Quiet Monday

Growing Up

I've been fighting a pretty bad cold and cough since last Wednesday and as a result have been sleeping in the playroom at night.  Though it has been tough hacking at all hours of the night, it has been nice to wake up to sunlight through lace curtains and the pretty view of our nature table.  Here's hoping for a good night in my own bed with a solid night of sleep, though!

I finished preparing all of the children's curriculum today, printed everything out, and organized things for our first day of school.  I still would like to print up a little checklist for us to use on a daily basis, but other than that, we are ready for our lessons to begin.  It's hard to believe that we have a sixth grader, a fourth grader, and a second grader.  

I put away a basket of bath toys that have sat next to the tub in our bathroom since we moved into this house five and a half years ago.  The children are now taking fast baths or showers and are not interested in lolling around playing, so it was time to put them away (I have them under the sink for when the cousins visit), but it does feel a little bittersweet.  Our babies are growing up.  I do have to say that I enjoyed the little tableau I created during my own leisurely bath tonight.

Morning Basket

I like to use August as our 'ease back into homeschooling routine' month.  We resumed violin lessons last week after taking July off and this week we are beginning our breakfast reading again.  Here is what we have in our basket:  Albert Einstein (science biography), Vincent's Starry Night (art history), Treasury of Children's Poetry (poetry), The Story of the World (history), D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (myths, legends, and fairy tales). I read a little from one book each day at breakfast and then the children do their writing exercises.

My Bullet Journal

Show Notes

Kyrie's Blog and Instagram

Baum Kutchen - My favorite purveyor of Traveler's Notebook journals and other goods

Traveler's Notebook (I have the Notebook in camel, but it also comes in black and brown)

[Essential] Leather Zipper Case / Card Holder

 005 Free Diary 

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How to Bullet Journal

 

Getting into the Groove

 

 

  We've been getting into the groove with Sampson.  We still have to do our school work and attend various classes outside of the house, and though it is more complicated to get things done with a toddler in tow, it has been a great week.  Sam takes a morning nap and we have found that time to be perfect for getting our most essential work done.  The older children are able to get a few things done on their own, which has freed me up to be available to help our youngest son and Sam with whatever they need.

Thursday is our busiest day with gym and violin lessons and so we had a little lunch at Chipotle.  It was so delicious and I was happy that the big kids were such a big help with their little cousin! 

Our 2016 - 2017 School Year

Mathematics
Teaching Textbooks 5 and 3
Horizons Math 1
Xtra Math App
 
Language Arts
Brave Writer:  A Quiver of Arrows
Reading Comprehension (Grades 5, 3, and 1)
Daily Language Review (Grades 5, 3, and 1)
Phonics (Grades 5, 3, and 1)
Handwriting (Grades 5, 3, and 1)
Spelling (Grades 5, 3, and 1)
Writing (Journal Entries, Copy Work, Free Writing, etc.)
Calendar Work 
Read Alouds and Daily Reading Practice

Geography
Stack the States App

History
The Story of the World Volume 1
Story of the World Activity Book

Science
Tinker Crate Subscription

Art
Liz Steel's Foundations Sketching Course

Music
Violin Lessons
Listening to Classical Music During Breakfast

Gym
Homeschool Gym Class
Daily Outdoor Play

Misc. 
Speech Therapy (for our youngest)
Reading Eggs and  Math Seeds

Our Morning Routine...

Here's a little video where I talk about our morning routine.  I'd love to hear all about your morning routine or schedule.  Also, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask them in the comments section!

The Things We Do: September...

Homeschooling is not just about our schoolbooks!  We also have an abundance of other activities that we take part in.  This school year, I plan to list all of the things that we participate in during the month that exceeds our book work.  

Faith

Akathist for the Church New Year

Nativity of the Mother of God

Elevation of the Cross 

Sang in the Choir and Served in the Altar

Attended Church School Classes

Party to Celebrate Ordination Anniversaries for Fathers Daniel and Steven

Creativity

Letter Writing 

Postcard Writing

Leaf Rubbings

Violin Lessons and Practice

Art Classes

Made Bracelets with Name and Phone Number

Knit a Blanket (Sugar Plum)

Created with a Spirograph

Practiced New Hairstyles (Sugar Plum)

Haircuts by Papa (Boys)

Read The Doll's House by Rumer Godden

Painted Wooden Toys 

Viewed Reproductions of Andy Warhol's Art at Local Gallery

Out and About

Visited Several Seaside Towns

Spent Time at the Boardwalk

Overnight Visit to See Grandfather, Grandpapa, Grandmama, Aunties, and Cousins

Farmers' Markets

Trip to IKEA

Trip to the Mall

Attended an Outdoor Performance of The Taming of the Shrew 

Made Friends with Neighborhood Girl

Speech Therapy (Little Man)

Speech Therapy Evaluation (Button)

Chose a Mum for the Porch at the Nursery

Trip to National Park (using 4th Grade Park Pass Voucher)

Several Ice Cream Dates with Friends

Local Jazz Festival

Dinner Party with Father Daniel and Matushka Dunia

Enjoyed Weekend Guests

Sneaker Shopping

Apple Picking

Autumn Festival

Entertainment and Technology

Video Chat with Best Friend (Sugar Plum) 

Watched Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella

Listened to Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

Listened to The Story of Swan Lake

Listened to Shakespeare for Children

Sports and Games

Basketball (with Papa and church friends)

Swimming in Pool

Swimming in the Ocean

Used Hose to Wash Car

Played Soccer (with Church Friends)

Played Multiple Games of Chess

Played Manhunt 

Multiple Trips to the Playground 

Gym Class at the Local University 

Learned How to Throw and Catch a Football 

Nature 

Climbed Trees

Observed Stars

Examined Toads, Bats, Crickets, a Praying Mantis, and Frogs

Created Habitat for Frogs and Toads

Inspected Caterpillar

Listened to Weekly Nature Show on NPR 

Played in the Pouring Rain

Observed Wild Horses

Viewws Supermoon Eclipse

Note:  To compile this month's list, I simply jotting down the activities we did as a family and the things that the children wanted to do each day. Nothing was planned in advance and it really encouraged me to see all that we accomplished. October is right around the corner... why don't you try creating a Things We Do list for your family?

Tuesday...

 

The Things We Do: August...

 

 

 

Homeschooling is not just about our schoolbooks!  We also have an abundance of other activities that we take part in and I thought that I would share some of the things that we did during the month of August:

Faith

Transfiguration 

Saint Herman

Dormition

Patronal Feastday of Our Parish (the Icon Not Made By Hands)

Roy and Mirona's Wedding 

The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist

Creativity

Built houses out of playing cards

Letter writing 

Painting (creation of color wheels)

Painting on black canvas

Violin practice

Knitting and crocheting (washcloths and headbands for girls and for dolls- Sugar Plum)

Postcard writing

Built a fort on the edge of the woods

Rainbow scavenger hunt

Water play

Creation of multiple marble runs

Learned beginner's chess 

Played with play dough

Snap Circut Play

Watched YouTube video to learn Silent Night on violin (Sugar Plum) 

Played Old Maid

Out and About

Library visits (and signing up for our first library cards!)

Violin lessons

Hi-Yo Silver and the Lone Ranger Live Show at the library

Summer Reading Party at the Library

Peach and Nectarine Picking

Pool Playdate with friends

Parish Picnic

Visit to seaside town for sightseeing, ice cream, and dinner out

Picnic in the park

Family Ice Cream Date at Friendly's

Outdoor Concert featuring The Hunts

Ice Cream date with friends

BBQ at our friend's new house

Visit to the playground with Papa

Lunch with Grandfather and Father Samuel

Attended a going away party for our friend, Summer

Outdoor Concert featuring local amateur talent in our area

On the Television

Reading Rainbow episodes

First Position Documentary

Wartime Farm

Paddington

Frozen

Sports

Swimming

Biking

Basketball with Papa (and church friends)

Watched tennis match and learned a few rules of the game

Nature

Turtles

Frogs

Toads

Spiders and their webs

Skink lizards  

First Gold and Russet Leaves

The Land of Big Children...

 

 

 I spent a some time last night gathering books, papers, and projects for our last homeschool review of this school year.  I finished up the final draft of lesson plans and our attendance sheets and gathered everything up into a huge bag to bring to the library for Miss Eloise to look through.  This was the last year we will have two little scholars...  Mister Button will be joining us for lessons as a kindergartener in September.  It is hard to believe that we will have three school-aged children.  We've been moving into uncharted territory for awhile now (Potty training!  Weaning!  Sleeping through the night!) and though there is always the hope that we will someday add to our little brood, we've reached a good place...  The Land of Big Children and all of the fun things that they can do!

F.U.N.

 

 

We are starting to finish our school year:  workbooks are getting wrapped up, our bi-annual homeschool review is scheduled, and we are getting spring fever.  I am totally counting pressing flowers, wondering about bumblebees (and reading a book about them), and afternoon quiet time listening to The Hobbit as legitimate school activities (once our math and language arts are finished for the day, of course!).  

Father John had a little work to do out of the house today, so we tagged along and ended up eating ice cream for dinner at his suggestion.  There is just one more week of the Paschal season left.  If there is one thing you should know about Orthodox Christians it is that we  know how to fast, but we really know how to feast!

Cheer on a Rainy Friday...

 

 

 

 

 

How to Make Things Better...

Feeling gloomy?  Whip up a tasty treat to enjoy with a steaming mug of coffee or tea and light a few candles.  Tulips don't hurt, either!

The Messiah...

 

 

 On a whim, I decided to join two of our children's godparents at a sing-a-long for The Messiah at a rather large university.  I was filled with excitement at 12pm when I found out about the event, but at 7:04 pm when I was struggling to get the children into their car seats and find my keys (for a 7:30 start!), I was decidedly less so.  The effort (and our late arrival!) was worth it, though.  It was great to see godparents and we were able to hear all of the best parts.  Though the children weren't listening very intently, they were pretty quiet and well behaved which meant I could enjoy the music!  

Just Around the Bend...

Though we have a huge dining room table and a little table and chairs, the kids and I like to sprawl on the playroom floor to work on our lessons.  We've had a beige rug from our first apartment in our favorite spot for awhile now and I never really loved it in our playroom.  I switched it with a fancy oriental rug from my husband's office today.  I'm not sure that he is thrilled to loose the pop of color, but I really like how they both look in their new homes.  Maybe the beige one will grow on him!

We're still spending a lot of time out-of-doors in the glorious October weather, but I am starting to think ahead to the chilly days that are just around the bend.  I sat on the porch swing this afternoon after lunch and polished some of our favorite wooden toys from the cubbies.  It was nice to see this corner look freshened up at the end of the day.  I plan to slowly work my way around the rooms in our home getting things tidied up.

I think if you asked most people, they would say that they don't really enjoy cleaning their home.  I challenge you to look at an area of your home that you'd like to improve.  Get the cleaning out of the way first and then take a few minutes to make things look a little prettier.  Create a little tableau with a few treasured belongings, a favorite stack of books, or a vase of flowers mixed with autumnal cuttings.  Your freshened up corner will make the cleaning worth it!  If you choose a new area to tackle each day, I think that you find that your home will quickly become a place that everyone will enjoy being during the coldest months of the year.

Bullet Journaling...

I mentioned that I am using a Bullet Journal and thought that I would show you the video that got me hooked.  It may seem like an overwhelming system at first , but give it a chance!  It has really simplified things for me!  Many thanks to Kyrie for bringing this to my attention!

Homekeeping with Children...

I've been thinking up little things that I know that the little ones will enjoy working on in our home throughout the year.  They enjoy homekeeping tasks very much and I want to encourage that!  My goal is to be home more and limit our time out and about for most school days (though we are planning to have one day a week that involves being away from home for several hours for a class or two).  With that in mind, I've been working on a list of things that I know that the they will enjoy working on...  especially when it gets chilly and we want to be cozy in our warm house!

Kitchen Work

Peeling and chopping potatoes

Using the apple factory to prepare apples for a dessert

Washing dishes by hand

Oiling wooden spoons and the cutting board

Dipping candles for birthday cakes

Making butter

Baking bread

Baking muffins and other treats

Preparing a simple meal

Tidying up after meals

Using a nutcracker 

Making popcorn from scratch

Outdoor Work

Carrying and Stacking firewood that Papa chops

Raking leaves

Indoor plant care

Filling birdfeeders and birdbaths

Sweeping the porch

Washing the porch swing

Home Keeping Work

Making beds

Hanging wet laundry to dry

Folding and putting away clean laundry

Folding washcloths

Sweeping

Polishing wooden toys

Pencil Sharpening

General tidying of bedrooms and playroom

What other things would you add to this list?