First Week of School

Our first week of school was not uneventful.  Silas has been dealing with a muscle bleed all week.  We've had a couple trips to the ER for factor.  Nevertheless, it wasn't a bad week.  It takes about 5 hours to get through all the books.  The kids are doing really well.  It is very nice to have 2 official students now.  I think Isaiah enjoys not being the only one in school anymore, and Ana really enjoys it too.  We went on a couple afternoon adventures.  It would've been more if Silas and I weren't in the ER Monday night and Thursday night.

Monday, during our "book school" time, it started to rain.  It was not thundering.  So, I let the kids play out in the rain.  It was so awesome.  It has been so dry, and on top on that, Malakai had been in a  cast for almost a month and a half.  Now, it was raining, and they could all just have a blast getting soaked!  When the rain slowed down, they came back in and got back to their books.

Science Class with Daddy, the best Science teacher ever.  Seriously.

On Tuesday, we went to Nanny's place.  Nanny was Matt's babysitter from infancy through most of his childhood.  She lives in a retirement home now.  We met her at the back door, and she took us out to the patio.  The basket of her walker was stocked with cookies, juice, lemonade, cups, and napkins.  We sat and talked while the children ran around in the grass.  I let Ana take pictures.  Then, we went inside to look at the birds.  Nanny's place has a big bird cage.  It is the highlight of the visit for the kids.

After we left Nanny's, we stopped at the park.   They always love that!  Then, we went to visit Great Grandma right across the street at Liberty Village.  We came right as the residents were having dessert. The children are such a blessing to that crowd.  I hear many sweet loving comments from the people while we're there.  One lady, Marie, would keep Silas if I let her.  She loves the children so much.  She always wants to hold Silas, and . . . you know, she kinda reminds me of my Granny.  Hm, I never realized that until now.  

When Grandma was done with her meal, she was moved to the t.v. room where the kids were sitting and playing on the floor.  That didn't last too long.  Malakai thought it was more fun to spread out puzzle pieces.  So, we got everything picked up and went to Grandma's room.  Lots more energetic playing continued, and Marie came to the door.  She stayed in the doorway talking and playing with the kids.  Then, she asked me, "Can I come in?"  Grandma said, "Well, of course she can!"  So, then, Marie joined us in Grandma's room.  We left after a while and came home.  Whew, that was a busy afternoon!

Our next adventure was on Wednesday.  Matt took Ana out golfing.  It was her first time out.  He'd found her some golf clubs just her size and in a bag, all pink!!  While they were golfing, I took the boys to the park.

Thursday was stormy all day.  It was GREAT!!!  The grass is green again, and Aldada is looking radiant!  Well, "radiant" may be an overstatement, but much better anyway!

On Friday, we went to the library, but it was closed.  That was a total bummer.  We'll be back, though.

Now, the week is over.  Matt starts nursing school on Monday.  We will be on a much more consistent schedule.  I am very happy about this year.  Things are going well, not perfectly, but well.  :o)

Look what we woke up to find!!

Our First Pumpkin Bloom!

Our Garden, "Aldada"

This is the first year we've had a garden.  When it came to naming it, we called an official meeting.  Myself and all 5 children sat in a circle in the backyard.  Each of us were in a lawn chair except Silas who was sitting on a blanket.  Everyone had their own ideas.  Isaiah suggested "The Reeves Mighty Garden of Life".  Ana wanted to use the word "sparkle" in the name somehow.  Eli wanted there to be a reference to Power Rangers in the name.  Malakai liked every one's ideas.  I tried to make everyone happy, coming up with names like "The Mighty Sparkling Power Ranger Garden".  No one liked that!

Then, I said, "There is one person whose opinion we haven't heard, guys."  I turned to Silas, "Silas, what do YOU want to name the garden, buddy?"

Silas quickly replied, "Al-dada".  Everyone was so delighted with Silas's response that "Aldada" won the name debate unanimously!

We started kind of late, and are learning a lot about gardening.  The heat and drought has been hard on Aldada too.  Here's some pictures of the kids showing different parts of Aldada:

Pumpkins

We saw our first bloom on one of the pumpkin plants today!

Herbs

We have lavender, rosemary, oregano, sage, basil, thyme, and catnip.

Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Red Peppers, Carrots, and Lettuce

The tomatoes are doing pretty well.  We started getting our first little cucumber today.  The red peppers are not producing anything yet.  The carrots don't seem to be growing much at all the last few weeks.  The lettuce is basically. . . pitiful.  This heat and dry weather has not been friendly to some of our little plants!  

"The Hills"

Yesterday, I let the middle 3 plant some watermelon seeds, little pumpkin seeds, and big pumpkin seeds.   Isaiah was at a party, and Silas supervised the gardening.  That bed still needed to be edged, and we were going to get some mushroom mulch for it.  However, since it is mid-August, my thought is that these things will never get done, and the most likely result would be wasting those seeds.  So, I told them to make little hills in a row, and I let them pick what they wanted to plant.  Some of the hills are too close together, but I don't care at this point.  It's probably too late to get a harvest from them anyway.  We'll see!!

The Books

Here's our school materials.  I've also contacted several places about field trips and have received nothing but positive feedback.  This is going to be the best year ever.  :o)

Our Curriculums:

Bible - "The Jesus Storybook Bible"

Music - "Music for Little Mozarts"

Reading - A mix of "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" and "Learning Language Arts through Literature"

Grammar - "First Language Lessons for The Well Trained Mind" (levels 1 and 3 this year)

Writing - no curriculum (unless included in grammar lesson for the day), just paper and pencils

Math - Saxon "Math 1" and "Math 3" this year

Science - "God's Design for Life" (Answers in Genesis)

History - "The Story of The World"

Recorders - "Best in Class"  Matt got the recorders today!  :-D

Reeves Academy, Home of T.Re.E.S.

We named our school!  I wanted to name it something fun and creative like "The Reeves Exploration and Adventure Club", but Matt (who is much more level headed in this area) thought the name should sound more professional.  So, today, we both got our wish.  We named our school "Reeves Academy".  So, Matt is pleased.  ;o)  I am also pleased because our mascot will be a tree representing "T.Re.E.S." (The Reeves Exploration Society).  I think it is really cool.  I have a list of more than 30 ideas for field trips this year.  I am really excited.  Isaiah is in 3rd grade, and Ana is in 1st grade this year.

Here's my plan:

-The night before, I will set the table for breakfast, Bible class, and Music class (2x/week)

-We will get up and have breakfast at 7:00am, clear dishes, and have Bible class.  Twice a week, we will have music class.

-Then, it will be time for everyone to get dressed.  The little boys can play, color, or sit in on class time.

-Grammar and Writing - When I'm working with Isaiah on Grammar, Ana will work on a writing assignment. Then, when I'm working with Ana on Grammar, Isaiah will have a writing assignment.

-Math - Isaiah and Ana will work on their Math lessons.  I will sit and help whoever needs help.

-Science - When I am working with Isaiah on his Science lesson, Ana can play.  When I'm working with Ana on her Science lesson, Isaiah can play.  (I'm not sure on this one.  I have the option of teaching them together, but going deeper with Isaiah on the lesson.  I may just do that.)

-History - When I am working with Isaiah on his History lesson, Ana can play.  When I'm working with Ana on her History lesson, Isaiah can play.  (I'm not sure on this one either.  Again, I have the option of teaching them together, but going deeper with Isaiah on the lesson.  I may just do that on this too.)

-Recorders - Matt taught third grade recorders when he taught in Christian school.  He really loves the program he used, and has all the materials.  All we need are the recorders.  I plan to teach this, but if Matt has an opportunity, he may jump in now and then.

-LUNCH - Sometimes we will just grab a prepared sack lunch and go.  Other times, we will sit at the table or have a picnic if it's a nice day

-AFTERNOON ADVENTURE!!  I want the focus of school to be the adventure outings, the people we meet and talk to, the places we go, and the things we discover.  I know we won't be able to get out everyday, but I'd like to get out most days.

- We should be home by 4:00 or 5:00 to give me time to make dinner, and for us to get some housework done before bed.

- After the kids are in bed, I need to make sure things are all set to do it all over again in the morning.  Then, I can have some relax time with Matt.  :o)