My Cup Runneth Over

Home School

This is my favorite part of homeschooling...snuggling on the couch reading a great Sonlight book to the kid (or kids!) This right here makes the hard times worth it and the memories we build and the stories the kids hear...priceless.

Now...some in the family would say one of the advantages to homeschooling is the free time it gives them to read their own books and play video games. :) This is what recess looks like at our house!

 

Impromptu field trip to our neighbor's house when the fire truck came through! SO cool!

Government...Teenpact (it's educational and FUN)

P.E. and bible in the same classes.

Literature

Mid-morning snack (lots more fun in a tea cup!)

 

Ready for CHESS (optional enrichment academy classes that meet one day a week)

More field trips...science!

    

Centers :)

Not only art, but life and relational skills...

...lots of opportunity for those skills to be built!

  

Spelling, vocabulary and PE (if we count all the laughter!)

 

More PE and health (big doses of Vitamin D!)

 

 Nature journaling the nasty spider out front = science
 
 

Considering I didn't do a lot of Loe's science book work...we managed to work plenty of science in = field trip to local dairy and farm

Let's see...PE, history and socialization!

 

Outreach and cultural awareness

Definitely PE and bible (gotta memorize those verses!)

And even more science at the aquarium. And one of my favorites..Loe conquering the shoe-tying challenge!

We all have learned much this year, so much that we didn't get pictures of...regular book work, family devotions, driver's ed, jobs, church, volunteer work, frisbee, Disney, family, friends, and the list goes on and on. We LOVE homeschooling and I can NOT believe Chase will graduate in a couple of months!! 

Tae Kwon Do

Trevor, Hunter and Eloise have all been taking Tae Kwon Do at a local Christian school here in town - Miller's Academy. The instructor is fabulous with the kids! Recently Trevor re-injured his knee and Hunter decided to stop when Trevor did. For him it was more of a partial PE credit, but he had some fun beating up his dad in class. :) It was fun to watch Hunter do some martial arts again, still has those amazing and incredible HIGH kicks!

Loe is still going weekly and absolutely loving it. Her class is very small and so she gets a ton of attention. She just continues to amaze me at how eager she is to learn and how her confidence has grown. She is so outgoing now, it's almost hard to remember her when she was shy and scared of everything. She hates missing even a week of class. She quickly learns all the moves each cycle. She yells "yes sir" when it's appropriate and boldly recites her bible verses.  I can tell a difference in her balance, coordination, and hopefully she is gaining some self-defense techniques. She works hard at punching and kicking through boards. And her instructor points out in almost every class that she smiles non-stop the whole 30 minutes! Here are a few pics from a test a few months back.  

   
 
 

  
 
 

 
 
  
 

 

 

 

 

  

Steve

 Steve is our newest family member. He belongs to Hunter, though we all enjoy him immensely despite his extreme orneriness! This is one sweet, fiesty, loveable, funny, CURIOUS kitty! We brought him home about a week before Christmas. Chase's cat, Evie, hated him at first. But, then she became quite sick not long after he got here. And for a few days she did nothing but lay and sleep. Well, Steve took advantage of that and cuddled up next to her. By the time she was well she tolerated him a lot better! Sort of a blessing in disguise we decided.

He was such an adorable kitten - very distracting during the busy days leading up to Christmas when I should have stayed very busy shopping, wrapping and baking! He is a great diversion from serious homeschooling through out the day! We find him quite entertaining. I love all animals and have enjoyed having dogs all of my life. But, if I had to choose one pet - it would definitely be a cat. 

Here are some of the WAY too many pictures I've taken of him since he arrived. I always tell the kids that whoever is the current baby of the family is the one my camera will be pointed at the most - and animals are no exception.

  

  

 

 

   

 
 
 
 

  
  
 

  

 

 

    

  
  
 
 
 
 

 

    
 

 

   

Loveland Civil War Ball '09

Check out these seriously handsome soldiers! This was the second year the boys attended this ball. The company that puts on the ball is called You Can Live History and they do a fabulous job. I think it's the Agape Homeschool group that organizes the venue and sign-up, decorations and all of those details. (Mostly two women - and what a great job they do!) It truly is like a prom for homeschoolers - but with many differences (that we like!). It is very much a family affair. There are many father/daughter and brother/sister combos that arrive together. They encourage modesty and polite behavior. Many parents (like us) go to watch - and it's a great date night. We munch on goodies, take pics, visit and enjoy watching all of the kids. Some parents get in costume and dance. (Trev keeps trying to talk me into dancing - maybe next year!) It's quite the change from so many years ago when the boys took part in the Civil and Revolutionary War battle re-enactments. I remember mentioning that they also hosted balls and they had NO interest in attending those! Now an evening with friends, dancing with beautiful girls in big, beautiful dresses is a bit more appealing. ;) At the beginning of the dance they do a promanade where each girl/lady is announced, her dress is described and she is escourted down the isle. Some of the dresses are handmade, some bought, altered and some family heirlooms - one girl was wearing her Grandma's 50 year old wedding dress!

Here are most of the kids from our church posing - oh so serious.

Ah...this is more like it!

Sean and Scott are great friends - it was such fun that they attended the ball, too!

They are required to attend a class the morning of the ball to learn some of the basic steps to the many dances they will take part in that night. I'm so impressed - they did a great job! And the dance "announcer" ? is so great with this huge group of kids. And the band is so great - playing all the Civil War era tunes all evening long.

 

 

The boys danced with two very lovely ladies during the Waltz.  
   
   
  

 

The Hat Dance is such a hoot. The boys and girls form separate lines leading up to 3 chairs. A girl sits in the middle chair and the first two boys go sit on each side of her - each one trying to convince her to choose him to dance down the isle with him. She gives the hat to the one she doesn't choose - then he moves to the middle chair and 2 girls sit down and on and on it goes. Trevor was joking that the girls just couldn't resist a Collins man...each time our boys sat down they were the one that was chosen. It was pretty funny! Some of the guys get up and do a quick sword fight, or do some push-ups or just try hard to be very charming! It's the last dance of the night and a fun way to end the evening. Just to give an idea of how many people are there - I think there were about 20-30 people in our hat dance group and there are 5 or 6 other groups, plus many who choose to watch and not take part all around the edges of each group. The size of the ball, the band, the costumes and so many great friends make this one memorable evening. (And the girls had fun with Grandma!)

 

 

     
 
 
 
 
  
  
  

 

Homeschool

   

 

I really need to get better about some kind of official first day of school picture! Before we began homeschooling the boys - we always stood them out on the front step and took pictures of them on our way out the door on the first day of school. They were super cute - all slicked up in new school uniform clothes, fresh haircuts, new backpacks and lunch bags. I think we took a few first day of homeschool pics for the first couple years of school. But, then I slacked off! Last year thiswas Loe's first day. Though the post a couple days later show more of her school books and passion for learning! And this post talked about what the boys were up to. This year these are the only pictures I've taken so far of school! And it is actually of Loe's snacktime!(Note to self - take some more school pics!) Loe & Ren received these adorable tea cups and saucers from some friends. Loe thought it would be grand to have her snack served on those - each day last week! Makes a snack and some rice milk extra special.

So far Loe is doing great with first grade. I keep wondering if letting her start kindergarten when she was still 4 might catch up with her and we'll need to slow down. But, not so far. She is doing Sonlight's Core 1 - Intro to World History - which covers history, geography, bible, reading and language arts. We also are using Sonlight's science 1 along with more Handwriting Without Tears (she has probably used 4-5 of their books - she always wants to do several pages at each setting and since I don't feel like she's quite ready for cursive - I keep picking up more of the few printing books they have). She's using Horizons for math, Come Look With Me books for art and I picked up a Draw, Write, Now book at the conference that looked fun. I found a Nature Journal for her at the conference and she has already started using it and is loving it! She is also taking art, history of famous Christian people, choir, math concepts and soccer at CHESS this year! She's THRILLED to be able to stay all day and have lunch there with her friends! I find it very odd to think about dropping her off from 8-2! We'll see how a semester of this goes for her. We can always back off next semester. At this point her school day is still pretty short and so we can double up now and then and allow a full day off for classes at CHESS on Wednesdays. She is also going to be taking two hours of ballet and worship dance class on Friday afternoons along with Tae Kwon Do that continues on Thursday evenings. A fuller year then I envisioned - but I think Loe will handle it fine. We may back off next semester.

Chase is a senior - I just do NOT know how that happened! He is still working one morning a week with Trevor, but will probably look for a job as soon as he gets his license. He is also taking classes at CHESS - speech, creative composition and chemistry. And at home he's doing spanish, Sonlight's British Literature (he was SO happy to get back to Sonlight after taking a year off last year!), bible, math review along with finishing up Driver's Ed and hopefully attending TeenPact in the spring for government. We hope that we can make it work to send him to a Worldview Academy next summer - we have heard amazing things from other kids who have spent two weeks there. Chase isn't sure yet - but he's actually exploring the possibility of becoming a dentist. We're praying with him and for him as he seeks the Lord for direction. He and Trevor picked up a book about jobs and personalities at the homeschool conference and after going through that book - this is the job that is standing out the most to him right now. So exciting to think about what God has for Chase's future.

Hunter is already a sophomore! Though he has enjoyed many Sonlight cores over the years - he was ready for a break this year and is tackling the Notgrass US History that Chase used last year. The stack of books for literature is much shorter and it's more of a textbook/lesson/test type of curriculum. It covers history, English/literature and bible. That is appealing to Hunter right now. He's also taking Spanish here at home and will probably begin driver's ed soon as he's ready to get his permit! (Aaahhhh - two teenage drivers?!) He's taking speech, geometry and chemistry at CHESS. He's also planning to attend TeenPact. And he's doing Tae Kwon Do with Trevor this year. It could change - but right now Hunter is considering a career in computer hardware engineering. Whether or not he sticks with that direction or not - he mentioned that just having a goal has helped him to focus and buckle down with his studies. Motivation is a good thing. All in all looks like a great school year. We are reading Elisabeth Elliot's Passion & Purity together during family devotions in the morning. Trevor also reads some scripture each morning as well. We're looking into a new bible study that we can all do together - even Loe. That would be so fun!

As much as I get bogged down at times by my procrastination regarding paperwork and records (I bring a lot of that on myself by doing more then is required by the state or satellite school!) And even though we deal with attitude issues and occasionally ill-fitting curriculum - I STILL LOVE homeschooling! The blessings are abundant. If the boys were in school we'd see SO much less of them during these years and for our family that just wouldn't fit! We are looking forward school discussions, field trips, read alouds (kids are NEVER too old for that!) and more. We all love watching Ren discover the world around her - she is starting to say more and more words and loves to pretend to count and sings her own version of the ABC's! She tries to copy everything Loe is doing. What a hoot she is! Just today Loe was trying to do her math with Ren looking over her shoulder YELLING 'ice cream' over and over because there was a picture of an ice cream cone on Loe's math sheet! It cracked us up!

 

 

  

I miss these guys!

 

(And Trevor, too - but I don't have any new recent pics of him!) Below is the crew right before they left on Monday morning for Lake Powell. Four of the boys' buddies were able to go on this 10 day trip with them and they are having a fabulous time! Yesterday two of the dads and one older brother flew to Powell to join them for the weekend. Even though I miss them all a bunch, and I am really glad I am not a full-time single mom (Ugh - I don't know how those gals do it!)... I am SO glad they have this great opportunity every summer to go spend time with their Dad, Grandpa and sometimes other friends or family members. What memories they are building and they grow in their relationship to each other and the Lord. Their days consist of a TON of time on the wetbikes, tubing behind the boat, swimming, hiking, morning devotions and evening movies. Here is a couple shots of the girls saying good-bye. Eloise got pretty teary when Trevor told her goodbye the night before. She was glad to get out of bed just in time to grab another hug that morning. That girl has definitely fallen in love with her daddy more and more over the years. Such a change from 4.5 years ago when she wanted nothing to do with him in China! God is so good! The girls and I have been super busy visiting with friends, taking walks, shopping, seeing movies, swimming & going to parks. We're tired - but having fun! But, we'll all be glad to see these guys in a few days.

                          

 

 

Finished Kindergarten!

I don't have any fun pics to go with this post. And I have a hard time posting anything without pics! But, to keep up our family diary - I thought I better talk about finishing Loe's first official year of school! I admit - even though we had  been homeschooling for years before Loe started school, I was a bit intimidated by the idea of starting at the very beginning with our girls. The boys came home with the basics already - knowing how to read, write and do some basic math. Our first year with them was awesome! We had a blast together. But, I wasn't so sure this year would be as smooth with Loe. Don't get me wrong - I was also really excited to use Sonlight with her and get to read all of those great books together.

Well, my worries (though few) were unnecessary - it was a great year! Even with bringing home a very busy baby girl a month before I hoped to start school. Not a huge deal - we just started a few weeks later. Then we had to start packing to move about that same time. After we got here and settled in, that busy baby soon turned into an even busier toddler! On top of that Miss Ren switched to one nap a day and it was NOT a longer nap - we're lucky if she sleeps more then an hour and fifteen minutes in the afternoon! Talk about challenging. But, in all situations God is working and He used this to mold me and grow Ren. I realized today as we finished up her last two books that Ren is starting to play more and more on her own around us - sometimes without getting into trouble every 30 seconds! Victory! Or at least baby steps to victory! I'll take what I can get with this precious bundle of determination, orneriness and laughter!

Chase has become more independent every year and his personality is such that he thrives in that situation. It's a bit more of a challenge for Hunter - in part because he is younger and doing some subjects a year ahead and in part because his personality is much different. This next year Trevor and I plan to do things a bit differently regarding his schedule and interaction with us. Our goal is always to start at the beginning of August (in reality it's usually anywhere from that point all the way to October some years depending upon our situation, curriculum and schedule!) Then we take some time off in the fall, time off at Christmas and extra time off after New Year's (I LOVE that!) and some time off in the spring. We work to finish everything up by the end of June and take all of July off. The boys and Trevor are usually headed to Lake Powell for a week that month, it's hot and everybody feels a lot like swimming and goofing off and less like doing school. So, it's a good time for a month - long break.

The boys are now done with some subjects and have a couple more that will probably take them until the end of June to complete. Having just a few subjects finished lightens their load and allows more time for sleeping in some days, goofing off with friends, reading extra books and soon swimming! Eloise and I finished up her last school books today! And I must say she had a great year! Despite all of the interruptions and life not going at all like we envisioned. God must have known I'd need an easier student since I have two big kids to focus on as well as Ren - who is not so easy! Sonlight Kindergarten was a hit. There were a few books that I read which went over her head. But, mostly she enjoyed the stories and discoveries we made together.  She loved science - but I admit we only did a few experiments and read the books. I don't know how many times she watched the science and math dvd we bought this year to go along with her book work - I"m thinking that rounded things out for her!

She completed her two math workbooks - but we left the extra worksheets to use as review over the summer and to help reinforce some subjects that aren't concrete in her mind yet. She likes math and seems to grasp most of it fairly well. A year and a half ago we started Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. It was sometime before her 4th birthday. She was ready and we enjoyed it. But, it became sporadic over the winter and we might have made it about 2/3 of the way through by spring. When our referral for Ren came in early May and trip prep took over my life - the book got put on the shelf. I ordered Sonlight's Kindergarten and 1st grade language arts, thinking one of those would be a good fit for her. Turns out 1st grade seemed a bit above her regarding the writing expectations (some dictation/copy work focusing on simple punctuation and grammar) and the kindergarten level seemed way too easy (focusing on teaching her the letters and sounds). So, for a while we didn't do anything. Then I decided to pull that 100 Easy Lessons book off the shelf and finish it up. That was perfect. She moved through it and we finished that today as well. She is so excited to be reading more and more. What an absolute joy to see that light come on! I feel like I missed this with the boys (though we helped Hunter out quite a bit between kindergarten and 1st grade - to help him get where he was "supposed" to be at that age/class level. Ugh - after watching 3 kids learn in different ways at different times - it's even more frustrating to think back on classrooms that forced them to fit in to where the majority of the other 25-30 kids were at. But, on the flip-side - what a blessing to allow our kids to learn at their own pace.)

This summer we will continue doing a handwriting page, math page and some reading at least a few days a week - just to keep things fresh and keep learning or reinforcing the lessons Eloise learned this past year. I have some work to do - catching up on grading and data entry for records and transcripts. But, that will happen in time and for once it's not bugging me that I'm behind on it. (Not sure if that is good or not!) We are looking forward to moving this summer - as soon as God provides the place and we feel like He is leading in the timing of our move. So, we look forward to next year - Chase will be a senior and I can't even really wrap my mind around that right now. Way too strange, exciting and sad all together! Hunter will be a sophomore - thankful we have 3 more years with him! And then we'll have a little 1st grader and an older toddler! Ren will turn 2 in October and while I can't even begin to want to rush these kids even one bit (they grow up way too fast as it is!) I do think the older she gets the easier it will be to teach Loe. I'm looking forward to checking out the Preschool Activities in a Bag and hoping she'll reach an age soon where she won't want to eat all of the activities - even if they aren't supposed to be edible! :)

We are so thankful to have the opportunity to homeschool and spend this precious time with our kids. Let me tell you - it goes by WAY too fast - so enjoy your kids, enjoy learning with them and exploring so many things together. And if you are even considering homeschooling - GO FOR IT!!! We'll be here to help and support you in any way we can - or at least point you in the right direction!

Tae Kwon Do

                        

Eloise, Hunter and Trevor are all taking Tae Kwon Do together at a small, Christian school here in town. The boys both achieved the rank of Junior Black Belt when they went through the Kenpo Karate program a few years ago. Chase was in for over 4 years and Hunter for over 6. It was so good for them - to work towards the goal they set for themselves. They both liked having a few years off. The school they were in was pretty intense with 2-3 classes per week. Chase is hoping to find an affordable Jujitsu program - as that was his favorite part of their last karate school. Hunter still has those amazingly high kicks and because of his years spent at another school - the instructor is allowing him to test for a few belts at a time. So, he is already a green belt! Way to go Hunter!! Trevor is enjoying the exercise and fellowship with the others in his class as well as the time with Hunter. (I have pics of all three at their test, but I was only able to go to Loe's belt award ceremony. Chase took pics at Trevor and Hunter's class - but they aren't on my computer yet.) Loe, continues to amaze us all with her enthusiasm for new adventures like this. She loves Tae Kwon Do! They have to memorize scripture and she is enjoying that. She knows her moves and has quite the loud shout to go with each punch and kick! The teacher and several parents have commented on the way her smile lights up the room and how it rarely leaves her face!

Loe is one of two girls in the 'Tiny Tigers' class. They have quickly become good friends. It's so cute watching them together when they aren't in class - giggling and brushing each other's hair. Ren enjoys watching the classes and really had fun during the test - playing with all of the boards they each broke. Everybody got to punch through and kick through a board. Because Hunter was testing for 3 belts - he had to break 6 boards! And you also get a glimpse of Trevor's lovely black eye! No...I didn't do it! It wasn't Ren kicking him in bed (which she does do to us on a regular basis!) and it wasn't a karate incident - it happened at his softball game! He's such a hunk - black eye or not! I love that smile! :) 

                      

                        

                         

                        

                        

                      

belated party pics

                       

We celebrated Hunter & Teresa's birthdays a few weeks ago. But, as I'm working on trying to organize photos (and haven't made it very far!) I just realized these never got posted. It was our first family party of the year and so we it was great catching up with each other and watcing the kids have a blast together. (This was a few days after the corner of a wall jumped out and hit Loe in the face!)

                         

                        

                          

                                 

                      

Do Hard Things

                   

The boys have attended the Rebelution Conference twice and have both been challenged and enjoyed it each time. Alex and Brett Harris started their blog a few years ago and it grew quickly. Their big theme is to challenge teens to rebel against society's low expectations. It is impressive to hear these two speak and their book is excellent. Chase bought it and discovered there is a study guide to download. So, he instigated a bible study with some friends. We meet twice a month with 5 other kids along with various parents and younger siblings (who go play with Loe). Chase leads the discussion, which is so great because it stretches him out of his comfort zone a LOT! The parents try to let the kids do the talking. But, do jump in now and then with (hopefully!) bits of wisdom for these kids.

It can be easy at times to be so negative and critical of my kids. I slip into times of wishing they were more like this or less like that, focusing on their weaknesses instead of their strengths. But, watching them all share and become more open with their group; challenging each other to " do hard things" reminds me that God is doing a work in their lives. They really are good kids! I am blessed!