Soccer Fun!

I mentioned in my last post that Olivia was starting soccer with Upward Sports at Fruitland Community Church.  She was hilarious!  She actually did a great job kicking and stopping the ball.  She also did a great job picking me flowers and looking for worms.  She definitely gets her coordination skills (or lack of coordination skills) from me.  She had a great time running around with her friends though, and that was the goal!  They teach just the basic skills and since it is a Christian organization they also teach the kids a bible verse and open and close with prayer.  I love that there is an alternative to competitive sports for their age group.  It should be all about having fun at their age!  You can tell she was having a blast!

This was definitely my favorite picture of the day!  Caroline reached over to give her friend, Rylee a big kiss!

  

How precious is this?!  (I know this is a volleyball, but Olivia doesn't so don't tell her!)

We have been setting aside one night a month to have family night with the girls.  We pick a movie, have popcorn and chocolate, and just enjoy our time together.  With Nathan's busy schedule I think this is really important.  We always eat dinner together as a family and we share in bath and bedtime routines, but it is really nice to just set aside an evening to just "BE together".  This week, we watched The Lorax, which was really cute!  I love Caroline's reactions to movies.  If something shocking happens she shouts out, "Oh, NO!!!"  The girl is saying everything!  I try to make a effort to spend one on one time with each of my big girls as much as possible.  Caroline got hers this weekend when Olivia was at VBS.  She spent the day with Daddy!  They had a lunch date and did some errands.  It doesn't take much to make her happy.  :)  Olivia and I played a game of Candyland the other night when the babies were already in bed.  She won TWICE and I won once.  She was so proud of herself that she beat her mom fair and square.  

 The face of a Candyland Champion

It truly is an amazing blessing to be a mother.  These girls are just my whole world!  I am always thankful but it is so easy to get caught up in the stresses of day-to-day life.  It has been weighing so heavy on my heart lately that I do need to take more time and see the blessings God has granted us.  He has given us three happy, healthy daughters and I am so grateful that He chose me to be their mother!  

I love these moments more than anything else!  I am so thankful that I can be at home with these babies while they're still babies.  It goes by so quickly.  These are the moments that I want to remember forever.  

-Maegan

Teaching Kindergarten with Sonlight

Since we started Sonlight, any time we have guests over Olivia wants to take them downstairs and show them her "school room".  She loves showing off her work and we are very proud of the improvements she has made, just in the last few weeks!  I thought it would be a fun idea to take pictures of her favorite pieces of art and schoolwork and post them for our friends and family to see.  Sort of like a virtual open house!  I have several pictures of her painting and working on projects on my phone, but my phone crashed and I still haven't uploaded all of those pictures from it yet.  As soon as I get those uploaded, I'll post!  Anyway, I have also had many moms asking about Sonlight and what all comes with the Core package, versus the Multi-Subject package.  It can be overwhelming trying to figure it all out, so I took some pictures of what we are using most right now.  There are some things not pictured, but most of it is all there!

During Week 1 we started The Boxcar Children, and Olivia wanted to make a REAL boxcar.  We used a shoebox to make a diorama boxcar and she loves it.  I believe at this point she isn't calling it a boxcar anymore.  Now it's a fairy house.  Gotta love having kids with imagination! :)

 Below is a watercolor she made on her own.  It says "My favorite character from The Boxcar Children is Violet."

 These two paintings below were made with fingerpaint!  Caroline's is the top picture and Olivia's is the one beneath.  The picture to the right is Caroline's crayon drawing!  She fills up the ENTIRE page with color!

 Here are a few pictures of her schoolwork!

 The assignment below was from Week 1.  She drew a picture of her favorite book and told a little about the story.  It says, "This story is about Laura and her dog Jack, and their new house."  Of course, it's Little House on The Prairie.

 Okay, the Bolt Buddies assignment was hilarious.  While using Sonlight, I have discovered so many new things about Olivia that I didn't even know she could do!  She looked at the Bolt Buddies picture and was asked to describe as many details as possible about it.  I think she did great!

 This year we selected Handwriting Without Tears to supplement her Language Arts with Sonlight.  This is an option you have when purchasing the Multi-Subject package!  It has been great so far.  Olivia is left-handed which is something we were really struggling with the past couple of months, but HWT has plenty of pictures that have helped us achieve better handwriting form.

 Pretty good for a 4 year old! :)

This is all Handwriting Without Tears stuff!  It comes with a foam mat where Olivia can put the letters together in the same order that she would form letters.  Next we use the chalkboard to practice the letter formation.  Last, she uses a wet eraser to wipe over the letters.  After learning the letter formation in 3 different ways, writing it is much easier!  It definitely seems to come more naturally using Handwriting Without Tears.  Their method is AWESOME and I would recommend it!

 

Next up, Horizons Math!  So far, I am loving Horizons Math.  It just really works great for Olivia's learning style.  My only complaint is that the guide book is sort of pointless.  We don't really use it, because it is very repetitive.  I do like the checklist, though.  It tells me what manipulatives to use for each week.  The only things pictured below that didn't come with the package are the large cardstock numbers.  I made those this summer to help Olivia get more familiar with the numbers 1-10.  We are still using them just for fun to supplement Horizons.  Also, the little plastic containers in the bowl on the right are gerber baby food containers.  I cleaned and saved them to put square counters in and they are labeled 1-10.  I am using these with Caroline right now to learn to count.  She will pick a container out of the bowl, we say the number together, and then count the squares.  She is picking it up very quickly!

 This is our calendar area.  We always start our day here.  I move the big yellow clock to the correct time and I let Olivia move her little yellow clock to the same time on her own.  We sing Days of the Week, Months of the Year, and sing our bible verses.  We learn one new bible verse each week, this week it's C: "Children obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord." Colossians 3:20  AMEN!  lol!  :)  Sonlight sent us a CD that has a bible verse in song for each week so it is VERY catchy and easy to remember.  We then spend time in Bible, reading and discussing the devotional for that day.  This is something we do each day, the same way!  I love the way it works for us right now.  It's a great way to start off our day.

 This is MOST of our science stuff from Sonlight!  Olivia loves Science but I have to admit that it is really my least favorite subject to teach right now.  It is very involved and messy.  It is great and she has retained so much info already, BUT the projects are so all over the place.  This week I decided to do all of our worksheets and reading in our 4 days of school and save the projects for one-on-one time on the weekends.  That way when Nathan is home he can either do the science project with Olivia or watch babies so I can do it stress free!  Both the babies are still very into putting things in their mouth and so many of those little pieces are scary for me!  I love all of the material and I know that once we get further into the year we will figure out what works best for us.  The most important thing is Olivia is loving it and learning so much!

 This shelf has most of our materials that we will be reading during the school year.  I try to keep all our our Sonlight books on one shelf out of the babies reach (to prevent disasters!!!) along with the DVDs that go along with Math and Science, and our Bible CD.  

The large yellow box on the shelf above is actually what we are using with Caroline right now!  It is a puzzle and toddler book set that I picked up at a yard sale for THREE DOLLARS.  It has been awesome!  She is learning colors, how to count to 10, shapes, and much more!  She is picking up all kinds of things from sitting in on her sister's lessons, too.

I know that was a lot of info, but I am so excited to document our homeschooling journey!  When we were looking into different types of curriculum I NEEDED to see it in action.  These aren't the best photos but hopefully it will help others to understand how it works!  :)  Olivia was so excited to see her work on the computer!  We'll keep you updated!!!

-Maegan and OLIVIA MAE MORGAN (Olivia typed that!)

Homeschooling Olivia

I am the world's biggest blog slacker.  I really had this idea that a blog would be so EASY and I could just jot down thoughts and VOILA!  A blog post would be born.  What a silly idea.   Anyway, my sweet husband bought me a laptop recently and I really need to put it to good use.  So far all it has been used for is Facebook and Pinterest.  I also got a fancy camera for Christmas so I will be sharing some updated pictures soon.

A little over a year ago, I started researching homeschooling.  We were in the midst of many transitions as a family.  I knew the Lord was pulling me towards homeschooling our children but we just had SO much going on.  I couldn't imagine how I could ever make it work and I wasn't sure that Nathan was completely on board with it.  Looking back on that time, I can recognize it as the "pray and wait" phase!  I was in constant prayer over what to do with our future and I honestly felt like it was so unknown.  I couldn't have imagined that a year could bring so much understanding and clarity.   The Lord has truly blessed our family and we have learned to trust Him in this transitional time.  I am SUPER excited to announce that we are starting Olivia in her kindergarten level curriculum this summer.  We moved to a new house recently, and the basement is one of my favorite rooms now.  I had to share pictures now that it is set up and ready to use!

 This is the view coming down from the stairs.  I am extremely excited about our makeshift white board!  We went with the DIY method and used shower board.  It cost about $20 for the whole board.  We picked up the desks for $5 a piece from a local homeschool mom.  LOVE them!  

 Our toy storage is always a little messy...  But we like to keep our favorites where we can get to them easily.  This is where we keep our felt board, our puzzles, sorting blocks, and some manipulatives.

 That bookshelf is supposed to be the dividing line between homeschool room and man cave.  The baby toys are in the man cave in this photo.  Ooops....  I do think it's awesome to have a big screen TV and comfy furniture in the same area as our homeschool room though!

 This bookshelf is school supplies and crafts that need to be out of reach of small hands.

 This shelf houses all of our non-curriculum books and teaching resources, along with a few games.  Notice the big books on the floor?!  We got those at a yard sale and they are AWESOME.  We have some finger puppets and crafts stored in the baskets and jars on top of the bookcase.

 I love that we can open the back door and get some fresh air if we need to!  This is right off the school room and we are planning to put a swingset back here soon. :)

This is the view looking back towards the stairs.  We do have a bathroom in our homeschool room, which will come in handy for arts and crafts when we need sink access for hand washing!     

Nathan and I went to a homeschooling seminar and curriculum fair in our town a few weeks ago where we got lots of new ideas from other parents.  It was really nice to go without the older girls (Ellie came along but she slept most of the time, thankfully!) so we could ask questions and really devote our attention to the speakers.  We browsed several tables full of different material.  Upon leaving, we both were in agreement that our favorites were Sonlight and Abeka.  I have always been a fan of Abeka, but I think the kindergarten level material may be a little TOO challenging for Olivia and the pre-kindergarten material is not challenging enough.  Since she will only be 4 1/2 when we start our school year, we wanted something more in between.  I LOVE Sonlight because it is a literature based program.  Olivia has such a strong love of books that I know she will respond well to the program.  We opted for Horizons for math and Handwriting Without Tears for handwriting and spelling.  I have prayed over which programs to choose and I think that we ultimately made the right decision.  Sonlight is one of the more expensive programs out there, but I do think it will be worth while, especially since we can reuse most of the materials for the babies when they get to kindergarten level.  The plan for now is to start Olivia's schooling this summer, and school year round.  I love the idea of being able to take a vacation (school free) whenever we want!  I am so thankful for our supportive family and friends.  We are so blessed to have each and every person God has placed in our lives.  I will update with more pictures soon!

-Maegan

Olivia's 1st Day of Preschool!

It is hard to believe, but our big 3 year old had her first day of preschool yesterday!  While my main interest at this point is continuing on the path of schooling at home for the most part, I recognize Olivia's need to learn from other adults.  She is very social and even though we have a diverse playgroup, I knew she would benefit greatly from being around different kids and teachers.  We decided a while back to join the local homeschooling co-op and I am so glad that we did!  The first day really went well.  A local church allows the co-op to use their building for classes every Friday, and I have to say I was very impressed with how the classes were set up!  They were much larger and much more child-friendly than I had imagined.  They were all painted in bright colors and each room had a wild rug.  Olivia definitely approved.

The co-op offers a wide range of classes suitable for kids of all ages.  We had to be out of town on the day of registration so a friend was able to take our paperwork and sign her up for us, thankfully.  At that time, we were told that all of the classes had filled up quickly so they would have to open more.  That in itself was a good sign!  I never would have imagined how much the homeschooling community in this area is growing.  It was a very reassuring feeling when we walked in Friday morning to find the lobby filled with families who are all on similar paths.  While their reasons for homeschooling may be different, they have all been called to the same place!  Anyway, since the original classes filled up so quickly, I was anxious to see who her teachers would be and what classes she would be in.  She was placed in Fun Fitness for first hour, Reading Alive for second hour, and Preschool Art for third hour.  I think it is going to be a great semester there!  She was kept busy during her classes and did well being separated from me, which made me feel very confident about the rest of the year.  

While Olivia is taking classes, I will be working in the nursery.  The first day was a little hectic but that's to be expected for the first day!  I am looking forward to field trips, school pictures, and the fall party already.  Those are the things about school that I remember being so excited about as a child.  I didn't want my little ones to miss out on them, so I am SO excited to learn that we will still be able to participate in those things!  Holiday parties and field trips?!  It doesn't get any better.  It just doesn't.  I am also thankful that we are able to be a part of an organization that is ran by the parents.  I definitely felt a sense of community there and I am really looking forward to getting to know the other families better.

Enjoy the pictures!  We had quite the photo shoot so I had to share!  

Olivia and her friend Ethan

Love, Maegan