OUTSIDE PLAYTIME

Here are some pictures of the kids playing outside today. It has been so hot that we haven't been outside much this summer. We are all going stir crazy and the kids have been wild. It wasn't quite as hot today, so I let the kids run off some of that endless energy outside.

FIRST DAY OF HOMESCHOOL

It has been a crazy day. We felt God leading us to homeschool Olivia so today was her first day of Kindergarden. It was a real challenge trying to have school with Isaac. I tried to have school while Isaac was taking his nap, but we didn't get everything done. Being the first day, I think everything took longer than it normally would. I think once we get in a set routine and I get use to what I am doing, it will go quicker. There really isn't a lot of book work with Kindergarden, at least not with the curriculum. I am doing suplemental things that I can do in the mornings and include Isaac in. For example, we can go on nature walks outside and learn about different kind of animals and plants. That is something that Issac can participate in. Physical activity time can also include Isaac. It is when we are required to have sit down instructional time is when we need quiet, which we do not get when Isaac is around. Today has also been challenging as far as discipline goes with Isaac, so that has made it harder for me to focus and concentrate on school too. It was just hard to get everything done today. Washing clothes, fixing meals, cleaning the kitchen, going grocery shopping, having school time. All Isaac did all day was complain and whine and then I had trouble getting everything done in school time. To top it all off, Eddie came home complaining that supper wasn't ready yet. I know that it was late. It was 7:30 when he got home and he did call me an hour ahead of time to let me know he was leaving work. He has an hour and 15 minute drive, so I had plenty of a warning that I needed to start supper. I had so much that I was trying to get finished though that I lost track of time and he was home before I realized what time it was. Oh, I AM SO STRESSED! There are a lot of other things going on in our family that I don't feel comfortable discussing on the blog. Please pray for us.


Other than having trouble with getting our timing and schedule down to get everything done, school went very well. Olivia did very well with everything. Our curriculum has five subjects: Science, Social Studies, Word Building, Math, and English. To celebrate the first day of school, we made a back to school brownie cake. Olivia made it. She measured out the ingredients, cracked the eggs, and mixed it in the bowl. It tasted GREAT! I was so proud of her and she was so excited!

OLIVIA'S NEW BEDROOM DESIGN

Olivia has been begging me for months to paint her bedroom blue. Blue and purple are her favorite colors. We redesigned her room and got her a new butterfly comforter, purple curtains and turquoise wall color. My cousin and I painted it this weekend and we surprised Olivia with the completed room. She loves it! I was a little nervous about painting her room at first because her walls are paneling that has never been painted before. I thought it was going to be really hard, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The most challenging part was getting the paint it the groves between each strip of panelling. It wasn't hard at all to get the paint to stick to the wall. With the new Kiltz paint, it is a much easier process than before. I didn't even have to sand the panelling. I just put on a thin coat of Kiltz water-based primer and then it only took one coat of Kiltz color paint. Here are some pictures of the finished room.