Fun Park Visit

Several nights ago while bathing the kids, I asked them to tell me somethings they wanted to do over the summer.  While some of there requests were rather odd, several of them were great!  And one of them was a visit to the Fun Park in Albany, GA.  We live close enough for it to be a morning trip, so we headed out for a day of putt-putt, bumper boats, go-carts, and 'playing arcade games' (which should read 'the kids sat in front of those race car video games and thought they were driving them even though we had not put in any money--we are enjoying their naivete while we can).  Then we grabbed lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings before heading home for naps.

C and I took this awkward selfie and Buffalo Wild Wings, but I thought it was kinda cute!  It was a fun morning.  Some of the other items on their Summer To Do List are:

• Go to the park
• VBS
• Go to the beach
• Read 100 Library Books
• Go to the Riverquarium
• Swim
• Swimming Lessons
• Go see a movie

We are hard at work on reading the 100 library books, and honestly we have had a blast doing it!

Workshop of Wonders VBS

So . . . some how I got myself roped into helping with Vacation Bible School at ANOTHER church besides my own (which I am already working on!).  I saw on Facebook where the First United Methodist Church in town was having their VBS during a week when the Hubs was supposed to be gone on a hiking trip.  I decided it might be nice to have them involved in that so they would be busy while he was gone--and it would be three hours of the day that they would not be asking me when Daddy would be home.  haha  So, anyway, I texted a friend of mine who goes to church there to see if she would be helping with it--just to make sure I at least knew some of the adults who would be working with the kids.  Her response:  Yes, and I would LOVE for you to help me in my classroom.  **sigh**  And, I agreed.  Last week was one of the most exhausting weeks I have had in a while, but my kids had a BLAST!!

The kids were divided by age group, so I was with the three-year-old class.  There were 25 three-year-olds in the class, and let me just say--that is a lot of three-year-old to keep occupied for three hours!  Thus my exhaustion.  And there were 50 kids in B's class of four- and five-year-olds.  There was a total of 168 kids that attended the VBS and heard about Jesus.  That is good news indeed. 

FUMC used the Workshop of Wonders VBS curriculum by Cokesbury, and it was adorable.  The music was some of the best I've heard in a while, and we are still listening to the CD in the car and singing along.  We will probably be participating in their VBS programs in the future.  They did a great job!

 

Since I was with C's group, I was able to get some cute pics of her participating in games.  But since I was only with her group, I was not able to get any pics of B participating in anything.

Thanks to FUMC for a great week!

Kindergarten Plans for Next School Year

Yes, I realize that summer break just started.  Yes, I realize that school does not start for another 2+ months.  But I also realize that when you homeschool, you really don't ever stop thinking about what you will do next.  So, I decided the best way for me to get my own thoughts together would be to blog about it!

Let's start with the basics:  reading, writing, and arithmetic.  I plan to continue using the Memoria Press curriculum that I used this year with B for pre-k (or junior k as they call it).  I was extremely pleased with it and am really looking forward to getting my hands on the Kindergarten kit so I can look even more closely at it.  Their kit is a combination of books they have written themselves and a few books that are published by others like SRA, Primary Phonics, and Rod & Staff.  MP curriculum comes with lessons plans that include handwriting, read alouds, enrichment activities, poetry, memorization/recitation, and Bible memory verses.

 In addition to what we will be doing at home, I have registered B for the Classical Conversations community in a nearby town.  The Foundations program of Classical Conversations (or CC as it is commonly referred to) is for kids aged 4 to 6th grade and meets one day a week for 24 weeks.  We will be meeting from 9:00 to noon on Tuesday mornings and working with our community of learners on memorizing important facts from history, geography, math, Latin, science, English grammar, Bible, and a history timeline of events.  They will also work on fine arts like drawing, music theory, orchestra, and famous artists and do a science experiment every week.  This is exactly what I needed to supplement what we are already doing at home AND get us involved in a homeschool group to provide some of that highly controversial 'socialization' that people are so concerned about with homeschooled kids.  haha  We start August 26, and I can't wait.

I hate to wish away my summer, but I am so excited about all the things to come with the new school year.  Watching B learn is one of the most amazing parts of being his mom!  And I plan to throw C into the mix more seriously this coming school year.  She was taking such a strong interest in writing and learning her letters by the end of the school year in May, that I decided to go ahead and order another set of the consumable books that I just used with B and give her a shot with them next school year.  I will just rearrange the order so that both kids are working on the same letter at the same time.  I expect great things from her starting in August/September.  She is one smart cookie--just like her big brother!

So until August, I plan to enjoy my summer relaxing, taking the kids to swim lessons, taking C to gymnastics, planning and participating in VBS . . . maybe I should scratch "relaxing" from this list!

Frozen Third Birthday Party

C is completely and utterly obsessed with all things Frozen, Elsa, Anna, Olaf, etc. She would watch the movie on repeat all day everyday, and we have the soundtrack playing in the car pretty much all the time.  So it was no surprise when she wanted a Frozen-themed birthday party.  And honestly, I was all for it.  It was ridiculously easy, and the theme was super easy to shop for.

I found the invitations of Etsy and fell in love with them instantly!  They are what I based the whole color scheme on.

pic

The menu was inspired by the movie as well.  I served Snowballs (mini white donuts), Icicles (rock candy suckers), Kristoff's Ice Cubes (blue jello), and Olaf Noses (baby carrots) with ranch and chips.  And cake and ice cream of course.

I ordered the figurines for the cake from Ebay, and they were not great quality.  I am pretty sure they were knockoffs, but they got the job done.

The birthday girl wore the Queen Elsa dress that Uncle J and Aunt A gave her for her birthday, and she looked adorable in it if I do say so myself.

Now, you may remember from birthday party posts of yore, that I am not a fan of party games, but this party was different.  We did two cute activities that I think the kids liked.  The first was "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?"  They used marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, pretzels, orange Tic Tacs and toothpicks to build their own snowman.  Then we played a fun round of Pin the Nose on Olaf.  I free-handed the Olaf onto poster board and cut the noses out of orange construction paper.

After games we sang "Happy Birthday," blew out candles, and ate.  Then the girl of honor opened her gifts and everyone just hung around and played and talked and enjoyed each others company.  When the guests left, they picked up a sheet of Frozen stickers and a package of 'warm hugs' and kisses.

It was a fun, laid back party, and I think everyone had a blast!  Happy Birthday, baby girl!

First Day of Gymnastics

Not only is C taking swimming lessons this summer, but I also have her enrolled in gymnastics with out local recreation department.  Her first lesson was tonight, and she said she had a fun.

She was at a slight disadvantage because I never put her in the parent and tot class where many of the girls who are C's age have already learned the basics.  There was only one other little girl in C's class tonight, and she had taken gymnastics before.  But C caught on quickly and had a ball.

Honestly, I wasn't super impressed, but I keep reminding myself that it was only the first class, and it will probably get better.  So, we will see if gymnastics is something she continues or if we will switch to dance.  I do know that I sure did enjoy watching her try something new!

Swimming Lessons for C

C had her first swimming lesson today, and I predict that she will be swimming all over the pool like a fish by the end of the summer.  She did amazingly well, especially considering how clingy and whiny she was in the pool last summer.

Now B took lessons from Miss K last summer, and this year C is taking lessons from her little sister (who will also be known as Miss K on this little blog).  We love both Miss Ks, and they do a phenomenal job with my kids!  B is still jumping off the side of the pool, but isn't brave enough to jump into the deep end again like he was doing last year.  I give him another couple of weeks and he will be flying off the diving board again!

Good job, sweet C!!

C is 3!

How have three years gone by so fast?!  I just can't believe my sweet girl is three years old.  She started the day with a breakfast of cinnamon rolls.

 Then B headed to football camp with the Hubs while C and I spent the morning watching Frozen (for the millionth time).  Then we enjoyed a lunch at a local hot dog place that is a local favorite (and a family favorite for us!).

Pop and JuJu came by after naps to give C her gift.  A few weeks ago she requested a pink dress for her birthday, and that is exactly what she got along with a Minnie Mouse card since she loves all things Minnie Mouse!

C requested sloppy joes for supper, and then we had cupcakes with a candle of course.  And yes, she is wearing a swim suit.  She has taken to changing clothes about 1000 times a day lately.

I love this little girl with every ounce of my heart.  She has brought such an unbelievable amount of joy to our lives.  We love you, precious girl!