A few pictures…

Posted by Mari Jo on November 14, 2011  about Family, Comments are off

I wanted to add a few pictures of last weeks activities.  I always have the intention of taking a lot of pictures of our different fun activities, but sadly with two active kiddos in the mix, that rarely happens.  However, this particular day I must have actually been on top of things!  So here a a few pics from our painting fiasco last week.

Moments like this are truly worth cherishing.

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This Week in Homeschooling

Posted by Mari Jo on November 10, 2011  about Family, Comments are off

This week was a very fun week for us here in the Hopkins household.  I have been challenging myself to look beyond the classroom to find educational opportunities.  This week involved nature walks with observations of all the beautiful fall colors, along with a beautiful leaf collection that still sits on our kitchen counter.  I have been challenging myself to school out of the house, at any opportunity.  Making the world our classroom has always been a goal of mine.

This week we did an in depth study on the story of Joseph.  Aubrey Ann is fascinated by the story, and she even had the opportunity to make a “coat of many colors” for herself.  In culmination AA, and Daddy put on a “Joseph and the Colorful Coat” play for me as I made dinner tonight.  AA has such a love of maps, and pictures of new places.  Sadly, our curriculum just doesn’t provide me with the in depth History I feel like AA longs for, so we are in the market for a new curriculum, but probably will not start it until August.  I have narrowed it down to two choices, with a possibility of combining the two.  I am currently praying that God leads me in a specific direction.  Besides History is HIS-story, so He knows exactly how I should be teaching it!

I am so shocked at how much AA’s writing has improved.  Her handwriting has improved drastically in the last few weeks, and her creativity in her writing is really quite shocking. Her journal entries are very comical! This week we focused on nouns, and distinguishing proper nouns.

We are going to have AA’s reading level tested by a family friend so I can purchase books that are in her instructional reading level.  So far, she reads almost all of our Dr. Suess books with ease, so it is time to “step it up a notch”.

We just finished “Little House in the Big Woods”, which is the first novel in the “Little House” series.  AA loved hearing about how people lived without the use of modern convienences.  It also led to many great discussions on gratitude, sibling relationships, and how people lived long ago.  We haven’t started the second book in the series “Farmer Boy”, but I can assure you, we will soon, as AA has begged to read it everyday since we finished.

In an effort to make up on lost time (it really feels like November snuck up on me!) we did a couple of fall-related crafts.  AA and L made fall trees using hand prints and finger prints.  Painting with L is always an adventure!  They are adorable, and it is interesting to watch the kids doing an activity they can do together.

We also made a large fall tree, and each day we have been adding leaves that give a reason we are thankful.  One of the things I love about homeschooling, is my ability to stop mid-activity to go more in-depth into a subject that is interesting to AA.  As we were making the tree, I was having AA discuss the different parts, and she was asking about the purpose of bark.  So I explained, but I could see my limited explanation was simply not enough, so I immediately got my ipad and did a bit of searching.  I love the impromtu science studies!  I could never do that in a traditional classroom!  What a blessing.

Homeschool bleeps, bloops and blunders:

All things are not perfect, nor will they ever be, that is just life.  But I have always found that my greatest growth comes when I take time to reflect each day on what can be improved upon.

AA is having a hard time grasping the concept of tens and ones units.  I must admit I felt frustrated during our last couple of lessons, which doesn’t make for a happy kiddo, or Mommy.  Sometimes I forget that I am on her learning schedule, and that if it takes a few extra lesson for her to “get” something, then that is ok.  Or if I stop and come back to it later, that is ok too.  A couple of weeks or a month can make a huge difference in a childs ability to understand a concept.

I have GOT to get myself more organized with fun stuff for Landon to do during school.  I found him randomly wandering around the school room several times this week just pulling things out.  It makes for a mess, and a very frustrated mommy.  During the latter half of the week things went better when I decided to do more schooling out of our school room, and also moved things that had previously been in our morning routine to later in the day when L is sleeping or more occupied.  Tonight AA recited Bible verses in the shower.  Normally, she had been doing that during our circle time, and L had been growing restless.

Homeschool Success:

Landon-  Several new words, and a couple of sentences too.  “Thank you Mama”  “Thank you Daddy”  “Thank you sissmama (sissy and mama)”, and today he said “Thank you JesDaddy” which was him trying to say ‘thank you Jesus’, but randomly throwing Daddy in there.  Also, if you ask him what the “A” says, he says “A says aaaahhhh”.  Not to mention, he is about the cutest thing I have ever laid eyes on.  He and his sister are neck and neck, and whoever is winning at any given moment happens to be the one who is being the best behaved.    Life is his school.  Learning about how things work, and boundaries are his lessons.  I would say he is doing quite well.

AA-  If I picked just one thing, I would have to say our finest moment this week was during reading time.  Our phonics instruction has almost become comical, as she is reading over my shoulder and answering questions before I even have the time to ask them.  She reads the teaching instructions as I am reading them to myself, sometimes at great speed.  I am going to keep on pushing through it, just because I want to make sure I haven’t missed anything, but as of right now, we could really do without it.  She has also recently learned how to “read with her imagination”, which is her terminology for reading in her head.    I will miss hearing her sweet mutterings from all over the house as she reads out loud, but I suppose I will also enjoy the quiet. 

Homeschool focus for next week:

I think I am going to dive into more of a unit study approach to all instruction for the holidays.  These next couple of weeks will be spent teaching about Thanksgiving, which will require a jump in History program, but that is ok.  It is interesting because I find that the further I get into the year, the more eclectic I become in my approach to schooling.  I really feel like I am growing as a homeschool mommy, like I am maturing beyond the pages of our curriculum, and beyond the walls of our classroom.

I might add a couple of pictures to this post later on, but for now I want to go ahead and get it posted.  If I don’t make the posts right away, they end up sitting in my saved drafts forever.

Many blessings from our family to yours!

 

 

 

 

 

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Letter to our Children

Posted by Mari Jo on November 4, 2011  about Family, 1 comment

Sadly, I have had insomnia the last two nights.  But fortunately, staying up until the wee hours of the morning provides me with some much needed time for reflection.  Tonight, like many, many nights, I am reflecting on our children, and how blessed I am to be their mother.  What better time to write a letter to them both letting them know how profoundly they are loved.

Dearest Daughter,

You have, and always will be such a joy to me.  There are days that I just look at you and wonder what my life would be like if God hadn’t blessed us with you.  From the moment you were born you lit up a room.  You still do that today.  As soon as you walk in, I can’t help but smile and feel so proud.  You are an immediate burst of fun, energy and sillyness!  Not only do you light up a room, but you light up our family.

You have such a natural sweetness, that is so evident to everyone around you.  Loving you is so easy, it comes so naturally, not only because you are my child, but because you are so stinking sweet!

Your sillyness, is off the charts!  I have never seen anyone who can be so silly all the time!  No matter what the situation, you find a way to make people laugh.

You are so kind and loving.  I am shocked every day at how loving you are to your brother.  In situations where I would expect you to feel jealous or irritated, you are kind and loving. If your brother is upset, you drop whatever you are doing to run and find him a toy to play with.  You cannot stand to see him in pain because you feel for him so deeply.  The depth that you feel for others always amazes me.  God has plans to use that love you have for others to do amazing things for His Kingdom!

You have such a deep love for the Lord.  I cannot tell you how much that blesses me!  To know that you love God, and have trusted Him as your Savior blesses me more than I can even describe!  The day you asked to receive Jesus into your heart will forever be etched into my memory, and will be cherished forever.

Your love and passion for learning makes teaching you new things so fun.  Teaching you is never a chore, because you love to learn!  It never ceases to amaze me at how quickly you pick up new things, and your hunger to learn the next thing!

There are days, where I think I must have kissed you a million times, and yet I still want to kiss you some more!  I am so proud to call you my daughter, and I cannot imagine a life without you in it.  You are, and forever will be, my punky-doodle!

 

Dearest Son,

How in the world did you ever get so cute?  I swear, it is like cuteness is just oozing out of every pour on your body.  From the moment you wake up, till the moment I lay you in the crib to fall asleep, you are nothing but cute.  Even your cries are cute.  They start with this ridiculously sad pouty lip, and almost always sound fake.

You are so easy to make laugh!  It takes nothing more than a silly sound, and a sideways glance from any of us and you just burst out laughing.  You are my little ‘pick me up’!  Whenever I am down, I can just look at you, and you immediately burst into a big grin.

I never knew how sweet little boys could be until I had you.  I so expected you to be so ‘rough and tumble’, and I am sure those days are coming, but for right now, you are such a little love-bug.  You come to me several times a day asking for kisses, and then when I give you one, you lean in for another and another.   How could I resist kissing something so sweet!

I love how much you love others.  You love to be with grandparents, aunts and uncles, really anyone who gives you a second glance!  You make everyone feel special with your sweet smile, and arms that are forever reaching out to be held.  What a blessing you are to all of us!

You are such a sweet little brother.  I love how you will just randomly drop whatever you are doing, and walk around sayings, “Sissy! Sissy!” until you find your sister and kiss her!  I love that you will randomly take toys to share with Sissy.  I love that you are so ‘into’ whatever she is doing.  I love that you love her so much, and miss her desperately when she is gone.  A few hours without Sissy at home is pure torture for you!

Your easy-going personality will serve you well as you get older, as it has served your father. Life with you is such a blessing!  You are such a sweet addition to our family and we are blessed beyond words to have you!

I love you both more than words can ever say!

Mommy

 

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Halloween 2011

Posted by Mari Jo on November 3, 2011  about Family, 1 comment

I must say, this year Halloween was much better than last year.  It was interesting to reflect on how far we have come in one year.  Last year three days before Halloween we were in Children’s Hospital with Landon.  I spent all night the night before Halloween sewing Landon’s lion costume because there was just no other time.  Thankfully, this year was much much better!  Instead of spending the days before Halloween in the hospital, we spent the days before Halloween at Disneyland!  What a difference a year makes!

Last year because we were so exhausted we didn’t even take pictures while doing our pumpkin carving.  This year, there was no way I was going to miss out on pictures again!  So here are some pictures!

So this year, I was still a bit short on time in regards to costumes.  I had done my shopping for the costumes prior to Disneyland, but had not started on the sewing at all!  So when we got home, after I gave myself a day to rest up from Mickey Mania, I dove into making the costumes head-first!

My favorite part of Halloween this year was when I was getting AA dressed, and she just couldn’t stop looking at herself in the mirror.  You could tell she really liked how she looked.  She made a lot of the decisions about the design of the costume, so she felt like it was truly her creation!

Landon was the sweetest little bee, and would make the “bzzzzz” sound when you asked him what a bee said!  He so enjoyed running around Mamaw and Papaws house with everyone there.  He loves to meet new people!

All in all, it was a special day.  I just want to soak in every moment, and never take one for granted.  Time flies so quickly, and I want to spend every opportunity making special memories as a family, and this is certainly one of them!  I feel so blessed every time I see a picture of our family.  What did I ever do to deserve this?  Absolutely nothing, it is all by the Grace of God.

 

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