1. Allergy-Friendly (egg-free!) pimento cheese | 2. Mama Ann, Middle Girl & her newest great-grandchild | 3. Teaching Textbooks Math before the pool | 4. Kindergartener and Rod & Staff G, H, I books | 5. Annual First Day of School Photo | 6. Pool fun | 7. Post-grocery snack | 8. Time to make the yogurt | 9. Nature Study – Summer Weather | 10. Visiting Nana’s doggies | 11. A whole city in the family room | 12. Homemade pickles! 13. Nature Study – Buzzy Insects | 14.’The Map’ of Thomas & Friends trains| 15. SunButter smoothies | 16. Apologia Science & Microscope!
I am loving Camera Phone Friday hosted by Dawn at My Home Sweet Home!
We’re back to school! A bit bumpy but a start. Like I shared last week, our first homeschool week we start with just the basics. Our ‘Before 8:45‘, Math then we head to the pool! We took our annual first day of school photo!
Bible Study: Part of our Before 8:45 is quiet time with the Lord. I thought I’d share the study each of the children are enjoying.
- Littlest Guy (Pre-K): Bible Pictures to Color, Rod & Staff
- Kindergartener: The Early Reader’s Bible
- Fourth Grader: 365 Daily Devotionals for Kids (can’t find the exact one but here are lots of choices at Christianbook, Answers for Kids Vols 1-4
- Seventh Grader: Answers Books 1,2,3
- Eighth Grader: 100 Days of Prayer for Teens we picked up at the LifeWay Store
- We also touch on Polished Cornerstones, Plants Grown Up and enjoy Evening Family Journaling (More on these in Bible Study and Character Training and Simple Schooling Strategies)
Curriculum answers: Since I shared our curriculum choices last week, I’ve been on the look out for Apologia Science, Exploring Creation Through Biology to study with our eldest two. Thinking we’d need to wait until a later month to purchase it, I was surprised when it became available in one of my homeschool loops. The Lord does indeed provide. All we needed and more – including a microscope – for what I had planned to pay for only a portion!! Big shout out there!!
I’ve been struggling with the foreign language decision. I have a Latin background so I also decided to go with English From the Roots Up thanks to a post and reviews I read from Barb-Harmony Art Mom and Cindy West. That, along with our Science Roots will surely keep us busy in vocabulary and language. We may add Rosetta Stone Spanish later in the year. We’ll see. Here’s a link to all our curricula choices: Hodgepodge Curricula 2011-2012.
Nature: We finished up two really fun nature studies this week. Summer weather and buzzy insects.
Cooking Fun: We were busy! homemade pickles, slow cooker yogurt, allergy friendly pimento cheese and smoothies (links to recipes, above). Even Fried Green Tomatoes at $5 Dinners. Plus, last Saturday, I did an impromptu Back-to-School Big Cook just so we’d have some easy favorites ready for the first couple weeks. Oh that helps so much to be able to pull from the freezer!
Folks, they grow up fast. That’s 7th and 8th graders above. *sniff*
We’re slowly getting back into a routine. How about you?
It really is all about relationships isn’t it. With God, with others-and yes, they do grow up fast.
~Blessings
Stopping by for Camera Phone Friday! My you are a busy woman! I am for certain going to have to try the pimento cheese and pickle recipes, yum yum! And what a sweet shot of the wee one with her great-grandma, so special. Have a great day!
Wow, they do grow up fast!! I like the photos, so cute!! Good idea to start slowly and gradually work into it. Have you learned that over the years? I am new to that concept, will try it first this year.
Love how the first day of school pic has someone in a swimsuit…so a homeschooling family! None of that dressed to the hilt in uncomfortable clothes pretty pics! Too funny.
Dusti – Definitely about relationships! Anna-Leigh – let me know how you like the pimento cheese and pickles…Kay – yes, starting slowly is something I learned from a homeschool veteran friend with 8 children. Helps (some) to avoid the crash and burn 🙂 Amy – yes, swimsuits because we head to the pool right after math! (and even sometimes wave at the school bus if we get there early enough).
I have heard that school starts early in the south. Our public school doesn’t start for another month. You have had a very busy week! So many things going on…it looks like it could have been a month! So much fun and good business. I love the look of your pickles! You will enjoy Apologia Biology and it will go nicely hand-in-hand with your nature study.
oh my goodness – that photo is precious !! We do pool 1st and then start homeschooling around 10:30am – get some of that energy out !
I have a blog award for you over at my blog…
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Sounds like a fun week! We will start on Monday as it is simply too hot to do anything else! lol They grow up entirely too fast in my opinion. 🙂
Look at the flashback picture!! Awesome!!
Sounds like the first week was great. I love your early morning quiet time idea.
Today was our first day back.
Popping in from the wrap-up.