Learning so much!

As you know, this year I've been homeschooling my 4-year-old daughter for preschool. Because she has a December birthday, she still has another year before kindergarten. We're not sure what next year holds yet - if we'll be sending her to a Christian preschool or if I'll be homeschooling her again. For now, though, I am enjoying (almost) every moment of her schooling. Ellie has always been an amazingly smart little girl with an outstanding vocabulary. It has been wonderful watching how quickly she's learned things in school this year. She has almost all her letters down (recognizing them, writing them, and knowing what sounds they make). She can write and recognize letters up to ten, and can count to 29. She has an AMAZING memory, and learns her Bible verses so quickly and perfectly! She is very artistic, and the difference between her drawings at the start of the year and now is phenomenal! And just last week she began to learn to sound out words. She spelled and wrote three words all by herself! I plan on spending the summer focusing on teaching her to read, while we aren't working on other subjects. And the really great part is, she LOVES to learn! Now, we still are not sure whether we'll homeschool the kids or send them to school once they're kindergarten age. I have very mixed feelings about what would be best, and we are just trying to listen to the Lord and follow His guidance. But so far I love homeschooling, and I think I'd enjoy it for years to come!

Each morning we start school by praying, then saying the "Pledge of Allegiance" and The Lord's Prayer.

Ellie loves doing crafts. It's one of her favorite parts of school.

We are still working hard to get her into the habit of holding her crayons and pencils correctly, but she's always diligent in her work!

A time to shine!

We celebrate Halloween in our family. I know that this holiday can be a little controversial, but we have always chosen to celebrate it. Now, we don't ever celebrate in scary ghost, witch, or skeleton ways. And we don't teach our children that this is an "evil" holiday (we don't believe it is, unless it's celebrated that way). But we use even this holiday as a way to teach our children about the God who loves them. For the past two weeks of preschool, Ellie has been learning about why being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. We have a cute little poem that we read each day at the end of school: "Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washed all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed, carves you a new smiling face, and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see." We talk about what each part of this poem means, and how God is always changing us and making us more like Him. It has been a great tool.

Fun at the pumpkin patch!

Ellie and Parker each made their own homemade pumpkins during preschool.

Of course some of our celebration is just for fun! Our church puts on a Trunk or Treat party, and we had a lot of fun going around the parking lot and getting candy from each of the cleverly decorated cars. Parker dressed up as a pumpkin and Ellie was a bride. They were both super cute (of course)! And they now have enough candy to last them a LONG time:)

Cute little pumpkin, Parker Paul!

The beautiful bride, Ellie!

Halloween can be a time to shine in dark places. As Christians, I believe that we are called to do just that:)

Preschool, kittens, and more!

Well, we've had a fairly busy past week. Last week Ellie started homeschool preschool three mornings a week. It's been a really fun experience for both Ellie and I so far. She's so smart, and she's really doing well with school. She absolutely loves to learn! It's a little tough keeping Parker entertained sometimes while we do school, but for the most part he does great with some cars, coloring pages, or puzzles. I also try to let him be involved in the schooling whenever possible, which he likes a lot. It's fun to have a little bit more of a schedule now (although we still haven't completely settled on which three mornings we'll do school), and I hope to get our schedule even a little more organized in these next few weeks!

Ellie is great at saying the Pledge of Allegiance!

Last Friday the kids and I headed over the mountains for a wedding. Ellie was the flower girl, and she was absolutely precious! When she got to the front of the audience, she opted to come and sit with me rather than standing up front. As soon as the bride started down the aisle, with the wedding march playing, Ellie said to me (in a very loud voice), "Mom, they're playing Farmer in the Dell!" Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home, so I have no pictures except a few low-quality ones on my phone. Hopefully someone else took some, and will give me a few:)

On our way home on Sunday we stopped and picked up our newest addition to our family - a sweet little kitten! Her name is Rose (Ellie's suggestion), and she is very cute. Ellie and Parker both love her, but she's not so sure how she feels about them! So far she likes to spend a good portion of the day hiding under Jared and my bed. Whenever she's out, though, Parker is chasing after her, or holding her if he manages to catch her. He is not super gentle, but we're working on it! Ellie, on the other hand, is very soft and sweet with the kitty. We're really enjoying Rose.