June Happenings

June 1st

Where did May go?  I cannot believe we have come to June 1st already.  Today we dropped off Lauren at the University of Alabama Roll Tide Swim Camp.  This is her 2nd year to go to Swim Camp. 

June 4th

While Lauren was at swim camp, Colleen, Lyndsey and I went to get haircuts.  I took Colleen in to get a trim, but she insisted that she wanted short hair.  We ended up getting 5 inches cut off, and it looks SO MUCH BETTER!!! Why didn't we do this sooner!?!

June 6th

Today we picked Lauren up from swim camp and began our drive to Texas to visit grandparents.  It was also National Doughnut Day, so we HAD to stop by KrispyKreme for our free doughnut!

June 13-16th

From JM Facebook post on 6/14, "Our tennis travels over the past year have taken us to Mobile, AL, Jackson, MS, Louisville, KY, Rome, GA, and Charleston, SC, not to mention all the Alabama tournaments.  All these travels with the goal of qualifying for the Southern Closed in Little Rock, AR.  Congratulations Tyler Vermillion.  Play hard and have fun...you've earned it!"  

JM took Tyler to the Southern closed in Little Rock this weekend.  It was a fun experience where the players are treated like pros for the weekend!  Tyler had a great time, and he played some great tennis against the BEST in the SOUTH!

Week of June 16th
The World Cup is on the TV ALL THE TIME.  These kids are so like their dad!  During the breaks, they had their own soccer challenge in the back yard!!!

We told Tyler he had to have a job this summer!  He applied for a job at Chick-fil-A, he has done the video based training, and now he is waiting to get his uniform so he can go through the on-the-job training.  In the meantime, he has a job as my personal errand and project boy!  He spent Tuesday running errands all over town for me.  I cannot explain how awesome it feels to actually complete a to do list in 1 day!  I did it with his help!!!  Wednesday I assigned him this project from Pinterest!  He was less than thrilled.

I think he surprised us both! The directions on her website give specific directions on what to buy and what cuts to make.  Easy as ABC!  It did take him more than 30 minutes (about an hour), but he built it!  This will be put to good use as a sand table-waterbead box-sensory bin for Colleen!  The cool part is is pulls apart and the pieces can be stored in the crate when not in use.  I did not add up my 2 receipts, but I know it was not over $30 which makes it even better!

 June 28th
Colleen and I took Tyler to another tennis tournament in Gulfport, MS, this weekend.  After Tyler's matches, Colleen and I enjoyed a little beach and pool time!  Don't be fooled by the picture of her sitting still at the tennis match!  I barely got the picture taken before she jumped up and started playing, jumping, climbing, and causing chaos!!!

June 29th
I think we can count on 1 hand the number of days in June when we were all in the same place at the same time.  Today was family fun day!  After church, we ate lunch and went bowling.  We all had a great time celebrating us and finishing off a very busy month!

Agency D3...Discover, Decide, Defend!

This week was VBS at our church.  We used the LifeWay AgencyD3 curriculum which turned out to be a lot of fun!!!  I taught 2nd grade.  Corynne helped with Lyndsey's 1st grade class.  Lauren was in the 5th grade class, and Colleen went to the Kindergarden class even though she is only 4.  We all had a great time uncovering the clues to find out the "Jesus was MORE than just a good man!"  WOW!  LifeWay VBS music just sticks with you!  It is so much fun!

 Oh, and cheers for the refreshment staff for cool treats this week!  Fruit kabob laser pointers, hidden clue jello, candy sushi, and robots snacks kinda like these...

I love it when we get to have fun with food!!!!!

Camp Victory

This is Lauren's 3rd summer to go to Camp Victory in Samson, Alabama.  She absolutely loves this sweet, little, Bible-based camp!  Mom loves that is it the best deal in Alabama for quality kid camps! Lauren has attended with her good friend Kate for the last few summers.  They have a great time together each year at camp!

 This year was Lyndsey's 1st time to go to Camp Victory.  She was so excited.  She was assigned to cabin #5 separate from her sister which was my intension.

She knew no one in her camp, but within minutes she left me behind to go with her cabin to the water.  My heart sank and the tears started!!! What have I done?  She has only spent 2 nights away from home and me - one at a friends house and her sister was there and the other at her AWANA leaders house.  Why did I think a week was a great idea?!?

 She had a great time, and she wants to go back next summer!  I give Camp Victory 5 stars, and everyone in Alabama-Georgia-Florida area should check it out!

All About Dogs...Letter D

This week we read a sweet little book called Angus Lost.  Her letter D lapbook this week was from Homeschool Share based on this book.  She had special puzzles and sorting games all about dogs.  We talked about how to take care of dogs, and we reviewed some directional words (inside, above, left, right, below) while moving "Angus" around the cave.  Angus must have been inside the cave when I snapped the picture!

We did many of the same activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler that we have done for each letter thus far.  I did pull out the dinosaur lacing this week.  She does not like these lacing activities.  She can do it, but not perfectly which frustrates her!

Colleen is really working hard at listening to the beginning sounds of pictures!

Texas, Here We Come!

We picked Lauren up from swim camp on Friday, and we started our drive to Texas from Tuscaloosa!  We made it to Longview, Texas on Friday.  We continued on our journey Saturday.  We stopped in Arlington at Flight Deck which is an indoor trampoline park to burn off some energy that was building up in the car.

These girls where hot, tired, hungry and thirsty after an hour of jumping!

Perfect time to try a new-to-us burger joint.

I think it gets a 5 thumbs up from our crew!  The burgers were juicy, and the fries were hot-and-fresh!  It was worth the wait!
Uncle Michael came to Grammy & Papa's house on Sunday.  We all went to church with Grammy & Papa, then came home for lunch and visiting.  It was so good to see Michael!  He has lost a great deal of weight and looks amazing!

               November 2013                                                             June 2014
We are so proud of how he is losing weight and improving his health!  Way to Go, Uncle Michael! 

I had texted Papa months ago that Lyndsey wanted to build a tree house this summer!  Papa got a jump start (and who would blame him for wanting to complete the task before the "helper" arrived!)!!!  The girls loved the treehouse!  Papa built the ladder up and bench seating around the tree.  Everyone climbed up to enjoy the nice treehouse view!

My girls in the picture tree...

Feeding the neighbors horses...

Crafting at Grammy's...

Their church is held at my old elementary school in Carbon.  The girls had a great time playing on my old school playground equipment!  Wow, watching my kids slide down that steep slide and climb on those monkey bars made me nervous!  I remember hours of fun on this playground as I grew up here.  Teachers kids get extra playground time!!!

We went to their church on Tuesday night.  It was a special night for the youth camp that was going on that week on the Carbon Encampment which is held in my old school building!  These men were impressive!

Thank you, Grammy & Papa for a fun week in TEXAS!

On Wednesday, we moved up the road to Mimi's house for a few days.  The girls enjoyed playing with Mimi, riding bikes, swimming at the city pool, and much more!  Corynne and Lauren made this American Flag Fruit platter for our hot dog and Smores cook out! 

 The week flew by fast!  We had an amazing week in Texas, but we have to get back home to Alabama by Saturday night! 

Carrots, Cats and Colleen...All Begin with C

Moving right along the Alphabet Path, we have come to letter C.  This week we read the book The Carrot Seed each day.  We talked about what it takes for a plant to grow.   Nice little science lesson for the week while we learn that the letter C says /c/!

We assembled the lap book from Homeschool Share for The Carrot Seed.  Colleen enjoys singing the rhymes and playing the games everyday.  

After we sing the ABC song, the months of the year song, and a few other rhymes, we start some learning activities.  The caterpillar count and puzzle are both from Confessions of a Homeschooler Letter of the Week.  I bought her ABC preschool set last year, so many of these activities are review for Colleen right now.  The bottom left hand corner is her completed sound sort.  I hand her a picture and say the name of the picture, then she puts the picture under the right beginning sound.  The last picture is a counting game from Confessions of a Homeschooler.

1. A cut and paste from My Book of Letters.  2.  A tanagram match for letter C from Confessions of a Homeschooler.  3.  Tracing the letter C in her My First School Book.  4.  Adding "stalks" to her carrots for the cover of her C lapbook.  5.  Small, Medium, Large puzzle in her lapbook.

We went to Texas the next week, and we took some "school" with us!  I carried her letter notebook and we did a few review games throughout the week!

Curriculum for 2014-2015

I feel like a kid in a candy store this time of year!  I have chosen our curriculum for next year, and the boxes have arrived.  Let the lesson plan preparation begin!  Of course I enjoy this part, I am a TypeA planner!!!  Here are our plans for the 2014-2015 school year.  Lauren will be in 5th grade, Lyndsey will be in 2nd grade, and Colleen will be in PreK4.  You can follow Colleen's preschool lessons under the Preschool Page at the top!

:::BIBLE:::

This year we are going to start off the school year with Who Is God? from the Apologia What We Believe Series.  It is a 10-week study on the basic truths of the Christian faith.  This first volume, we will meet our loving God who longs for us to know him and spend time with Him.   Each girl will have their own Notebooking Journal for puzzles, projects, questions and to record thoughts and prayers.  There is also a coloring book to go along with the series which will hopefully keep Colleen entertained during our Bible time!

I would also like to work through the Kay Arthur book How to Study Your Bible for Kids.  I am not sure if we will do that before, during, or after Who Is God? Ideally, I would like to get them started on this book and let them run with it during their own personal quiet time!

:::MATH:::

Math should come as no surprise!  I love Saxon Math!  Lauren will move into 7/6.  Lyndsey will start Math 3.

:::GRAMMAR:::

Lauren will return to Building Christian English Series from Rod and Staff Publishers.  Lauren will be in Level 6 Progressing with Courage. Lyndsey will also be switching over to the Level 2 Preparing to Build.  

:::SPELLING:::

Lyndsey will be using All About Spelling which will blend with her reading program.  Spelling has not been Lyndsey's strong subject, so I hope the drilling of phonograms, syllables, and phonetic rules will help improve her spelling power!

:::WRITING and PENMANSHIP:::

I really do not like using penmanship books, but for teaching cursive to Lyndsey I felt the need for guidance!  I chose the Horizons 2 and 3 for Lyndsey.  The cursive begins have way through Horizons 2.  We will practice the manuscript for a few months before starting cursive.  The Horizons 6 is for Lauren to keep practicing.  This is not a requirement everyday for her.  We just do it a few times a week. 

I am using WriteShop Primary Book B for writing for Lyndsey.  WriteShop Primary Book B introduces children to the writing process using engaging activities, crafts, and picture books.

Lauren is enrolled in a writing class with The Potter's School.  She has struggled with writing compositions over the last two years.  I hope this class is the turning point for her.  I have heard only good reviews about this class!

:::READING--LITERATURE:::

Last year Lyndsey started Level 2 of Sing, Spell, Read and Write.   I loved Level 1, but Level 2 was just not appealing to either one of us.  We dropped it by November, and I supplemented with other reading materials that I had.  This was not a good option!  Lyndsey did not progress and improve as she should have!  This year we are jumping in Level 3 of All About Reading.  I think the constant phonogram review and drilling on syllables and spelling will be very useful.  I am very excited about giving this a try!  Lyndsey is a great reader, but she struggles with spelling.  I find this odd since she has been taught phonics from the beginning.  I think she is just in fast forward mode and does not stop to think about each word.  This program should give her the tools!

Lauren struggles with reading and comprehension.  This year I have enrolled her in an online literature course with CenterForLit.  She will be responsible for reading basically 1 book per month.  The class meets once a month to discuss the books with the teacher using the Socratic method to examine the book.  We will probably read the books together each month, but she will be responsible for the book if we do not have time for it during Read Aloud time.  

The Reading Comprehension skill sheets in the picture below are for Lauren once a week.  This is just to work on reading faster while retaining facts.  

I am excited about introducing the kids (and myself) to Shakespeare this year. I have been reading How to Teach Children Shakespeare for a few months now.  We will learn a few lines of Shakespeare each week, and we will start with a piece form A MidSummer Night's Dream.

:::HISTORY:::

We are going to pick up The Mystery of History in volume 2 with The Early Church and the Middle Ages.  We are very excited to travel back in time to right after the death of Christ.

:::SCIENCE:::

 

For Science this year we are going to use the Focus On... books.  The first book we are going to work through is Astronomy.  Lauren will use the Middle School version, and Lyndsey will use the Elementary version.  Both versions are compatible with each other so I will be able to teach them at the same time.  I will probably use the middle school as my teaching guide because I really think that Lyndsey can handle it, but she will only be responsible for the material actually covered in her book.  I think the book will take about 12 weeks, so we will should be able to cover the Chemistry and Geology books also this year.  Yeah!!!

:::GEOGRAPHY:::

We are using the Trail Guide to World Geography this year to travel around the world and make stops on each continent.  We enjoyed using The Trail Guide to US Geography over the last few years, so I think this will be a good fit.  The girls are not so excited about learning all the countries this year.  Time to start working with the iPad app Stack the Countries to get a head start!!!

:::MUSIC:::

We previewed this Music Appreciation program in the spring.  We did a few lessons, and we really liked it.  In Book 1 we will be introduced to seven different composers, dating from 1685 to 1828.   The composers are Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Paganini and Schubert. 

Along with the Music Appreciation program, the girls will continue in the homeschool choir and weekly piano lessons.

 :::LATIN:::

Ugh!  We did not do so good with Prima Latina last year!  We are going to give it another shot this year.  I ordered the DVD teacher this year to move us along.  I think I just let myself drown in what I did not understand!  I know we can do this!

:::ART APPRECIATION:::

 Meet the Masters is another program that we previewed in the Spring.  It was so fun!  I lead the kids through the online presentation.  We learned an art concept to go with each master.  Then we completed at least one project for the master.  We are going to complete Track A this year which will cover Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Winslow Homer, Pablo Picasso, Mary Cassatt, and Piet Mondrian.  I know this will be a special treat!  The girls love Art!

:::Extras:::

Lauren will continue to work on Typing with Always Ice Cream.  Always Ice Cream has really expanded their games online to cover math, english, geography, arts, sciences, and foreign languages for many grade levels.  It is a great way to play and learn.  Lyndsey has been asking for a login for Always Ice Cream, and I will probably sign her up after she completes Reading Eggs.  I do want her to move on into Reading Eggspress.  The Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress are just great review for her reading fluency.