Month: August 2010

This is our last full week before school starts.  I am very excited about getting started.  Sometimes I wonder how in the world I ever started on this path.  I never once thought about home schooling my kids before I had kids.  Then, once we had kids and they started growing up, it seems that Josh and I both just knew this was what we were going to do.  I don’t remember any debates or confusion at all, which is really nice.  (Josh is always up for a debate, so it really is an amazing thing….he still isn’t 100% sure about what “home school football” looks like….we shall see.)

Anyway, I have been getting the school room a little more organized, buying uniforms for school and TRYING to get the kids to learn some responsibility so that the whole year won’t be full of arguments and nagging.  We all get sick of hearing that!

These are the chore charts I found at Target.  Each kiddo has their own.

Ruby and Molly have similar lists

As you can see, we start simple with Mack.  Things like flushing the potty just don’t come easily for him.  He didn’t even take care of making sure the pillows were in the right place, but he said he would do it in the morning…and he whined and whined for me to leave the star in place.

I got some transparent plastic bins to help me see things we have.  This is the art bin.

This is one of our Math bins.  Lord knows we need all the help we can get when it comes to Math!

Pencils and scissors and glue and markers, oh my!

This is our uniform section in the closet.  Last year I managed with three shirts and a couple of pair of pants and one skirt for Ruby.  I just kept it simple.  This year, we are getting a little more complex, as each girl wanted to be able to wear jumpers to school.  They look so cute on them.  I have dresses/skirts/dress shirts/coats all hanging at the top.  The khaki bottoms are next, then the navy bottoms, and the socks and shoes are last.  The goal is to have the girls wake up, make up their bed, wash their face, brush their teeth and get dressed from head to toe all on their own.  I still reserve the right (and responsibility) to fix their hair.

I also reserve the right to “spruce up” their beds after they make them.  I just don’t know if I can leave them looking like this all day:

Let me leave you with Mack’s trucks all the bin.  We are so proud of anything he does since he usually tries to get out of everything “acuz I’m yo’ baby.”

If I have labored over 10 to 12 loads of laundry….gathering it all up into one place, separating it into piles, and moving it from washer to dryer, then folding and putting away….then you can count on Mack wetting his bed the very next day because it would just be too good to not have to go into the laundry room and wash clothes.  Just too good.

He better be glad he is so cute.  Otherwise, I may hang a hammock in the woods for him and call it his bedroom.

To say Molly is excited about school starting would be an understatement.  That little girl cannot wait to go to Kindergarten!  A friend from church gave some uniform skirts and a pair of pants and a jumper to us on Sunday.  What a blessing!  Molly tried it on last night and then wanted it back on this morning.

She looks so grown-up!

The kids don’t start school until August 17th.  Most public schools started today, so I thought that last night might be a good time to go get some school supplies since we didn’t have church and I would have Josh to help me.  I mean, my thought process was that most people are gonna be at home getting their kids ready for school the next day.  Boy, was I wrong!  Lots of last minute shoppers were at Target.  It wasn’t horrible, but is sure wasn’t pleasant.  My idea turned out to be bad.  Oh well.  I got almost everything we needed.  The other few things can be found at Schoolbox.

This morning I heard Mack making his way down the stairs, so I opened my door to greet him.  He, evidently, really wanted a certain amount of cars and trucks to come down with him this morning because both of his hands were full AND one was in his mouth!!  It was the cutest thing.  He is a quick thinker….”if I can’t fit this one in my hands, then I will just put it in my mouth.”  Cute.

This past Saturday we went to Augusta for Rennison’s 2nd birthday.  We got up at 5am and quickly got ready, then got on the road after we stopped in at Waffle House for some yummy breakfast.  We were in Augusta around 9:30am.

Rennison was so cute opening her gifts and eating her cake.  She really seems like a fun little girl!  Vance was her spokesperson.  When Marcy asked her, “Renn, what do you say when you open your gifts?,” VANCE said loudly, “Thank you!  I love it!!!!”  He is a hoot.  The kids all played and ate ice cream and cake and then we headed back home that evening.  It was so fun to take a quick trip over and see everybody.

Very soon I will be meeting with Ruby and Molly’s teachers about the new school year!  That should be exciting.  I am working against being overwhelmed.  I just have to take it moment by moment and see how homeschooling a Kindergartener and 1st grader will work….all the while keeping Mack entertained.  Should be an adventurous year.