Feeling Like Fall

The past couple of days have really felt like fall! Sometimes where we live it's still summer at this time, but this year I'm so thankful for the cool weather that gets me so excited about the magic of this time of year. Miles and I enjoyed a nature walk today and seeing mallard ducks, along with LOTS of turtles and some cranes. It was so nice to do all this and feel the gentle, cool breeze. What a blessing!

Below is a collage I did today using digital scrapbooking files from shabbyprincess.com. This is MY kind of scrapbooking--no getting out tons of supplies that I later have to put back up, or attaching something that later I decide I don't like and not being able to move it. Sometimes I love technology. Anyway, the photos are from almost 3 years ago, from my favorite of the family sessions we've had done. I can't believe it's been so long. He looks so much more like a baby in these images than he does now!

First Days

Well, this week marked two firsts for Miles. On Monday, he started kindergarten at the Sonlight program, then on Tuesday, we started our homeschool. He loved Sonlight and even made a new friend, Corbin. His teacher, Mrs. Wilson, gave him a Hershey's Kiss for good behavior all day. I walked him in in the morning and then went in to his classroom in the afternoon to take a few photos and pick him up. But if I want to, I can drop him off and pick him up without ever having to leave my car! They have teachers there to walk the children to the door, and some to walk them to the car in the afternoon. I have a car tag to hang on my rear-view mirror with a number and Miles's name on it so they know I'm there to pick him up. Also, I'll soon be given a card to swipe to get into the children's area if I ever need to come in during the day. I'm impressed by the precautions they take to keep the children safe.

A few shots from his first day of kindergarten:

A close-up of Miles's custom backpack, designed by Mommy! Our first week of homeschool was great! I had so much fun printing out all the activities for Miles's lessons. We studied robots this week. I read a few robot storybooks to him, as well as went over the definition of a robot, parts of a robot and things robots can do. Miles colored robots, colored robots, practiced handwriting by writing things robots can do, and even built a robot! We also studied Genesis 1 and learned all about the days of creation and did various activities related to it. The other subject we did was Mandarin Chinese. I checked out a video from our library that teaches Mandarin to kids and we watched it together. On Friday, we went to a local park for a "Naturalist Club" program sponsored by the City of Denton Parks and Recreation. We learned about the life cycle of butterflies and Miles got to make a caterpillar and butterfly. Then we took a walk on a nature trail and learned to identify poison ivy (which, I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't already know).

Here are all the projects Miles worked on this week.

His very first assignment, to make a creation book:

Working on a robot collage: Building a robot:
This is serious stuff!In Miles's own words, "The coolest robot ever!!!"His robot "lapbook".My proud kindergartener:
Wow, we did a lot this week!

We had such a great time! I know every week won't be this full, but every week will have opportunities for Miles (and myself!) to learn new things together.

Kindergarten Update

When I last posted about Miles going to kindergarten, I had registered him for a half-day program at a church. Plans have changed since then as a result of so many other changes in our lives lately. We have now decided finally, that we will start out homeschooling Miles, but we're not giving up "going to kindergarten" completely. I found a wonderful program at another church that offers classes for homeschoolers! They are on Mondays and Fridays, and you can choose either or both days. Fridays were already full by the time I called them, so for now, Miles will go on Mondays. I was so thrilled to find this program! I knew of other similar programs that are actually co-ops, so the parents have to assist in the classrooms, but I found myself wishing there was something more like the Mother's Day Out program I've had Miles in since he was 2 and a half. And that's just what this program is. They call it "Sonlight," and I'll drop him off at 9 and pick him up at 2, which means 5 hours all to myself! I have really needed this kind of break.

In the Sonlight program, Miles will have classes in music, Spanish, art, P.E., social studies and history based on the Bible. Also, if I'm able to get him into the Friday class (he's on the waiting list, in case something opens up) he'll also have a class in science. They'll even send home worksheets that are optional for them to do for extra credit. I'm so excited because it's like we're getting the best of both worlds--we'll get to homeschool, and still get the benefits of "going to school." I must admit that right after signing him up, I couldn't wait to get to the store, school supply list in hand, and experience the excitement I enjoyed as a child getting all the things I would need to start a new school year. It was so fun getting the crayons, markers, pencil box, backpack, manila paper, scissors, etc. I even let Miles pick out a lunch box and Thermos, which are Transformer themed! Next week we'll get to go to open house and meet his teacher and see his classroom. I'm really looking forward to that!

At home, we've decided on the Five in a Row program. It is a wonderful program based on literature. In my research in different ways of homeschooling, I've come across the idea of using "living books" for teaching, as opposed to dry, boring textbooks, and I love it! Charlotte Mason has been a big influence for me, and I plan on incorporating some of her methods as well. She encourages getting outside a lot and learning through nature, and she also talks about using living books. The Five in Row program goes along with her ideas. What we'll do is read the same book five days in a row, each day focusing on a different aspect of the book. One day may be a lesson in math, another history, geography, art, science, and so forth. I think a flexible and laid-back program like this will be just what Miles and I will both need to prevent homeschool burnout. And we'll also be taking field trips, getting together with friends for playdates, and another weekly class called Zooniversity, where they will explore animals and their habitats from around the world, and the teacher will bring the actual animals for them to see and touch!

Needless to say, I am very excited about our choice for Miles's education. It's very important to me that he have the best, and this will be the best for us. I know it's not for everyone, but for us, it will be more than just "school." We'll be using the world as our classroom and our lives as our curriculum, which to me is real education, and something that I don't believe can be experienced while cooped up in an ordinary classroom day after day. I also know that the picture of Miles's eduation will likely change from year to year, or even from month to month. I'm keeping all the options open because I've learned from my research that there is no one standard or typical way to homeschool. Every family is different with different needs and ways of educating that suit them. In fact, I think it's really more about taking charge of your child's education rather than "homeschooling"; whatever decision you make for you child's education, I believe it's important that it be an informed decision about how you want your child to be educated instead of going along with what everyone else is doing just because it's easiest or because you're not informed of all the choices available.

Anyway, Miles's Sonlight class starts on August 31st, and then we'll probably start our homeschool the next day. We're both so excited! Miles asks me ever so often when we're going to "start homeschool" and I keep telling him "in a few weeks." I'm still working on lesson plans and getting materials together for projects, etc., but I can't wait to start myself! Please keep us in your prayers as we start this school year.

In the Mountains

Last month, we took a trip to the mountains, although not the same mountains we had originally planned. We were literally on the road for about 1 minute when we got a call from the people at Beaver's Bend saying that the park was being closed due to flooding. Of course I was devasted; I'd been looking forward to this trip for so long. But it didn't last long. We turned around and went back into the house and got on the internet. I immediately thought of the Arbuckle Mountains, only a little over an hour away. So instead of the Kiamichis, we went to the Arbuckles.


I think it was a blessing in disguise that are plans were changed. We got a much better cabin than we would have gotten at Beaver's Bend, and there was no comparison to the view outside our window. Our cabin, rightfully called the "Mountainview". The view was so amazing, I didn't believe that could be our cabin when we pulled up. There were literally mountains right there, almost as if you could reach out and touch them. There was also a path that led down the mountain to a pond. It was so peaceful down there.

We didn't really do much all weekend except stay around the cabin. We went into town a couple of times to go to the store and eat, and we even drove about 20 miles to Pauls Valley to visit the Toy and Action Figure Museum (Miles had a blast there!). But for the most part we slept late, took walks, read (at least I read, lots of "Country Living" magazines) and ate. Oh, yeah, and although we didn't actually visit the Turner Falls park, we did go up to the lookout point where you could see beautiful waterfall.

I know the Arbuckles are hardly big mountains; to some, they are probably just big hills, but I was so touched by God in seeing their beauty. They brought me so much peace and reinforced my desire to live in the country surrounded by God's creation.

Needless to say, I did not want to come home! Two days just wasn't enough time to spend in that wonderful place. We will definitely have to go back sometime when we can spend more than 2 days.

It's Been a While!

I can't believe I haven't posted since November! Needless to say, it's because I've been very busy. While I'm still busy now, I'm happy to say I've made some important changes. All that "busy-ness" was getting to me. I was running my portrait business from home, but felt like it was running me. I decided I wanted to really focus on Chip and Miles and the rest of my family more. Chip and I discussed it and decided I needed a long, indefinite break from my photography business. I've done a few sessions so far this year, and will have a few more later this year that were already scheduled, but other than that, I'm done for now!

This has been such a relief to me. I'm exporing areas of my life now that I didn't have time for before, like reading for pleasure, cooking, eating healthier, gardening, and most importantly, focusing my mind and my time on Chip and Miles. I hope now that things are not so chaotic that I'll be able to write more on my blog too.

This past Monday I registered Miles for kindergarten! I had posted several months ago that we had decided on public school, but the closer it got, the more I didn't feel comfortable with that decision. Instead, he'll be going to a private school at a local church. Their program goes from infants to kindergarten, so next year he'll be at a different school for first grade, a "University-Model" school, which is Christian-based and is kind of a combination of private school and homeschooling. I'll talk more about that school later. But for now, I'm so excited about Miles starting kindergarten! I'm thrilled that his school is a half-day program, Monday through Friday. He'll go from 8:45-12:45, and when I pick him up everyday, we'll go home and have lunch together, and have the rest of the day to spend together. I love that! I also love that one of Miles's teachers is a photography client of mine, and I feel really good about leaving him in her care. His other teacher seems wonderful too.

I have recently gotten interested in what I'm calling "real food" based on a book by that title that I'm reading. It's all about reducing or eliminating processed food from our diets and instead eating fresh foods like vegetables, fruit, nuts, etc., as well as meat, milk and eggs. The author, Nina Planck, says she believes that as far as milk goes, raw, unpasteurized milk, fresh from the cow is best, and I've found a local dairy that provides it. I plan to replace at least half of the milk we drink with this if we can afford it. I've never tasted fresh milk and can't wait to! I'm buying fresh eggs from a sister at church, and they are wonderful! I love opening up the carton and seeing different shades of brown and all different sizes. And the best part is seeing that rich, golden yoke inside, so different from the pale yellow from store-bought eggs. I'm planning on going on a tour soon to see the dairy and get my first taste of fresh milk and I'll post about how it goes.

We're making progress on the adoption. You can read about it at http://ourjourneytohannahclaire.blogspot.com/.

Chip is doing great. We got the Wii Fit game last month and doing that, along with changing his eating habits, he's already lost 4 pounds! I'm working on my weight too; recently I gained 3 pounds, then lost it, so I'm back where I started, but I plan to lose about 13 pounds. Supposedly it is easy to lose weight eating more natural foods and staying active, so we'll see!