Back to {Home}School

Christmas break is over and we are sllloooooowwwwwlyy getting back to our regular routine.  I thought I'd give a little update about where we're at and how things are going.

I'm glad I did a lot of planning before the break because it seems that I can't get myself into gear just yet!  We have settled into a comfortable and fairly easy routine that is not difficult for me to plan or prepare, and that has helped immensely.

We are finishing up Level 1 of Matthew's reading curriculum (All About Reading) and I have to say we LOVE it!  The lessons were pretty short, very manageable for us, and the teacher's manual is fantastic.  There was some prep work, but not too much.  There were games that Matthew always enjoyed and it came with three books that helped him to build confidence as he was learning to read.  He often asks to read from these books and seems to really enjoy them.  I would definitely describe him as a reader now!  He can pick up any easy-to-read picture book and read it with very little help.  It is amazing to see!

We are taking a little break from reading lessons but continuing to work on fluency and vocab as we read every day.  Matthew is building a caterpillar by reading books (for every book he reads we add a circle to his caterpillar) and when he gets to 20 he will get to pick out a new book (his idea when we talked about what would be a good reward).  So far he is at 9 and he is very excited to read us books every day!  I'm hoping to order All About Reading Level 2 sometime in February and then we will continue on with that.

Matthew is starting to like coloring and drawing more (he has never been one to pick this as an activity if given the choice).  Last week for our Five in a Row curriculum (which we already really enjoy, by the way!) we read the book, "The Story About Ping", which was a book about a duck on a river in China.  We learned more about ducks, and one day used our "Draw, Write, Now" book to learn to draw a duck.  This was Matthew's drawing:

I had the poem typed up already, and Matthew read it to me (he needed help with the words "specially" and "bottoms") and then drew the duck.  I thought he did a great job!

We have a lot of fun with school most of the time, although we certainly have our days.  Matthew loves math, does NOT love learning to write (we're going slowly and he's doing a good job for his age), enjoys coloring, really likes reading and being read to, and is generally pretty cooperative.  We have our "bad attitude" days for sure, but they don't usually last very long.  I love homeschooling and we are thinking and praying about next year and what we will do.  So many decisions!!!

Full of Energy!

This winter is feeling long...and these kiddos are so full of energy!  It has been super cold again here and we have not been outside for a while.  We are finding some fun ways to burn off energy with relay races, jumping games, and playing on some great new toys!

For Christmas the kids got a balance bike (it has no pedals so they can learn what it feels like to balance on a bike).  We have it down in the basement and the kids play on it several times a day.  

Hannah is learning to ride a tricycle so we took that downstairs, too.  Then this week, I found a great toy on clearance down from $20 to only $4.99!  It is a little bouncy horse and the kids loved bouncing it around the house so much that I went back and bought two more!  Now they have horse races around the living room.  It is so funny, I may have to take a video to show you.  Plus, they are burning energy (they have SO much!!!).

The days feel pretty long when we are not able to get out but thankfully we have been able to go to speech therapy, playgroup, and the library in the last week.  Next week we have no playgroup so I need to plan something fun to do.  I think I will appreciate spring even more this year!

Finding My Running Legs

My pants were starting to feel uncomfortably tight.

Why does that always happen this time of year?!?!  Yes, I know the answer.

I had just started running again when we had several weeks of sickness combined with snow and freezing temperatures that I could not possibly run in.  I would get in a run here or there but was not able to be consistent and it was really frustrating.  I worked out at home sporadically but really wanted to be out running.

Once January 1st rolled around I knew that a local gym would be having a deal.  Sure enough, I could sign up for $10 and pay only $10 a month!  Score!  I knew that would get me through the winter days when I am unable to run outside.

Since the beginning of January I've been able to be fairly consistent with my running.  It was H-A-R-D to get used to running on a treadmill again.  Not physically hard, but mentally hard.  I'm getting more used to it now and I was thrilled to be able to run 4 miles yesterday!

Brad has also started running (he has a free gym at his work) and we are excited to be running an 8k in just a few weeks.  Together, but not together if you see what I mean.  Because he's way fast, and I am less way fast :)

The pants are getting looser, I feel stronger and it is nice to have a bit of time every other day to exercise.  I've missed it!

Nathan Turns Four!

It is hard to believe that our middle son, Nathan, is FOUR!  He turned four at the beginning of January but I didn't post about it because we were sick.  Now we are all better and getting ready to PARTY!

I feel as though I could write all day and all night and still not have enough time to tell you about what a wonderful little boy he is.  If you don't have the blessing of knowing Nathan in real life, let me tell you a little about him.

Today I was telling someone that it's funny but he is actually our quietest child AND our loudest child!!!!  Today he sat in the service with me at church and was silent for over an hour, sitting with nothing to play with but a piece of paper and a pen!!  Sometimes he is so quiet I go looking for him.  He will play for hours building with Duplo, or trucks or Rescue Bots.  He has a great imagination and will make up stories all day long.  He loves books (seriously, if I have one in my hands he is on my lap in a second begging me to read it!) and will easily listen to 10 or more books at a time.  His attention span is amazing.  When we do school, he sits at the table and is focused the whole time.  He does whatever I ask without complaining and works so hard!  He is smart and is always surprising me with what he knows.

And then on the other hand...he is soooooooooooo loud!!!!!  He is all boy!  He loves to run and climb and jump off of things.  He often squeals with laughter and shouts so loudly when playing with his brother (who he adores).  He is so full of life and love and sweetness.

Nathan has such a compassionate heart and I just love that about him.  He is quick to notice if someone is upset and he always tries to comfort them.  He often brings Hannah toys when she is crying.  He is gentle and caring and obedient and loving and creative.

I think to myself all the time, I wonder who you will be when you're older, little boy.  I wonder how God will use you.  In case you couldn't tell...I just love him to pieces!!!

Happy birthday, Nathan!!

That One Time it Snowed...and Snowed...

There's no doubt it's winter here!  We are having lots of snow, lots of cold weather, and lots of days stuck in the house.  It sure is pretty to look at, though!  I don't remember the last time it snowed this much.

Since it's been so cold, it's been hard to get outside very much (plus we've been fighting sickness again).  We did go out for a few minutes the other day to "help" Brad shovel the driveway :)

It was Hannah's first time (here) playing in the snow!  She was kind of uncertain about the whole thing but enjoyed being pulled around on the sled.  She is so cute all bundled up.

Mostly though we have been stuck inside and I have to say..."I AM READY FOR SPRING!!".  I really am tired of the inside of our house and I can't wait for our regular activities like speech therapy and playgroup to resume so that we can at least have a change of scenery. 

Thankfully these three play pretty well together these days (although they have definitely had their moments this week when I can tell they are sick of being inside, too!).  All we do is make a mess, play, clean it up, make a mess, play, clean it up...and repeat.  Come on, warmer weather!!

Ending the Year With a Bang

We had a {mostly} wonderful Christmas and New Years this year.  Things got a little bumpy on Christmas Eve when Brad had to work unexpectedly due to an ice storm, and then our furnace broke...but thankfully it was fixed quickly and Brad was able to get off work in time for us to head to Canada for some much-needed time with my family.  We spent a lovely, relaxing, fun few days with my mom, dad and sister before returning home for the New Year. 

Unfortunately on our last day at my parents house Hannah came home with a cold and she spent the next 7 days like this....

It was just a cold but this is the sickest she's been since coming home.  She didn't want to be put down ever and slept on/with us for a week.  Not the most restful week, that's for sure!  But we are glad that today she is up and around and we are seeing many more smiles.

On New Years Eve we had a bit of a scare (ok, it was a big one for me) as Matthew had an allergic reaction.  It's been so long since he's had one....this was quite the reality check.

I had taken Nathan to speech therapy and was sitting in the waiting room (Brad was home with Matthew and Hannah) when I got a call from Brad.  He told me Matthew's lips were swelling up and he was giving him Benadryl.  I got this text from him...

The Benadryl did not do anything and he was saying his tongue and mouth were itchy, as well as his lips.  We wrestled with giving the Epi-pen, which is not an easy choice to make.  It is hard enough taking your kids to the doctors to get them shots, but to give one yourself....it's hard.  

In the end we opted to take him to the ER which is 5 minutes away.  We spent a few hours there where Matthew received more Benadryl and steroids.  

Thankfully his reaction never progressed beyond his mouth.  We have since talked to his allergist and realize now that we should have given the Epi.  *Sigh*.  It is so hard when it's happening to make that decision but I do feel more ready for next time, should there ever be one.

We think that Matthew reacted to a bagel he ate for breakfast.  He's eaten this brand for years without trouble, but after calling the company we learned that they are made in the same factory with nuts :(  I thought they were safe but I have learned that we need to be even more thorough with checking on foods to make sure they are safe.  I thought I had called this company before....apparently not.

The day got much better once we were home from the ER and the swelling went down.  We were so excited to have some friends over for New Years Eve and it was fun to have some "adult time" with the little ones in bed.

2013 was a wonderful year and we look forward to what 2014 will bring for our family!