{iPhone Rewind} :: August

Wrapped up another great summer with our women's book club...so thankful for these sweet ladies!

Maddie lost her 2nd tooth! Poor Eli still doesn't have any loose...

Showing off his model car {which has been superglued countless times}

Maddie LOVES to wear bows...like as many as she can get into her hair haha. Grandma helped her with these ones, but she will usually insist on doing it herself :)

While the kids and I played with Grandma and Papa, Mike got to spend a week in the mountains with these men. Thankful for the relationships and ministry experience represented here.

Mama and her babies crossing the road around the corner from our house

His "crown of thorns"

Making a mess bear traps...

$1 soft pretzels = perfect distraction for our Sam's Club shopping trip

Mrs. Jeanne found the perfect hat for Aiden! "AAA Recycling and Trash Removal Service"

Out little engineer coming up with all the fun contraptions :)

The middle of August and we're already starting to see glimpses of cooler weather! Now that I have experienced real seasons, I am definitely a fan; come on Fall!

We're working on adding some family chores...right now, they fight over who gets to sweep. We'll see how long that lasts :)

"Just Because" flowers are the best

Does the rolling cart make me an "official" homeschooling mom?? Haha

Me: Maddie, why do you have Eli's underwear?

Maddie: Because Eli Bear needs a pillow. Please, mommy?

We got to play at Cox Farms!

Just hanging at the playground...

Gotta love her style :)

Brushing Mommy's hair :)

Game time with Daddy!

When you need a bunch of coins for Kindergarten during a national coin shortage, and Grandma and Papa come in at the 11th hour with the perfect mail delivery!

"I made some spicy salads, Mommy." Gotta love his imagination! Also, how are the leaves already falling??

Story time with Mama

National Eat Outside Day!

McCullough Schoolhouse :: Kindergarten + Pre-K

Today was our first day of {home}school! Eli and Maddie started Kindergarten, and Aiden started Pre-K :)

We had a yummy breakfast to kick off the school year, and then we had to take the obligatory First Day Photos! I am not even sending them off to school, and my Mama-heart was still struggling with how quickly the last 5 years have gone...

My cutie Kindergarteners!

Love this crew so much!

Photo with the teacher {aka Mommy} :)

We even got a photo with the principal {aka Daddy} ;)

Last year, we did a more formal Pre-K curriculum, and I mapped out the whole year before we started. It was a big undertaking at the outset, but it really helped me to stay on task and have minimal prep as we faced each new week. So I decided to do that again this year. It also helped to spread out the cost of books and supplies. I was able to shop for deals and not have to pay full price for what we needed! #winning

The biggest changes for this year are that we will be doing school for 4 or 5 days {instead of the 3 we have been doing}, though we won't be doing every subject every day. I'm planning just for mornings, so it still gives us some flexibility if we need to miss days, rearrange lessons, play catch up, etc.

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Here's a look at what we will be learning this year! By default, Aiden is going to be doing {most} everything with Eli and Maddie. I have a few things that are specifically tailored for his age, but he hung in pretty well with Eli and Maddie last year, so I don't anticipate him needing too much adjustment. But that's the beauty of homeschool...we can figure it out as we go! :)

Morning Time/Bible: This time is going to consist of multiple elements to help kickstart our days:

• Prayer and a daily hymn
• Bible Time + catechism
• Morning Menus- where we will review calendars, seasons, feelings, letters/numbers, shapes

I have chosen a hymn to learn/sing for each week of the school year. We will sing our new hymn each morning, using the following books to dig a little deeper on the stories behind the hymns: Timeless Hymns for Family Worship by Joni Eareckson Tada & Bobbie Wolgemuth, Hymns, Volumes I and II by The Daily Grace Co, and Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan.

For our Bible curriculum this year, we will be walking through the Bible Road Trip, Year One from Thinking Kids Press. It's a 3-year Bible survey curriculum for preschool through high school. So the goal is to walk through this over the years that we choose to homeschool, with age appropriate study. I'm actually really excited about this curriculum. The preschool/kindergarten years are mostly reading Bible stories and doing crafts. But as the kids grow and learn to read and write, they introduce more intense Scripture memory, journaling, etc.

I dropped the ball with catechisms last year, but we picked it back up this summer, so we will continue with that this fall. We will work through The New City Catechism for Kids by The Gospel Coalition.

The Morning Menu is literally a restaurant menu cover filled with worksheets. The kids can use dry erase markers to fill out their pages, and we can switch it up throughout the week.

Reading: I started teaching the kids how to read over the summer. I have been using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington, and practicing with the BOB Books Collections. It went well for the first part of the summer, but then everyone hit a wall and wasn't interested anymore, so I put it aside to pick back up now. 

Our reading time will also include family Read Aloud time {where I will read longer chapter books to the kids and start asking questions about the stories}. I started reading {short} chapter books to them last year in prep for this, in an effort to improve listening skills and expand their imaginations. I am looking forward to introducing them to more fun stories!

So far we have the following books planned, and we will add {or subtract} as we have time:

• The Bears of Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh
• Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle
• Stuart Little by E.B. White
• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Poppy by Avi
• The Trumpet and the Swan by E.B. White
• The Adventures of South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz
• The Jungle Books I and II by Rupyard Kipling

Writing: We will be tackling writing head-on this year, as it didn't quite get to where I wanted it last year. Which is totally fine, but I know we need to really focus on this for Kindergarten. We are going to be using the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting workbooks to practice. Aiden has his own pre-writing book to work through, as well.

Math: We will plan to do math 4 days a week {with a break or catch-up day, if needed}. We really did well with Kate Snow's preschool book, so I decided to move forward with her Kindergarten text: Kindergarten Math with Confidence. This year uses many of the same manipulatives, but we will also add workbooks. Eli will really enjoy more math; Maddie, probably not haha.

Science: Science isn't a Kindergarten requirement/expectation, but my kids really enjoyed science last year {especially Eli!}, so I decided to do a small curriculum this year to continue building interest. We will do science 3 days a week, and we will continue using Indescribable: 100 Devotions for Kids About God and Science by Louie Giglio {we started it this summer}. I want our kids to have a good foundation for how/why God created the world, before we start diving into the mechanics of science. For more hands on learning, we will use Mudpies to Magnets by Robert A. Williams and Everybody Has a Body by Robert E. Rockwell. I'm not 100% sold on these books yet {science is not my strong point}, so I will see how the kids respond and adjust as needed. We're basically focusing on fun experiments this year, so we'll see how it goes!

Music: We will be doing a hymn every day during our Morning Time, but we will also do a specific music focus once a week. We will be using the Early Childhood Cantiamo Tutti Seasonal Guide from Legends of the Staff, and we will be doing a composer study with some of the books in the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers series.

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At first glance, it looks like a lot. But that's how it felt last year, and it actually wasn't that bad. It helped give me an idea of what the kids could/couldn't handle, and it really doesn't take as much time as it may seem. So I feel slightly more prepared for this year. It does feel a little scary, though, since I am technically homeschooling "for real" this time. Haha! While we did have to notify the superintendent of our intent to homeschool {Virginia law}, the kids won't have to test or have an evaluation until 1st grade. So we still have some time to find a good rhythm, and for me to identify the best ways the kids learn...at least before we have to have more formal accountability. 

So here we go! Our first {official} year of homeschooling! :)

A Blippi Birthday!

We celebrated Aiden's 4th birthday with a Blippi-themed day! He actually couldn't decide what kind of birthday he wanted. It ranged from Pooh Bear or Garbage Trucks to Orange or Zoo Animals, from Wild Kratts or Blippi to Dinosaurs or Dump Trucks. He changed his mind almost every day this month haha. So I just had to pick a theme and run with it, and hope for the best :)

He woke up to Blippi decorations and fun presents from family. Even though he had one theme for his birthday, his presents made up for the rest of his loves = Pooh Bear, garbage trucks, dinosaurs, etc. He's such a ham, and was more than excited about all things Aiden!

Aiden LOVES water and so we knew he would love spending the day at the neighborhood pool. Since everyone else is already in school, we had it {almost} to ourselves. We're thankful to be so close to our pool, and that we can enjoy swimming and a fun pirate ship!

I love when she grabs her brothers' hands to hold...

Hey! Look who's splashing around and enjoying the pool! ;)

Love my crew!

We enjoyed yummy Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and then after rest time, it was time for birthday cake! This is what the kids had been waiting all day for haha. We had a little melting mishap with the cupcakes {even before the candles}, but we were able to salvage enough for a birthday song and photos.

The rest of the day was spent playing with new toys and reading books with Daddy. Aiden had requested nachos for dinner, so we enjoyed those while wrapping up the day with the Pooh Bear Heffalump movie.

I can hardly believe that my baby is FOUR. There is certainly some mourning for the little years, but I am also really excited for this next stage with our cuties. 

Happy Birthday, Aiden!