September Days

September seems to be flying by this year, but we have had a great month.  We have been enjoying soccer, visiting with family, doing a bit of school, taking nature walks, and spending time with precious friends before they move away.

This little man is growing up way too fast, and even though he has been a lousy sleeper this month, I am still head over heels in love with him.

We spent some time in my hometown with family last week, and we are trying to get back to the norm of life now that we are home.  My house is a disaster, but I am trying to soak in every pretty day we have before the cold hits for good.  The kids have enjoyed a ton of park days.

We visited with my life long friend while we were in my hometown.  Our boys have grown up together (they are only a month apart).  I have been friends with Blair since I was five, and its funny because we too are a month apart in age.  The boys had a blast hanging out again.  Its sad to see how much they have changed but I am glad that they still enjoy hanging out together.

Paxton had his first real swinging experience.  Both the bigs joined in on the occasion, and he was adorable as always.

These sweet friends are leaving us soon.  I have no idea how any of us are going to manage.  We have literally been doing daily life together since Caleb and Presley were 18 months old.  My youngest kids do not know a world without them.  Our kids love each other so good.....my heart breaks to think of them leaving..... :(

Caleb has continued to be an amazing big brother.  He and "Bro" have a special connection already.

Caleb is obsessed with tick tac toe, so I used that as an activity during "school" one day this month.  We were working on the letter Ee, and the numbers 1 and 2.  We implemented those instead of x and o.  It was a huge hit.  

Soccer Days

We have finally found a sport that Caleb enjoys! He absolutely loves playing soccer, and even though I am not a sports fan, I love that he loves it. He is playing for our local YMCA, and is on the Black Panthers team.  His coach is amazing, he has made a good friend on his team, and he counts down to "soccer days".

He has surprised me with how competetive he is.  He and his friend Ryan compete against each other all throughout practice.  They see who can race the fastest, they go at each other trying to take the ball away, and they have even wrestled haha.  They play a game of sharks and minnows during practice, and Caleb always zones in on taking out Ryan's ball first.  He usually ends up winning this game.

His first game was so cute, and his second game he scored three goals.  This past week I feel as though he was a little off, but he did amazing. I am so happy he is loving is so much.  

He picked his number.

Where did my baby go?

First Day, New Beginnings

As of today our family started a new adventure.  An adventure that I am cautious, emotional, worried and excited about.  We are homeschoolers (for this year).  My decision to homeschool for pre school this year stemmed from various branches.  We absolutely loved our previous preschool, but with two enrolled, our bank account did not.  We could afford it, but it left very little wiggle room in the budget for fun family activities (aka Disney would have been a no go).  I found another Christian pre school that was a lot more inexpensive, but the hours were shorter, and the more I thought about it, I realized that a lot of stress would be added to me as a mom trying to cram everything I needed to get done into those short hours.  I went back and forth and back and forth, trying to figure out what to do.  I stayed up many nights worried I would make the wrong decision.  Yes, I know it is JUST pre school, but it was an experience my children were used to, and I wanted to guarantee I made the right decision.  So as of right now, I am homeschooling.  We shall see if this lasts the entire school year, only a few months, or if I am calling up the local pre school come Friday and enrolling them.  I am taking it day by day, feeding off of my kids emotions, and seeing if it will work for our family.

One of my main concerns when deciding to homeschool this year was keeping Caleb on track educationally.  Technically he could be in Kindergarten this year, and his pre school last year prepared him for that  educationally.  It is my main goal to make sure he keeps up with what he already knows, learns some new concepts, and has fun while doing so.  I found a wonderful curriculum through www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com.  It is the perfect mix of K4 and Preschool learning.  Today was day one, and there are a few things I need to tweak with my presentation of the lessons, but her plans are solid.

My original plan was to do school 3 mornings a week, and knock them out before lunch time (preferably during Paxton's morning nap).  We implemented that plan today, but I feel that the straight 1 1/2 hours of learning was a little much for them.  I broke up the day with stories, crafts, stretches, and some hands on activities, but the kids seemed to burn out fast.  I am now thinking it might be easier to do our lessons all throughout the day on the 3 days of school.  Maybe like this....

calendar/calendar notebooks
Bible Verse review
Outside play
lessons
lunch
nap time
remaining lessons

I think I will try one week of all morning school, and one week of it being broken up, and will decide from there what worked best. 

Caleb today seemed disinterested, and kind of upset.  I am watching that closely, and if it becomes more of the norm I will put him back in preschool asap.  Kinlee, was Kinlee and did not seem to care either way.

Socially the kids are having play dates, interacting in the church/gym nursery, going to the library, and Caleb is playing soccer. 

So, that's where we are as of tonight, after our first day of "house school".  I am still processing the day, and trying to make the right decisions for the kids. We shall see where this adventure leads....