Making a Curriculum Switch

Okay, so....I'll be using this in a few months for "Bug":
Sonlight Core K

And I'll  be using this for "Doodles":
Sonlight Core 3+4

We've enjoyed Ambleside, but it's just not going to work for us long term. Sonlight is a much better fit for us. We've used it in the past, and after much thought & looking ahead, I've decided to go back to Sonlight & have all plans of sticking with it for the duration. I'm going to "beef up" Core K for Bug, adding in more challenging reading as necessary. I feel like Core 3+4 would be too difficult for him this coming school year, but it's perfect for Doodles. Baby Girl will continue with her curriculum: lots of creative play, classical music, and read-alouds--and of course she listens in to her siblings' lessons! We will continue to use Ambleside's art, composer, and nature study lessons. They're wonderful!

Nature Walk: Spring Has Sprung!

 Complete with warm sunshine, cooling breezes, flowers, weeds, and bees...spring is here! We had a fabulous nature walk today & saw so many signs of spring's arrival. It is refreshing to see leaves blooming on trees and hear the sounds of bees buzzing and birds singing. Love nature walks!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

We had a great party & really enjoyed celebrating!

School...What We're Doing

Well, I know I haven't posted in a while...and I don't post as many school pictures as I used to...but most of them would look almost identical! They would be: our reading wonderful books together, working math pages, doing copywork, narration, & dictation, working on science experiments, taking nature walks & then recording observations, drawing, making collections, etc. from our nature walks, enjoying lively discussions about what we read......You get the idea. This is NOT to say we don't enjoy school, we DO! I guess I just don't see the need in taking as many pictures.

I have really been pleased with the fact that my children ("Doodles" & "Bug") & I can now discuss Shakespeare, Greek Mythology, & original fairy tales, as well as poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson & William Blake, and stories of heroes of the Christian faith in Trial and Triumph, just to name a few of the selections from our current Ambleside Online years.

"Baby Girl" is playing & learning with ideas & information I found in The New Language of Toys and  from this website: http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ . She is also enjoying our composer study. This term we're studying Beethoven, and this is Baby Girl's favorite: Beethoven's 5th Symphony .  As a matter of fact, she hums it on & off all day long!

So, is this all to say that each day is fabulous? And that we never have any problems with attitudes, laziness,  & disobedience? HA, I wish!!! We all have our bad days, but in this post, I'm choosing to focus on the good things. :)

Baby Girl

Wow, she's growing up so fast! She is making lots of progress, although she still has a lot of ground to cover. We are working with her daily, and she still receives occupational, speech, and vision therapy. She is communicating more and becoming quite affectionate with us, which is such a blessing! We are thankful each day that she is a part of our family.

Valentine's Day Treat

Our first attempt at homemade marshmallows was successful. The kiddos loved making them & eating them. We'll definitely make these again.

Ambleside Online--4 Weeks In

Yes, I'm back from my blog break. Meanwhile, we've been enjoying Ambleside Online .  Today started our fifth week with this curriculum. Our lives have been greatly enriched by AO. My children eagerly anticipate sharing with Daddy during dinner about the stories that we read, the things collected on our nature walks, something they noticed in our composer study, etc. The pics in this post are of some of the items we've collected during nature walks, as well as a squirrel who likes to visit our window sill & enjoy all the seeds that the birds drop from our feeder. Enjoy!