Another Funny Drawing

I am not typically one of those parents that considers every scrap of paper that my child colors or draws on to be of the level of Picasso, but I do have to say that I find Jackson's drawings to be funny not only because of the character he draws, but more because of the truth behind the drawing.

The explanation says: "I am picking up James' shoes and putting them in his shoe box." 

The parts that are funny to me: James has a billion pairs of shoe, they are usually all over the floor and Jackson takes the time to match up, line up and arrange shoe boxes often. 

Class Photo

We were finally able to take our class picture. 

Today was my foster child's first day of PS. We miss her and forgot she was gone and fixed a fifth lunch. LOL!

The Mailman

She Really is Reading

I have a foster child that is 7 years old. She has been in Early On and other early intervention programs since she was about 18 months old. Last year she was in a special ed kindergarten that was an extremely small classroom with lots of professional support.

As a homeschooling mom I think there is always that wondering if you are doing enough, giving your kid the right tools or desire to "keep up". Having another kindergarten child in the home really helped me to see how our curriculum compared to the public school. It was also very helpful for both kids because it gave Jackson an opportunity to practice what he learned by teaching her and gave her exposure to more challenging concepts with him.

She ended the school year with the need to learn to read in order to be more successful in the next level of program. This summer, I used the same phonics/dolch reading program that I have used for all of my children with her.

We started school about 2 weeks before PS started and she had joined in with my first grader. Imagine her surprise when she was able to read! It was such a neat look on her face when she was reading in the same book as Jackson. I think her teacher will be surprised too.

We had an extra student today (CCK) who really enjoyed this "classroom" setting. He did very well and will return tomorrow.

First and Second Week Done

Jordan surprised the kids with green eggs (no ham) for breakfast this week. Not a pretty sight, but tasty.

4th grade has finished his 2nd whole week and his grades are right on track. He is very much "set-up" for success in that he cannot move onto the next lesson until he masters the one he is working on.  He is also working more at his own schedule this year. While he has a chart that tells when to do math, language arts, history, etc... he can do them as needed and does not have to change classes when the bell rings.

1st grade finished their first week and they were excited. I used this same curriculum 3 years ago and had forgotten all of the extra prep work that is needed. I will spend this weekend making all of the copies I will need so that next week can be a bit more smooth. In History & Geography we learned about Betsy Ross and colored flags.

First Grade's First Day

We started the first graders today and it was a pretty good day. I have changed our schedule and the way we do things and both did very well. I may have to start our day about 5 minutes earlier to allow for set up and devotions. We have moved our classroom back into the dining room so there is a bit more set up needed. I am not liking the change of rooms, but it is hopefully temporary. We are redoing the playroom (which stopped being a playroom years ago when the toys took over, needing it to be a storage room) and planning to make it our permanent classroom. I am excited that the 2nd bathroom remodel is complete and I LOVE the room so much that I found myself just sitting in there enjoying. All these years with only having 1 bathroom has trained everyone to hold it...we forget that it is down there. LOL! Field trip to the city market tomorrow.

Out of the Yard

My kids are outdoor kids to the extreme. Usually in the summer they are outside from sun-up to sun-down, but this summer has been so different. First we had the major heat waves that kept them in for weeks. Now we have  a mosquito problem that is the worst I have ever experienced. They go out and 5 minutes later they are all back in with welting bites wherever there was exposed skin. Oh well... I did save on sunblock this year. ~Smile~