First Day of Classical Conversations

I am going to be honest with you, I think I was even more excited about our first day at Classical Conversations than the kids were.  And they were SUPER excited.  I will share some of the special parts of our first day, and then I will share some information about CC itself.

B got to hold the American flag during the Pledge to the Flag and the Pledge to the Bible.  I was so excited that the got to have a special part of the day from the beginning.

Then B got to go to his class which is made up of Kindergarten students ages 5-6.  There are only six kids in the class, but since all but one of them are boys, they are a rambunctious bunch.  But they are also a very sweet group that enjoys learning.

I managed to snap of picture of B with his bookbag right before we left to go home.  He looks so grown with his bag and lunchbox.  He loves going to CC and is looking forward to next week already!

Now C is not old enough to be a part of a CC class, but the church where we meet has a Mother's Morning Out group that she goes to while I am with B in class.  She thinks she is going to CC, and I am letting her think that.  She loves her sweet teacher Miss G and cried the whole way home from school.  She can't wait to go back!

Here is some basic information about Classical Conversations for anyone interested in the program.

• CC is a classical, Christian community whose philosophy is "to know God and make Him known."
• CC has three programs:  Foundations, Essentials, and Challenge.
• Foundations is for kids aged pre-k to 6th grade.  It meets from 9:00 to noon one day a week and includes six basic components:  whole group opening session, memory work, fine arts, presentations, science experiment, and review of past memory work.  Memory work covers 6 'subjects' (for lack of a better work):  history, geography, math, science, Latin, and English grammar.  It does not include a reading program or a math program, so that has to be done by parents at home.  (Math memory work includes skip counting, measurement equivalents, geometric equations and rules, etc.  It does not teach math concepts or operations like addition which is why a math program such as Saxon must be done at home.)  Students work on Bible verse memorization during the whole group opening session.  Foundations students also study and memorize a historical timeline with over 200 events that range from creation to present day.
• Essentials is for kids ages 4th grade to 6th grade.  It meets from 1:00 to 3:00 after Foundations and focuses on English grammar, writing, and math facts.  Because B has not reached this age yet, I don't know much about it.  But I do know that it is a LOT of work for the kids--good work, but lots of work.
• Challenge is for kids 7th to 12th grade.  This is a very challenging (hence the name), advanced program.  They continue studying Latin, work on history, logic, geography, science, current events, literature, writing, and they use the Saxon math program.  Unlike Foundations, Challenge is all-inclusive and does not require any additional programs by parents at home.  They meet one day a week from about 9:00 to 3:00 with a lunch break.
• If this program interests you, you can check it out at www.classicalconversations.com or request a catalog that is packed with information about their curriculum.

To read more about what homeschooling will look like in my home this school year, you can read my post about it here.

First Day of School

Well, weeks after the rest of Georgia, my kids have finally joined the ranks of other kids in going back to school.  But since they are homeschooled, they haven't totally joined the ranks of all the other kids.  B started Kindergarten, and C started 3K.  They are so excited about being back at school!

I am so proud of these sweet babies, and I know we will have a great school year together!

The read more about what homeschooling looks like at our house, you can check out my post about our school year here.

Dental Work

Nothing is more humbling than those moments that I can only define as 'mommy failures.'  I think all mothers have had them.  I had my first mommy failure moment less than 24 hours after B was born when I clipped his fingernails and ended up clipping two of his fingertips.  I will alert the "Mother of the Year Award" committee ASAP.  There have been many mommy failure moments since then.

So anyway, I waited WAY to long to take B to the dentist for the first time, and that was a regrettable decision.  He has cavities between all of his molars due to how tight his teeth are, and one of those molars needed a crown.  One of those silver ones.  You know, the ones all "good mommies" have seen other kids with an instantly judged those mothers for feeding their kids too much candy and junk food and not brushing their teeth?  Yep, enter me being humbled.

So, knowing B's fear of needles, I was pretty nervous about this appointment, but it could not have gone better.  He loved playing the video games while in the lobby, did great with the gas, the shot, the whole nine yards.  On the way to the appointment, he told me, "Mommy, when they come out and call my name, I might say, 'Yikes!' and my teeth might start chattering."  It was a hilarious way of saying, "I'm nervous."

Also on the way to the appointment (it was over an hour long drive away), there was an obvious storm brewing.  B has had MAJOR thunder/storm-phobias lately, and I was getting even more nervous about how this appointment would go.  Right before we got to the dentist's office, B said, "You know what, Mommy?  I saw that big storm, and I thought I don't have to be afraid because my God is with me."  Be still my heart.  Thank you, God, for providing this bright moment that day.

So here are some pics from the big day:

 

He's pretty proud of his new silver tooth, and I am finding consolation that since it is a baby tooth, he won't have to have it forever.

Swimming with Friends

We were invited to go swimming yesterday with some friends at a pool they are members of and it made for a fun morning.  B has loved E since he first laid eyes on her about 3 years ago at play group, and they have been fast friends ever since.  Typically, we meet up with E and her little sister C at Burger King for lunch.  (I am not a huge fan of BK but it is the ONLY restaurant in town that has a playground.  We desperately need a Chick-Fil-A.)  So we had an enjoyable morning playing in the pool, snacking, and eating popsicles.

We still have a few days of summer left before we jump back into the school year, so we plan to soak up as much fun with friends as we can.

Pinterest Recipe Thursday {Mexican Biscuit Casserole}

It's been a while since I tried a Pinterest recipe.  In fact, with the busyness of this summer, it's been a while since I cooked!  So when I can across this, I thought it sounded pretty good--and it was.  And on top of that it was super easy, and my kids enjoyed it.

Sorry I have no idea why the picture is sideways!

Mexican Biscuit Casserole

1.5 lbs ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 c water
1 can kidney beans, drained and reserve liquid
1 can Mexicorn, drained
3 c cheese, divided
1 can of refrigerated biscuits

Brown the ground beef and drain.  Add the taco seasoning and water.  (The original recipe calls more water, but most of the reviewers said it was too watery.)  Stir in the kidney beans and Mexicorn.   Add some of the reserved bean liquid if the mixture seems too dry.  Stir in half of the cheese and pour into casserole dish.  Top with canned biscuits and bake on 350 for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and let stand for 5 minutes.  Serve with sour cream, salsa, or other toppings.

I found that this was good but a little plain.  Once I added the sour cream to mine, it added a whole new level of flavor and was delicious!  The kids helped me make it which means they of course said they loved it!  Actually, B liked all but the kidney beans, and C mostly just ate the biscuit off the top!

Enjoy!

The Busiest Summer EVER

This has without a doubt been the busiest, craziest summer our family has ever had.  Hence the major lack of blogging on my part.  So this is my attempt to play catch up.

After our beach vacation and VBS, we had one day as a family--one whole day where no one had to be anywhere or do anything.  So we went to "Memom's pool."  Memom is a sweet lady at our church who lets us use her pool whenever we want.  We usually go at least a dozen times a summer, but this summer we only went once.  ONCE.  I still can't believe it.  So we packed a lunch, put a watermelon on ice, and headed to Memom's.  We spent the morning swimming and noshing on watermelon.

Then B had his first dentist appointment.  It did not go well--cavities in all 8 molars.  But he was a champ at the dentist, and I was super proud of how well he did.  For those who know B, they know that he will do anything if he is distracted by tv.

We have an appointment to get the first pair of teeth fixed and we will go from there.

The kids and I set a goal to read 100 books this summer, and we are still working on it.  But our local library had a summer reading program and set a goal for each child to read 25 books.  We got it done by the deadline and turned our forms in.  The kids got Frosty certificates for Wendy's and ice cream cone certificates for Burger King.  We went right then to Burger King for ice cream.

That is a short and sweet recap of some of what we have done this summer.  It certainly doesn't cover all of it, but there it is.