Fish and Feathers

Early this week Grandma took the boys out and bought them a brand new fish bowl and one fish each. Their first pets! Very exciting time here. Well...JD's fish lasted about 48 hours and then was dead. He took the news well, was more upset that I scooped the fish out instead of him. JAE was upset that his fishie didn't get to be flushed with JD's. He didn't have to wait long though, today his fish went belly up. He was so proud to flush it. LOL Crazy boys! We did buy JD a new one the day his died so we are down to 1 fish and an algae eater. Here's a pic of JD and the original fishes.



Next: We are learning about birds this week in school. The boys got to experience writing with a "quill" They enjoyed this old style of coloring :) Yes my boy is a lefty! Watching him write with the feather and paint made me really wonder of lefties of the past did not smear their work. Must have had lots of practice!

H.S. - Field Trip to Science Museum

Took the boys on a field trip to the kids hands on science museum today. They had a blast! Most of the stuff they are to young to understand, but they liked trying them out anyway. Favorite of the day - bubbles :)

Homeschool

I have decided to start including some entries about our homeschooling journey. We are currently just over halfway through preschool. It has been quite an adventure! The best thing so far..we are surviving!! Here is a quick entry of our journey so far.

JD turned 3 in June and we began school at the end of July. I knew August was going to be busy with vacations so we started a little early so that we would eventually be on the same pace as the schools. We lived in a 3 bedroom house and the 3rd bedroom was set up as a "classroom" He was doing ok. He enjoyed all the activities, art, and worksheets. Not so much the listening..Now he only had to listen for about a total of 15min during the 3 hour day..OK maybe a little longer then 15min, but really it wasn't that much sitting time. We had our moments, but we were making it work. After a few months we ended up moving. No more "classroom" so we had to use a kitchen table. GASP! He was starting to pay attention more. I honestly believe my independent, strong-willed, active, 3yr old boy did not like being "trapped" in the room. We also cut back from 5 days a week to 4 and from 3 hours to 1-2. So school time was going alot smoother. YAY!

Now we are halfway through and going strong. AND he is actually learning things! More then I thought he would. Currently he has:

~Memorized Bible verses. Granted, he probably doesn't remember them now and he has not memorized ALL of them each week. But he has memorized some.
~Knows God created..well everything! :)
~Knows all his letters and letter sounds for a-d so far
~Knows numbers 1-12 and can count to 13 (working on getting up to 20)
~Knows all shapes and colors (but he knew these before we started)
~Can tell time to the hour on both analog and digital clocks
~Somewhat knows 1+1 and 2+1
~Can write his name..not in the best handwritting. Can spell his name.
~Beginning to color in the lines better.
~Beginning to cut on the lines better.

So, yes I am amazed that my 3 1/2 yr old is able to do all this!! The bonus: JAE who is 2 weeks shy of being 2 can tell you what a triangle is and the letters O and B!! AMAZING!

The curriculum = Horizons by Alpha Omega Publications. Grade Pre-school
In future blogs I'll include current projects, memory verses, and other things we are learning. I wont be going into major details because well...I don't want to post the whole curriculum :)

Here are some pictures of our planets study! (flash is broke on my camera..)