Monday, October 7th

I had planned to take the week prior to our camping trip as a sort of Fall Break from school - however, it just didn't end up that way, and although it was a shortened week due to field trips and camping, we had two full days of school.  So come Monday after our weekend away camping, I decided to make it something of an "unschooling" week with lots of down time, stories and play.  We spent some time studying Russia, painting, the girls baked a cake while Lincoln practiced his writing in pudding, then the kids all took good naps, followed by play baths, dinner and the big announcement from daddy about our upcoming December trip... which led to a big ol' wrestling pile on the floor out of sheer enthusiasm ;-)

The kids rolled out of bed and watched one of their favorites - Sofia the First, specifically the episode where they have a royal tea party.  Of course, as soon as it was over they were asking to have a tea party.  Lincoln had a bit of allergies going on, so I took full advantage of their tea party request to brew up a pot of some homeopathic tea that is usually not their favorite taste... but I've discovered that if given in their own teapots and with enough honey, they'll drink it without complaint ;-)

After they'd each consumed about two pots of tea, and had fun doing so, they got a touch crabby.  They were all tired out!  So I broke out the paint to give them something (other than crabbing at each other) to focus on.

Lincoln was painting to nicely (not just globbing it everywhere), and Victoria was busy drawing Easter eggs, and I thought - aha!  Perfect "unschooling" moment here!  So I dashed to my desk and printed off the pictures of Faberge Eggs I had earmarked for us to color the next time we studied Russia. 

I let the kids each pick four colors and then they got busy painting their eggs while I told them a little bit about the history/creation of Faberge Eggs. 

Finished work - Victoria's on top left (bright and happy), Lincoln's on bottom left (very manly colors), and Scarlett's on middle right (very detailed and glittery).

The girls wanted to bake something by themselves.  They couldn't have been any more clear in relaying this to me - just how not involved I should be :-p  At first they just wanted all basic ingredients, however I felt that 1) they would waste far more this way, and more importantly, 2) they wouldn't end up with anything edible, which would be a disappointment to them.  Our compromise was that we went through the pantry and baking cupboard and pulled out everything they wanted, then put a few things back that I veto'd.  I also set out the correct measuring cup sizes, four eggs, and a stick of butter. After that, I made sure they washed their hands and had a clean surface to work on and left them to their own devices for an hour or so, just checking in sporadically.  They did so well!  It's such good team-building/problem-resolution work to do it together.

The girls (understandably) did not want Lincoln's assistance.  So I had to find something we could do that would seem at least as fun!  I spied one of the rejected ingredients and had an aha! moment... the instant package of chocolate pudding would be perfect.  I have no idea if I saw this idea somewhere a long time ago and it just sprung up in my brain, or if I just had a spark of genius, but either way, it was a success.  To start, he enjoyed just dumping in the powder, milk and stirring to see it transform into the pudding he knows and loves :-)

Waverly and I felt sad we would not be partaking in the pudding ;-)

When the pudding was ready (we made it with slightly more milk than the instructions call for), we smeared some around on a plate and Lincoln practiced writing his letters!  So easy and fun.  We just used the back of a spoon to "erase" his letters to start over, and he cleaned his finger-pencil with his tongue, hehe.

The one caveat I gave the girls at the start of their baking endeavor was that they would need to clean up whatever mess they made.  Of course, they couldn't get to everything or do it as well as adults, but the principle was effective - I think they were much less messy than they otherwise would have been and they even enjoyed the responsibility of washing the dishes and vacuuming up (not that you can tell from this particular shot - Scarlett looks glum and/or lost in thought!).

"Cheery Up Cherry Cake," as they named it contains the following:

1 package dry yellow cake mix

1 package dry brownie mix

4 eggs

1 stick melted butter

1 package Publix frozen cherries, thawed (possibly drained? I really couldn't say)

2 or 3 kid-sized handfuls of: multi-colored sprinkles, chocolate chips

Various amounts of: flour, dark brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder

Several generous squeezes of caramel syrup (the kind that goes on ice cream)

Random amounts of water and milk

So... I really wasn't sure how to bake it.  The girls started to put it on a cookie pan, but it was a bit runny for that, so I suggested we throw it in cake pans and see what happens.  I figured 350 for 30 minutes would be a good start, and lo and behold it smelled A-M-A-Z-I-N-G as it baked.  When it was finished, the kids couldn't wait for it to cool all of the way, so I had to cut slices from the outside area.  They LOVED it.  I mean loved-loved it! haha  I didn't try it, but even Grammie said it was truly delicious. 

"The best cake ever."

Before long it was nap time for the big kids, while Waverly and I hung out on the floor for a bit before she too conked out.  A big milestone occurred while we were on our camping trip - Waverly turned 4 months old!!!  I cannot believe how quickly time is passing, and how much she is growing.  She has a lot to say, and I can already tell she will be opinionated.  It's so awesome and fascinating to watch her personality blossoming right before our eyes :-)

Lincoln didn't nap for very long and woke up feeling groggy - I suggested a play bath might perk him up.  He agreed and was super excited when I pulled out the Batman Shaving Kit that was a Christmas or birthday gift from Uncle Jeff.  I had organized the bathroom and put it in a "safe, special place" so that I would remember where it was... which always ends up with me having basically hid it from myself.  When I ran across it the other day I pulled it out and put it in another special place... fortunately I actually DID remember this time ;-)

After lathering up with foam shave cream, he practiced shaving.

"I need more shave stuff."

Handsome guy!  He was majorly impressed with the shaving kit - thanks Uncle Jeff!

At dinner, Jim told the kids our big announcement, that we would be going to the Great Wolf Lodge in December!  The kids, of course, had a billion questions, and Jim was patient in walking them through all the logistics of our trip.  They sure got wound up though and before long were busy wrestling on the floor!  We're looking forward to our fun family trip - it'll be here before we know it :-)

Sunday, September 1st

I had discussed with Jim my need for a couple of extra hours this weekend to prep for our school week.  We would be launching into Science and the remainder of our History curriculum, and I wanted to take the time to print out everything we'd need, review the material, and just make sure I felt ready.  So to facilitate me getting the time I needed, Jim took the three big kids hiking and Nana kindly played with Waverly!  It was so nice to feel as though I was super prepared - thanks guys!!

It was Jim's morning to sleep in, and so I the kids up to paint for a while in an effort to keep the noise level down to a dull roar ;-)

Jim took the crew to Kennesaw Mountain to hike - one of their favorites!

On this particular outing, they took the bus to the top so that they could hike downhill.

They had lots of stories to tell me about meeting a "real soldier" who "wasn't a real soldier from THAT war [Civil], but acted like it and was FOR REAL in another war [Vietnam]."

Such good hikers!

Not always a good plan ;-)

Taking a moment to enjoy the view~

Lincoln enjoyed that on the trail all of the other walkers/hikers referred to him as Captain America when they saw him :-)

Love them!

Monday, August 12th - Victoria Turns 5!

Monday morning, Victoria woke up as a 5-year-old!  She was super excited and we all made sure to sing her Happy Birthday about a hundred times throughout the day :-)  All of the big birthday festivities had already taken place, so it was largely a typical school day with a birthday dinner of her choosing at the end.

We are using "Object Lessons for a Year" by David Claassen as our main Bible curriculum.  I love the strong, simple messaging, the impact the object lessons make, and the scripture tie-in.  This is our first week utilizing it and so far the kids eagerly rush to the table when it's Bible time :-)  Our first object lesson was about learning the importance of being rooted in Jesus.  First the kids took turns blowing around a flower that was cut off.  That flower rolled all over and was looking pretty beat up.

Secondly, they took turns blowing as hard as they could on the plant that was firmly rooted in the pot.  Not much happened - a little swaying, but the flower remained fully intact.  The kids had tons to say about the how and why and they easily grasped the correlation of how we are like the flowers.  If we have strong roots in Jesus, the wind of life may blow but we won't be overtaken.  Without Jesus, we are like the cut flower which is quickly ruined.

The girls drew pictures of what they learned and copied the message of "Be rooted in Jesus" into their Bible journals.  Lincoln has started getting frustrated when he can't do things as well as the girls, despite my reminders to him that he is, after all, only three.  But I think he often just mentally assigns himself to their age rank and thus feels badly when he cannot perform the same tasks in the same way.  So I decided that I would start giving him slightly different elements when we are doing certain schoolwork.  This time, I gave him a little flower to color, and we worked together to cut it out and then he glued it into his Bible journal.  I'd also printed out the message and he glued that in as well.  He was very pleased with the results and didn't feel the need to compare - yay!

We began our study on China by opening up our Little Passports package and locating the country on the map, looking at the flag, making observations about the country and playing with the chopsticks that came with this month's packet! :-)

Scarlett finished the last Olivia book that we had laying around; fortunately, we did make it to the bookstore and Scarlett selected an Amelia Bedelia chapter book to read through for her read-aloud time.

Teacher's Aid :-)

I had printed out several number and letter do-a-dot worksheets from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler and Lincoln really enjoyed working on them with his dab paints.

Victoria was really eager to do some as well, so I gave her the letter ones.

Next, I got out our bin of magnetic items and a tray to let Lincoln play/experiment with those.  He did this for quite a long while!

Fruit snack review!  After our week off, I wanted the review card time to be less painful so we added a little sweet treat to the equation :-)

Victoria, working through her timeline cards and "teaching" them to Lincoln... on my bed.  The kids enjoy doing different school element in varying rooms of the house :-p  

The kids loved learning the CC Timeline last year, but the pacing was a little fast for them/me.  This year we are going through a little slower, and having actually purchased the cards this year, are able to visually place things in order as well.  They love for me to shuffle a few and see if they can lay them back out in the correct order.

Victoria received this American Heritage Doll accessory from Uncle Jeff - a horse for her doll to ride on.  She loves it!  But Scarlett adores it as well, and carries it around the house with her, setting up photo shoots so that she can take (then delete) dozens of pictures of the horse.

Victoria, showing off her latest masterpiece from a coloring book she received on her birthday!

 Victoria had told us since Saturday that she wanted her special birthday dinner to be at (remember, she can choose anywhere!)... IHOP. Haha :-)  She loves that place!  It was a lovely family dinner and even Gram and Nana joined us.  We all joked that we'd met our yearly quota of dining out together since this was the second time this month for this unusual occurrence!

Scarlett and Lincoln both ordered the chocolate smiley face pancake.

And Victoria had her favorite - chicken fingers and fruit :-)

On the way to IHOP the sky was quite a sight - sunny on one half and black storm clouds on the other and two beautiful rainbows!  This was the first time any of the kids had seen a real rainbow and they were mesmerized.  When we got home I took out the pain supplies and they all worked to recreate the rainbows we had seen (also saw another one on the way home).

My sweet Victoria on her first birthday...

...and now she is 5!  Love you, girl :-)

Friday, August 2nd - My 31st Birthday!

Waking up as a 31-year-old felt... awesome :-)  I was able to sleep in, and was lavished with many rounds of "Happy Birthday!" and of course, lots of special cards that the kids had made for me.  I loved it!  We had a nice day at home, and then in the evening Gram and Nana treated Jim, the kids, and me to a yummy dinner out at Red Lobster.  A wonderful birthday, surrounded by my family :-)

Ever since I cleaned and organized the school/art supply closet, the kids are discovering (or in some cases, RE-discovering) many fun craft items.  Lincoln pulled out our box of stamps and while Waverly napped, he and I spent quite a long while having fun with the variety of stamps and inks that were now all together in one location.

Scarlett and Victoria had been off playing, but eventually made their way to the table and joined us.

Gram took the three big kids out on a special mission to buy a birthday cake for me :-)  When they returned, I let them each have two mini-cupcakes that Gram had also picked up.  Between that and the cookie they'd received at the grocery store bakery, I was set up for the perfect storm of too-much-sugar-induced bad behavior, but instead they played *awesomely* in the back yard for hours!

I didn't catch the full gist of the game the kids were playing, but it involved a giant bucket, a wheelbarrow and of course, the hose. 

I think Victoria sat in that bucket of ice cold water until her legs were nearly numb!

Sweet baby dreams!  I love sneaking in and watching Waverly snooze - she is such an expressive dreamer, with big smiles, heart-breaking frowns, and hearty chuckles as she sleeps.

The whole household crew out to dinner together!  This happens almost... never.  So I definitely had to take the opportunity and ask the waitress to snap our picture :-)  A great birthday dinner - thanks Grammie and Nana!

Some rousing One Potato, Two Potato...

...Three Potato, FOUR! was played while we waited for the food to arrive. 

Lincoln had no idea I was watching him, but I was giggling as he earnestly tried to stare into his cup to spy what was inside.

Scarlett and Waverly~

I love Scarlett's laugh, and Waverly's little smirk :-)

Victoria and Waverly~

A birthday isn't really official until cake has been eaten, so we headed back home after dinner, where the kids placed candles in the top and helped me blow them out, too!  So thankful for my wonderful family showing me such love on my birthday :-)