August

Our August was full of sweet moments and treats before we began our first school year.

The girls finished their summer ballet, tap, and gymnastics class.  It was the best class, with an excellent teacher.  The combo of all three was perfect, and they were in the same class.  Gymnastics was probably their favorite, especially with the Olympic influence this summer.  However, they learned so much in the dance portion as well.  One of their favorite games was at the end of each dance session where they danced how the music made them feel.  It would change from happy to sad, fast to slow, scary to excited, quiet to loud.  Watching their expressions was so entertaining.  All of the little girls were so into it.

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We visited two aquariums two consecutive weekends.  The first, we went to a smaller aquarium, to which the girls had earned free tickets through our library's summer reading program.  The next weekend, we went with Sam's dad to the Dallas World Aquarium, a big treat.  The girls had so much fun.  The sloth was one of their favorite things.

A manatee is behind them in this picture.  We didn't get the whole thing in the picture.

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My sweet friend, Holly, from grad school, hosted a fun party one weekend.  The girls and I drove down to her house.  It was a birthday party for her dog, Fancy, which she got the first semester of grad school (I remember the day she got her.  Ten years ago.  We've been friends for a decade!), but really just a chance for her sweet family and friends to get together.  She and her husband are gracious hosts, opening their beautiful home on many occasions.  We enjoy being at their parties.  Summers are fun, because they let us swim in their pool too.

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We began our school year the fourth week of August, with Naomi officially beginning Kindergarten.  How in the world this time came so quickly, I have no idea.  We will homeschool this year and are very excited about it.  Last year, we got our feet wet in PreK, enrolling Naomi in Classical Conversations (CC). CC is a program which "supports homeschooling parents by cultivating the love of learning through a Christian worldview in fellowship with other families."  We meet weekly with other families.  The kids are divided into groups by age with a tutor for each class.  I stay with Naomi, while Kate goes to childcare in the church where we meet (When Kate enters the program, I will rotate weekly between their classes).  We go over memory work, do a science experiment and art project, the kids do presentations (to begin getting used to public speaking), and review all the memory work we learn.  We have lunch together, then go home.  We do play dates and field trips with others in our group, as well.  The rest of the week, we do our school routine each morning.  We begin our day reading and memorizing scripture, poetry, singing songs, and reading aloud good literature and something related to our science and history facts we are memorizing for the week.  Our main school/skill work consists of phonics/reading, math, handwriting, and reviewing our memory work.  Sometimes Kate sits in the room with us, half paying attention to what we are doing while she plays.  Sometimes she sits at the table and colors while we do math.  Sometimes she plays in her room.  My focused time with Naomi for math and reading instruction is right about an hour, so Kate easily keeps herself entertained during these and joins us for the rest. Since the girls are so young, we are done by lunch time.  Then, we have rest time, followed by time to read aloud, play outside, go on nature walks, and just explore and learn through play.  Since we began our school year two weeks prior to our first CC community day, we slowly eased into a good routine for our mornings here at home, doing our chores, turning our minds to Truth and beauty, and settling in to our focused learning.  We are ready to be back with our CC friends and be in the full swing of things, but we are thankful for this gentle start.