Back to School 2012!

Morgan, age 5 (birthday 1/22/07) First Grade 2012-2013 school year

 

Jaden, age 8 (birthday 8/5/04) Third Grade 2012-2013 school year

 

I had to photograph the girls for their Friday School badges, and this is what I got.  Though we do home school all year long, many activities are only available to us during the school year.  We are starting back in all of the school activities.

 

Friday School starts on September 21st, and will be every Friday until the end of November.  Morgan will be taking kindergarten classes there with her friends.  Jaden will be taking Character Traits class, Team Building, and Alphabet Arts.  Their classes were very picked over by the time we got to pick because we took a 2 year break from the cooperative.  Next semester, they will have more choices. 

 

GEMS girls' club starts back up this coming Wednesday.  Morgan is still not old enough to attend, but Jaden will be a part of the group.  She is very excited for it to start,

 

AWANA starts back on September 10th.  Jaden will be in Truth and Training and Morgan will be in Sparkies.  They are both a little anxious to start because their friends will be in the groups younger than them.  Most of Jaden's friends will still be Sparkies and Morgan's friends will still be Cubbies.

 

We are ready to get started with all of these activities.  Looking at the schedule exhausts me, but it will be fun. 

It is HOT out here!!

The splash pads have opened just in time!!  It is in the 90's now, but it feels like 100 degrees!  I took the kids to the splash pad to cool off.  The walk there was hot, so we will drive next time.  Once we got there, it was perfect!  Thank God for water!

GEMS~ Girls Everywhere Meeting the Saviour

GEMS Girls Clubs:  Most people have never heard of GEMS.  It is not a widely recognized group like Girl Scouts.  It is pretty small, but they are international.  The club that Jaden is in meets during the school day.  All 40+ girls are homeschooled and between the ages of 6 and 16. 

The mission of GEMS is: "GEMS Girls' Clubs seeks to equip women and girls to live radically faithful lives—doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God."

The youngest girls are in grades 1 to 3.  This is called the "Awareness" level.  They discuss an important story in the bible and how they can relate it to themselves.  The purpose is for them to learn how God works and how He loves them.  They participate in crafts, songs, games, and friendship. 

Jaden will not go on to the next level until 4th grade.  The "Discovery" level goes deeper into self-discovery and working for Christ.  This group earns badges by showing their faith in God and discovering their talents.  They, also, participate in crafts. songs, games, friendship, and leadership.

The "Advanced" level girls are 7th and 8th graders.  They have unique curriculum based on Esther.  This teaches them to live a God-centered life.  They, also, focus on self-esteem and not falling into peer pressure.  They begin helping the counselors with the younger girls during sharing time to prepare for being counselors and leaders one day.

I like that the aim of this club is to keep a tight-knit group of girls that help each other follow God and his teachings.  In a world so full of negatives, this is a polar opposite! 

GEMS web-site

Service Project #2

The 2nd service project for Jaden's GEMS club is today!  They are decorating boxes for the local food pantry.  The boxes will be filled with food to fill hungry bellies for the holidays.  We filled 2 boxes with food as our contribution.  It included veggies, gravy, jello-o, rice, beans, etc. 

In a couple of hours we will be headed to the GEMS meeting where the girls will decorate and fill boxes.  How fun is that?!

Meet Charlee

Check out this cutie!  His personality is even cter than his face =)  Jaden and Morgan are infatuated with him.  We got him on Saturday, and they have been spoiling him ever since!!!  He is a Chorkie (a Yorkshire Terrier mixed with Chijuajua).  He may get to about 8 to 10 pounds which is perfect for us.  He doesn't eat much and he is full of energy.  We named him Charlee from one of the girls' favorite t.v. shows "Good Luck, Charlie". 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Homeschool!

We have had so much fun learning hands on!! (Yes, I said "we" because I am learning almost as much as Morgan and Jaden are!) We have been all over the place, but I haven't been posting- so sorry! I have a lot of catching up to do!

In the beginning, Jaden struggled with seatwork. I say this because even if she sat down to do the work in workbooks and things, she did not retain anything she had learned. I revamped their homeschool experience, and all of us have enjoyed it much more. We are doing hands-on as much as possible. It is wild how when Jaden is doing something at the same time learning is taking place, she can tell me all that I said!!

This picture on this post is from the museum we went to and learned about pioneers. Jaden and Morgan asked the curators all kinds of questions, and I could tell their minds were running a mile a minute.

So, I will be posting shortly about some of our fun adventures in life and homeschool. Stay tuned!!

A Visit with Ronald

Working from home has major advantages!! For one, I can work anywhere there is a wi-fi connection. McDonalds has become a hot spot because the girls can play while I work. I let them stay for an hour or two, and I get an hour or two of work done.

Keeping the Peace

Coming to a town near you, policewoman Jaden and policewoman Morgan. Watch out because they are siren happy!
This policeman was super-cool. He showed the girls all of the buttons they could push. They even got to talk through the speaker and tell people to pull over. It was hilarious!

Putting out Fires

Like I said there is always something to learn almost everywhere you go! Learning is so much fun! The girls enjoyed checking out the fire truck and seeing how the fire men put out fires. They even had a pretend house with fake fire for the kids to put out with a big hose. Pretty cool! It is events like these that give children ideas for future careers.

Starting from Seeds

We have started some seeds for spring and summer flowers. These should turn out really pretty as soon as they grow some :o) All of the seeds came from an Earth Fest we attended. We want to be a part of making the Earth beautiful!

Jaden and the Snake

Every day I learn something new. Every day I learn at least one new thing about my girls. I took them to another Earth Fest and found out that Jaden likes snakes! Eeeeeeewwwww!

Mother's Day Crafts at Friday School

On the last day of school, I read books about mothers, and the kids made gifts for their mothers. The girls painted ladybug picture frames and the boys painted snail frames. Then, every one made a bracelet out of beads.

I am going to miss my class, and I know Morgan will, too. All of the children will be moving up to the PreK group this fall. I had the option to teach that group. I was going to instead teach the elementary students... However, after more thought, I have decided that we will sit this next school year out.

Instead of going to Friday school, the girls are going to pick an activity or two of something that they would like to learn to do at the community center. There are all kinds of classes. Morgan really wants to play soccer, so that may be one of her classes. Jaden loves art, so she might have some kind of art class.

Drawing at Friday School

At the Friday School showcase, the drawing teacher displayed 1 drawing of each child. Jaden had one of her practice sheets up. Just like "open house" in public school, all of the kids were proud to show off what they had been doing this semester to their parents, grandparents, etc.

Woodworking at Friday School

The Spring 2010 semester has come to an end, and we went to the Friday School showcase. Jaden got to show off the different items she has made this semester in woodworking. The most fun one is the game above that she made as the very last thing in class. I think she is going to miss this class- Especially since we aren't returning next semester.

Little Entrepenuers

You have to stick your tongue out when you pour lemonade or you will spill it! LOL!

The girls wanted to have a lemonade stand... So, I decided it was time for a garage sale. I did the garage sale while they sold lemonade and muffins. They sold quite a bit of lemonade in the morning, but the afternoon was pretty empty. When people stopped buying lemonade, they got bored with the idea and went on to something else!

The Carousel at the Zoo

Jaden had been on a carousel once at the fair when she was only 2 years old, so of course, she does not remember it. Morgan has never been on one, and I was anxious to see how she would resond because fake animals scare her. As you can see, she had fun and wasn't scared at all. James was on a horse right next Jaden. Aunt amy had to stand next to James, and I had to stand next to Morgan because they were too short to ride alone. It was a great way to wrap up our zoo adventure!

Checking Out the Animals at the Zoo

Fun times at the zoo!