This has been a proud week for us.  I think I forget sometimes that one of the important purposes of our homeschooling is to raise kids who love Jesus and can function in our world which is full of people who do not.   This can be accomplished through school at home or through regular school.  Some of you who read my blog know that we have two children in a local Christian school.  One was in second grade this year and the other was in K5. 

So here’s a few pictures from last night.  One I tried to snap of the entire family since we were looking so dapper and several of our
all A’s Graduate!
(yep grandparents you can be proud of your next to the littlest!)





(Can I also add as a side note that taking photos inside a building is horrible.  I don’t know how you guys who take wedding photos do it.  I don’t think I ever got the lighting correct!  Then we went outside and it just got worse because I had 4 people waiting for me in the car and didn’t get to change any camera settings.)

Today is partly about confession.  There is something we do as a family that I hesitate to tell people sometimes, especially homeschool moms because I know how tired we all are.  With that said my confession is this….We have a housekeeper.  Yep, an angel descends on our house once every two weeks and makes sure the toilets are scrubbed, the shower isn’t growing things and that my boy’s bedroom doesn’t have 1/2 an inch of dust covering it or mold growing underneath the beds.

See more Works for me Wednesday (or today’s Doesn’t Work for me Wednesday) posts here.

Yesterday we took a field trip to Paris Mountain State Park where we did a little hiking.  Here are a few pictures from the day:

The Gang:  My four plus friend Dakota

Son #3 plus Dakota (eating lunch on the trail)

I love this picture because Baby Girl has the funniest expressing on her face.  They are taking turn drinking water from the water fountain.

The ferns were sprouting their new growth and Baby Girl thought they were so cool, "like little babies, mama!".  She kept stopping to Ohh and Ahh over them and to pet them into existence!

Have a great Friday!!!

…we get to do school in our PJ’s on a pillow!

This past Wednesday we took a trip to Charlotte to visit the Discovery Place.  It is an awesome place filled with so many different things.  My kid’s favorite part of the entire trip was the Norman Rockwell exhibit.  They loved (get this!) the old timey telephones!  Rotary dial, no doubt!!!  There were phones scattered throughout the exhibit and you could call from one place to another.  There were also period costumes, artwork, rooms set up in the era.  Very, very cool!  With all the hands on things to do at the Discovery Place I was so surprised the kids liked the Norman Rockwell exhibit as much as they did.  We also got to hold a madagascar hissing cockroach (nope, not me!), a millipede, and look at a tarantula close up…all which were part of the Rain Forest exhibit.

Baby girl with one of Norman’s "real life" paintings…

Two of mine and a friend in the Ford from the Rockwell era….

My middle son and daughter in the AIR CHAIR…

And baby girl again checking out this guy’s hiney….(must be the age!)

If you live anywhere close I highly recommend the trip!!!
Julie

I have a confession to make.  I’d rather take great pictures than Photoshop them afterwards.  Something about the instant gratification of picture taking suits me much better than hours on Photoshop.  I like to vacuum too.  Instant, man, instant!

Whew…..
With that said here is are a few pictures from today.

I call this one “My Contemplative Painter”

Have a great day.
Julie

Yesterday we went to one of our favorite spots for a field trip.  My husband went with us which was a treat for me and for the kids.  The day ended up being overcast so the mountain stream was frigid!!  The kids enjoyed getting freezing wet but I think next time I’ll wait for a nice "sun-shiney" day.

Have a great day!
julie

This week we have gotten two new musical instruments at our house.  One I do not have a photo of yet but the other I do.  My oldest son even brought it to the park today to show one of his friends.  So, since you couldn’t join us for our wonderful, one of a kind, 70 degree day, here’s a snapshot of today.  Hope you all had wonderful weather too!!

I wondered if any of you have some suggestions to help with reading fluency or decoding for a 3rd grader.  My son is reading at the 3rd grade level and is doing well but his fluency and rate of speed are quite low which frustrates him.  If you have any tricks that have helped or know of a program that I can use please let me know.