First Day of 4th Grade

Augustine slept until 745am on the first day of school. He started his day like he always does...breakfast and books. He had all of his jobs done and was ready to go at 9am. He was a little whiney at first about the work, but he got into a groove and did a great job focusing!

Fourth grade is a lot more work than grades past. Do you know what this boy is good at? Reading comprehension. I’m amazed how quickly he reads but can tell you every detail of the story. He also enjoys learning new words. We have a fourth grade dictionary and thesaurus on order...we could’ve used the dictionary today...and he’s excited. 

Augustine was pretty tired of school work by the time we were done, and I can’t blame him. The first day is a lot of introductory work and review, so we split it into three days (today being our last day of day one), so tomorrow should be less overwhelming for us all. Augustine liked that he could take a snack break at 10am, and small 2 minute trampoline breaks whenever he needed one. It definitely helped him focus! I loved seeing what a difference these small breaks made for his demeanor. He was so calm and focused! He’s off to a great start!

First Day of 2nd Grade

Lewis slept until 830am today. On the first day of school he got out of bed, ate, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and was NOT late to school at 9am!!! Plus, there were no arguments, meltdowns, or yelling. He even put his glasses on without being asked! What a contrast to years past. This just might be Lewis’ jam. 

Lewis loves to learn, and if you let him learn his way and at his pace, he thrives. Do you know what this boy is good at? Math! Lots of other subjects too, but math just comes naturally to him. 

Lewis was eager to work and felt very accomplished when his work was complete. He spent a lot of time looking through his student planner and writing down important things. He’s off to a great start!

First Day of Preschool

Elias was the first boy awake today, so we took advantage of the quiet and got to work!

We talked about shapes so I could get an idea of what he knows. He drew circle and made it into a robot with a forehead, hair, nose, mouth, arms, legs, and shoes. 

I asked him if he could draw a square. He diligently tried, took a look at his work and said, “Actually, that looks more like a pentagon.” Perhaps I have sorely underestimated my child. 

We continued to talk about shapes and how many sides they have. He thought it was funny when I said that a circle has zero sides. He had never considered it. 

Next he drew for fun. I wish I could remember what this was. 

He does not hold a pencil correctly, so I showed him how. He doesn’t like how it feels, so he ignored my coaching. We traced his name and then worked on it free form. He made the best E he has ever made!

He worked on puzzles while I helped the big boys start their work. 

He also created some art. He found the ruler to be a fun tool. He had never used one before. 

Gluing and cutting paper has always been fun for him, so he made Daddy some art as well. 

We sang the alphabet, talked about how to use a calendar, and worked in his workbook a little bit. It was a good first day!

Ready or not...

Here we go. Homeschool 2020 starts tomorrow!

Preschool learning area and cupboard are full of fun learning. 

2nd and 4th grade desks are ready to go. Teacher shelf is organized. Uniforms are in baskets and ready to be worn again. We’ve been working our way through day one for two days already because there is a lot of intro reading for each subject. Tomorrow we will finish up day one, and then pick a treat for the success we share. 

They will also wake up to a fun treat for breakfast. 

G&G Splash Park

Logan worked four days straight so we needed all the help we could get, which isn’t easy during a pandemic. You can’t just hire a helper like the old days. 

G&G (and Grandma Kathleen on other days!) to the rescue! 





The big boys wouldn’t let me get their pictures. 

Science Box

Lewis found super cool dead baby bird bones so we had to bring it in and put it under the microscope. 

His find inspired me time make a nature box collection for microscope viewing. I’ve seen this in educational magazines and thought “I could make that”, so I did. Sticks, rocks, acorns, cicada shells, bark, bird, pinecones, etc. We will continue to collect interesting things!

Random Stuff We Did

Baked cupcakes with Grandma

Complained about mandatory outdoor water play. They got fudgesicles out of it. 

Building with cardboard

Elias wanted to make a zip line. I was impressed. Levi helped by being an anchor. 

Wrestling with brothers. 

Uncle Bob made us a perfect house number sign! I can’t believe how such a small detail makes a house so much homier. (Is that even a word?)

Delivered a sign to two friends who graduated with their masters degrees!

Made some sensory bins for a birthday girl and delivered them on her birthday.