Happy Birthday Harry! I love you SO much!

Seeing the joy in his eyes when we sang to him brought tears to MY eyes!

Thanks to Chrissy for all the AWESOME pictures she took. I combined hers (which will be easy to distinguish - they're the good ones!) with mine and set them up in slideshow format. Enjoy!

A boy...

A boy, by the age of three years, senses that his destiny is to be a man, so he watches his father particularly--his interests, manner, speech, pleasures, his attitude toward work... - Benjamin Spock

I suppose the cold medication is helping me deal with the reality that my 6-year-old is on the roof, learning from his father...With each bang I'm ready to run and take another dose to be sure I remain medicated until they come down. Oh, the joy of watching boys grow!

Maybe you're right Honey...

Maybe they could help the job go a little quicker - they certainly have the desire...though I can only wonder if the roof will end up looking better or worse when you're done. Most importantly - would it still leak?

Hmmmmm, on second thought, maybe we'll just have to break the new to them that they didn't get the job!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZip......

Today Mike decided the boys needed something more exciting to add to the trampoline, roller coaster, teeter-totter, jungle gym, mega sandbox, etc. so having the engineering brain that he does, he took a part from the jungle gym and attached it to the dog's old run, and there you go - a zip line...Oh they think it's just the best thing - me - I'm thinking I'm gonna need to put a lock on it to keep them doing when we're not there! In the meantime they'll zip, zip, zip and hopefully burn some of that endless supply of energy

Switching lanes...

With last week's long Labor Day weekend, we now shifted our focus towards home/yard/fall acftivities. This is always a big change for us. Seems each March we begin in earnest to prepare for the boating season; cleaning, repairing, listing; loading; rearranging and the inevitable bottom painting. By April we're in full swing, spending a good deal of time each week, getting ready for the much awaited launch. In early May we're antsy. Not quite done with our prep work, but eagerly awaiting our first weekend out on the ocean. By then we can taste the first quahoag of the season - to the point we're almost dreaming about it! And once it arrives, we savor that first trip out. Of course the first trip is also the one where we realize we forgot to load essentials such as coffee filters or boxers for the boys (don't ask) or even the oars for the dinghy. But by mid-June we're in our rhythm and looking forward to each Friday when we jump into the van and drive towards Sconticut Neck Road - and tranquility.  Come August we've either just returned from or perparing for our annual 9 day boat trip, and all the fun and adventure that brings, yet the end of August, neither quahoags nor perfectly grilled hot dogs are appealing to me, yet we know we've got one more  big weekend coming, and it too will be as better as or better than the previous year's outing. After that time however, spending our entire weekend away from the hosue and our responsibilities lose their appeal. By then I for one am thinking about visits to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. Of leaf peeping, and corn mazes. I'm ready to put my water shoes away, put on sneakers and walk on dry land for a few months.  And that is where I am. Done with weekend on West Island, done with carefully planned weekend meals packed into oversized marine coolers, and done with having sand between my toes for awhile.  But worry not - come March, when I begin to gather what I need for the 2010 boating season, the very first time a little sand falls out of one of the oodles of bins we pack our boating essentials in over the winter, I'll be magically transported back to the boat...and all the promises it holds...

All good things must come to an end, and so, we're done

with boating weekends for 2009 that is.

And so, as tradition dictates, we loaded up and watered up (the boat that is) and took off for Bassett's Island for the long holiday weekend. It's kinda fitting since this is the same place we "officially" begin our boating season each Memorial Day weekend. It's a glorious place with a beautiful beach, a full-service marina & restaurant (though we haven't felt the need to go ashore to enjoy either for the last few years), and beautiful sunrises and equally beautiful sunsets.

At times it seems that our summer has just begun, yet when I look back at all the things we did as a family - it's clear we had one full summer. And while most summer weekends this year were far less than perfect weather-wise, this one was just what we hoped for: warm and sunny days, and crisp, clear nights.

Although we we were in constant motion - the pace was slow and relaxing - and as usual, made lots of memories along the way. We slept in - sorta kinda - had long leisurely breakfasts, did just a little bit of homeschoolin', spent time with family and friends, had a fire on the beach on Sunday night, built giant sandcastles, explored the sandbars and caught all kinds of critters, cooked s'mores one last time, learned to sail on the sunfish, and did finished up the last of our summer reading.

We also discovered a pirates map on the beach on Monday, and followed the clues to some real pirate booty! One of the kids favorite activities though, was our now annual Labor Day Sand Sculpture. Last year we built a pretty cool (for amateurs) car, and this year we built an equally cool Pirate ship. I'm not sure if the kids enjoy building it - playing in it - or destroying it at the end of the day - but no matter what, it's a fun family activity. As much as I will miss our weekends, I am looking forward to all the other fun activities that autumn in New England offers: apple picking, a visit to the pumpkin patch, a corn maze, and everyone's favorite - rakin' leaves out back! While I'm postin' a few pictures from our weekend here, you can view all of them at our Shutterfly site.

If a picture paints a thousand words...

Then I guess a thousand (okay maybe 50) pictures can paint one...

Talkin' to Irina in Russia...

Yummy

Hi Matt!

The candles are lit again!

My Uncle Billy reading to me before bed.

V's balloon!

My Grammie & My Rena

Jackpot

Gifts from Russia

 

And that word is JOY!