First week of June 2012 and a Change of Plans for Next School Year

Things pretty much got back to normal around here after the wedding. We returned to our normal routine, which was a welcome relief! We got back to school; we are still working on completing Sonlight's condensed American History core, and also finishing up science and math.  The kiddos played outside and discovered things in nature, such as the strange bug pictured below. We took time to bake some treats together. We planned upcoming family activities to strengthen our bond as a family (some serious-like decluttering and cleaning the house together one room at a time, and some totally silly-like backwards night), and we also discussed ways to get along better (particularly Bug and Doodles, who have been doing more than the usual amount of bickering lately.) I've gotten some great advice and ideas from these two books: The Connected Family and Siblings Without Rivalry. Also, I ordered (and am awaiting the arrival) of another book by the same authors as the Siblings.... book. It is titled How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk. I also "wishlisted" another one of their books, How to Talk so Teens Will Listen and Listen so Teens Will Talk on Paperback Swap. We are really focusing on bringing joy and pure old fun into our life as a family.

Something else I've decided to do is to separate Bug and Doodles for all of their school subjects, starting this upcoming school year. In the past, we've done Bible, history, geography, and read-alouds together. While we've had some good discussions, all too often one child would interrupt the other, which would cause a quarrel. Or one child (usually Bug) would want me to read another chapter, but the other (typically Doodles) child wouldn't, which also turned into an arguement between the two of them. While I realize this will require more work from me, I feel that it is worth it. It also seems to me that each of my children needs something they can call their "own." So, we will try this and see how it goes and if it will work for our family. And, truly, I did have concerns about placing Bug in Sonlight's next core at his age. I feel he is too young for Core F, but it will be a great fit for Doodles. So, Doodles will be using Sonlight Core F, and Bug will be using this: Further Up and Further In, which is a unit study based on The Chronicles of Narnia series. Bug and I flipped through the teacher's manual last night, and he is already excited about some of the projects that he will be doing.

Baby Girl will continue with her interest-led learning. Currently she is especially interested in singing her ABC's, counting to fifteen (although she skips a few numbers), and singing her current favorites "The Wheels on the Bus," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." The great thing is that she will sometimes point to her body parts as she sings...YES!!! She has also used her little potty a few times, so that is cause for celebration. Another awesome thing she did was to play with me in her castle tent for over an hour the other day! We had lots of fun singing, tickling, and making silly noises. She made a lot of eye contact with me that day, so it was very exciting! She is also interested in hula hoops now, as you can see below. We pray that she continues doing well, and that hopefully she is moving past some of the issues that she has been struggling with.

Here's the bug that the kids discoverd on our carport

Homemade chocolate chip cookies for the kiddos

Baby Girl with a hula hoop