Lucy

We are now in our 4th week of school.  Madeline has been working hard.  We usually do school in the afternoons when Oliver is at pre-school and Eloise is taking a nap.

  So, what does Lucy do during this time?  Here's a few ways that she keeps busy during school time.  A lot of times, a white board can keep her happy for a long time.  It helps her to ponder life   

and to draw her adorable stick people with their legs coming straight out of their heads.  

She really enjoys playing with her Little People.  And sometimes she gets distracted with her favorite books.  Right now she loves to find the little Beatrix Potter books at the library.  I'm not sure she loves the stories as much as the size of the book.  

Glueing is always a fun activity.  Sometimes she needs to be reminded that the glue was not made purple so that we color with it.  

Pattern block pictures

And the kinetic sand, which always makes Madeline jealous.  

Usually Lucy enjoys hanging out around us, but still in her own little world.  

Tiny Dancer

Lucy has always loved dancing.  She loves to throw her hands up in the air and twirl around like a ballerina.  So, when she turned 3, we knew we needed to sign her up for ballet lessons.  

We headed to The Little Gym, where Madeline went several years ago.

I think she may be the youngest dancer in the class.  But, she listens and follows directions so well.  

 She is careful to make her feet turn the right way and to move her legs like her teacher, Ms. Michelle.  

 She pays very special attention.  And then when she gets to the window at the other side of the room, she will give me a quick wave with a huge smile.  So precious.

Last week, Ms. Melissa (who remembers all of our names from when Madeline was at The Little Gym 3 years ago) let Madeline, Oliver and Eloise play in the gym during Lucy's lesson.  It was a special treat.

Lucy finished her dance class with a little ballet and then some time in the gym as well.  I think Eloise may have to join her in a few years.  She can't help but dance when she hears any music.  

Oliver's First Day of Preschool

Oliver had his first day of preschool last Tuesday.  He kind of wanted to stay home and do school with Madeline.  But, I think he had a great time at his school.  

We tried to get a picture with all 4 kiddos.  But, Eloise was having none of that.  

This is as good as we could get.  

Madeline took our picture for us.  

We made it to school.

Here's Madeline 2 years ago in the same spot.  And little Oliver trying to be a part of it as well.  Now he gets his turn.

Oliver found his name and began playing right away.  

Eloise made sure he was ok.   I don't think he was having any problems though.  

  Can't believe this little guy will be old enough for Kindergarten next year!

Preschool for Oliver

We went to Oliver's preschool on Thursday to meet his new teacher.  

We got to find his cubby, play with some trains and puzzles and play on the playground a little bit.  

We were sad that Madeline's preschool teacher from a few years ago is no longer teaching at this preschool.  But, I think Mrs. Hanus will be great.  

School starts on Tuesday.  

First Day of School

We started first grade yesterday.  It is really weird that I have a first grader.  But, Madeline just keeps growing up and she is such a joy to be around.

Here is a little flashback to this day last year when she was starting Kindergarten.  I liked my flowers way better.  I'll have to remember that next spring.   

Lucy and Eloise were still sleeping.  Since I didn't have to wake them up to get Madeline to school, I just let them sleep.  Oliver was excited about Madeline's first day of school too.  

 He helped take pictures as well.  

Then Madeline took a few too.  Oliver is not going into first grade.  He will be starting preschool next week.  

We started our day with Bible time and breakfast.  Then we had calendar time, read some history, practiced handwriting and did some writing about our summer.

We learned about open and closed syllables.  

We had snacks and tried to keep Eloise occupied with snacks.  

Oliver did calendar time and a little handwriting practice with us.  But, soon lost his enthusiasm for first grade.   He and Lucy went off to play some elaborate cars game in the other room.  

We ended our day with Mad Minute and our first math lesson.  

Then Madeline said, "That was really long."  I told her that if she was at school, she would just now be going to lunch.  She gave me a big hug and said, "Thanks for homeschooling me mommy."  So, despite having to grab Eloise off the stairs several times and the trail of snacks left around the floor, I think we had a fantastic first day of school.  

Getting Ready for School

Well, we decided to take the plunge and give homeschooling a try.  We were not unhappy with Madeline's public school experience at all.  In fact, we loved her school and teacher.  But, for many other reasons and promptings in our hearts, we are choosing to do first grade at home.  And I am so excited.  We wanted to make a special place for schooling.  So, thanks to IKEA and a little child labor, we have a great room to work in.  

Andrew is mad at me because we used to own a giant glowing globe.  But, I made him get rid of it when we lived in our condo.  There just wasn't room for it.  So, he lucked out when he searched on craigslist for a globe and found this glowing beauty. And it is a much more manageable size. 

 

 Andrew has also been looking for a way to get his fish tanks back in the house since we moved here.  And we both thought the homeschooling room would be the perfect spot.  Even Eloise can say "fish" now.  It adds the perfect touch to our science center, right next to the microscope.   (Which, thankfully, gets the microscope out of the kitchen.  yipee!)     

I think we are all set for school now.