January 1, 2010

Last month Devon went to her first High School dance. Michael and I had small heart attacks over the fact that she was old enough to go to H.S. dances but once we were sufficiently recovered we went about helping her get ready. I took her shopping for shoes and a dress. Michael bought her mace and taught her some self defence.

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She was originally going to the dance with one of her friends from the swim team but about a week before the dance Dana found out she couldn't go. So Devon asked me if she could go with a boy. A boy!! Can you believe that?! My first reaction was ABSOLUTELY NOT but we talked about it and agreed she could go with him.

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The day of the dance we had Danyelle come over and they both helped each other get ready. I think they spent three or four hours doing make up and hair. Which is funny since Devon had her hair done by Kristy and the only makeup she's allowed to wear is mascara and eyeliner.

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I dropped the girls off around 8:30 and picked them up at 11:30. Devon said she had a great time with Anthony (they danced twice!) and hanging out with her cousins. (Both Mariah and Danyelle were at the dance.) The next dance is in about three weeks. I think its a formal and I know Devon really wants to go. We'll see...

A few weeks ago Regan started going to a local tutoring center. The man who started and runs the center is a retired teacher I used to work with. His whole philosophy on teaching is that if you gets kids interested in something there is no limit to what they can learn. I like that!

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So Regan goes down there once a week (for now) and gets a lot of help with her reading. She really likes to read but it has become a big challenge for her. After working with Regan for about an hour, Mr. Freeman noticed that Regan isn't making mental movies. So when she reads she isn't picturing what happens in her mind. She's just reading words. Which is fine when she was reading easy readers with simple lines like 'Pat is a cat.' But now that she is wanting to move into beginner chapter books its causing problems.

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So Michael and I have her go to the Freeman Center once a week, she goes to Juliannas house twice a week for one on one work and her teacher at school is having her work one on one with another teacher three days a week. So basically Regan is surrounded with people who are helping her with her reading. And she's LOVING it!

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Our last 'summer' trip to the library produced a few doozies for read aloud time. Can anyone guess how much I regret letting Ryan pick out a book entitled "Chicken Butt"? Payton now runs around the house singing 'Butt, Butt Chicken!' It almost sounds like she's saying 'Bok, Bok chicken' so thats what I'm going to pretend shes saying.

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy was a good one. Regan and Ryan thought about dressing as those characters for Halloween until Regan remembered that she's going to be Zorro. Man, that girl LOVES her some Zorro! I think 'The Mask of Zorro' has been her favorite movie since she was 2.

So while this was from our last 'summer' trip we are still taking weekly trips to the library. Every Monday we head down there and meet up with a few friends so the kids can hang out. AND so Mom can get a little adult conversation.

This year I am doing 1st grade with Ryan. I had a few months of stress when I was trying to figure out what on earth I was going to use as our curriculum. I was really leaning towards using Sonlight because I love that its literature based but in the end I just didn't want to spend a boatload of money on our first year.

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So instead I went to a few curriculum stores and spent hours looking at all the different books and such. So after much consideration here is what we are doing this year.

For science, writing and language we are using the Evan Moore daily reviews. I LOVE these workbooks! They have practice for him to do each day AND each week there are ideas on how to stretch the lesson further. There are ideas for writing stories, adding details, making the science lessons more hands on, etc.

For math we are using the Singapore math workbooks. So far everything has been easy for him so we haven't actually had a time where he's learning from the books. A few more chapters in and I'll have a better idea on how this will work for him.

For piano we are using the Robert Pace books that Devon started with. I have no idea how to play the piano so for now Devon is working with him on the basics like finger exercises. I have contacted a wonderful girl who teaches piano and Devon, Regan and Ryan will be starting with her in the next month or so.

As our foreign language option we have decided to learn sign language. This year the kids are using the Signing Times videos and flash cards to learn the basic signs. By the time we get through these videos the kids will know the finger spell alphabet and around 200 words.

Ryan is using A Reason for Writing for his handwriting practice. Not a lot to say about this other than I like the fact that he is learning scriptures while practicing handwriting.

I didn't buy an art curriculum. That just seemed like a crazy expense when you consider all the art type supplies we already have. I am having him branch out a little and try new things. So far he's loving it and is more than willing to do art every day!

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I mentioned before that Regan is doing part time homeschooling with us. She joins Ryan with science, writing, sign language and sometimes art.

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Regan and Ryan practice the piano for 15 -30 minutes and they read aloud to me for 20 minutes.

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I think that pretty much cover what we do for school. if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Last Tuesday, the 1st, was Regans first day of school. She is in second grade this year so she is still in Mrs. Bols class. (Mrs. Bol teaches the K - 3 class)

This year Michael and I are having her do half days at the school and the rest of the day at home with us. She gets to school each day by 8:15 and leaves for home after lunch recess.

So far this is working out great for everyone. She loves being able to go to school and see all her friends and I love that I am still homeschooling her part day.