big E's school days

Big E started middle school today, and he was so proud to walk through those doors this morning! We all rode together to take him, and he was super excited. Little J was a little sad to see him go. I had a pit in my stomach watching him walk in this gigantic building and head off to class....

We're so on the fence about what to do with big E for education, we're really trying to balance out what fits his learning needs best. I've found a forum for homeschool co-op groups, and am talking with a few moms on there who's children have some of the same kind of "learning" with their children. It's uncharted territory for me, and I'm not 100% confident in how things would go, but we'll never know until we try... Out of respect to big E, as I wrote HERE, we're going with a green light with public school for this quarter to see how things go. WE are the ones who put him IN public school, and for now (last year and entering this year) HE loves it. So, we're kindof in a strange situation...

I wonder if there are any families out there with one kid in public and one in private, or one at homeschool and one not - because of similar circumstances?? Probably not, we're a freak show of our own in many respects... ARGH!! What to do??? We've both been going OVER AND OVER this for just under 2 years!!! The summer proved very productive with some book studies, lots of reading and reviews, and math concept review with big E...

Can't wait to see how things went today!!! Will post more later....

pardon my creative french....

......but you see this {note, not my actual vehicle, just one exactly like it...):

Well - it's finally:

Yay!!!!!

Orientation

Thursday of last week, big E and I hopped in the car for a drive out to the Middle School he will attend. While we've tossed the idea around of homeschooling him, we've kept it open for discussion and he really seems interested in experiencing middle school so we're going to give it a go for now. We both agree that in order to give him everything he needs with education, and life skills, we would need to find a really great homeschool co-op group - so we're still researching homeschool groups and how best to deal with that once we come to a complete decision on how this middle school atmosphere works out...with having had him in public school for going on 7 years - we're trying to figure out how 'unlearning' would go??? Oh man it's tough!! Mainly because he WANTS to be with his peers now!! We do plan to homeschool little J for at least pre-K and Kindergarten and see how things go from there. But, we're trying to respect big E's wishes but yesterday when we pulled into the parking lot at the school I'll admit - I almost wanted to vomit. (too much info?? sorry)

The school is 2 stories high, and looks to be larger then the highschool I attended. Immediately I had a pit in my stomach, thinking of our young man walking the halls of this gigantic place with other kids. I'm not sure why I think it's such a scary place, but society today is NOT what it was when I was a tweenager... it looked like a bit of a fashion show at times as we walked the halls - even among the parents.

His classroom is nice, and small. The program he is in is one that creates a smaller group atmosphere for him, so he'll be in classes most of the day with 6-12 kids only, and parts of the day with much larger groups. He seems really excited, and his teachers seemed like genuinely nice people who are eager to educate our big E. Selfishly I dont like the idea of him being there!! Why am I changing so much these days? Drawing my mind closer to how society really does impress it's ways upon our children, and how in the 'old days' the village was not at all like society today is. Values changed along the way, and what was important then, is not at all important now. Why do two police officers need to be assigned to almost all schools in the district? I'm not a hippie flyin my freak flag over here, but what's wrong with this picture??? Soda machines when you walk in the front door, police cars, and 'lock down' drills for the potential threat of school shootings or worse.

Maybe I need a reality dose, and maybe I am a hippie - who knows. I enjoy relaxed days, where my kids learn by playing or observing or reading. Summer has been filled with learning, more then I thought and big J and I both have started to see that just a few little things we did this summer have stuck with both of our boys for learning.... oh - I'm so lost. I've been battling this for 2 years in my head. What's kept us from stopping public schooling for our oldest is that he suddenly began to WANT to go to school (whereas he used to cry when we went and when he came home) and he began to ENJOY the learning program that is set up for his individual needs. We're giving it 1 semester and then we're going to discuss it with him again...

Lesson I'm learning = An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life. ~Author Unknown

Small Talk Six - what I'm gonna miss...

Today’s Small Talk Six topic is “6 things you’ll miss (or won’t miss) about summer.”

You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc ...

1. I'm going to miss little feet splashing in the water on the slip n slide.
2. I'll miss all the beautiful wildflowers.
3. I'll miss the boys having water fights and sprinkler fun.
4. mmmm.... I'll miss the cherries.
5. I'll miss the beach... even though we can visit it anytime, it's the most fun in the summer for us!
6. I'll miss butterflys that seem to be EVERYWHERE right now!!

Ship Wreck

We visited Discovery Place this week, it was sort of a last ditch effort to sneak in a family outing during the week before school starts back. We were all a little bummed that the rain forest and the aquarium was closed for renovations, but there was a reduced rate on their admission fee to the museum because of that. SO... we went up and the boys enjoyed some kapla block building time together and little J enjoyed the toddler play area while big E wondered around all of the fun activities they have for older kids.

We went in to the Ship Wreck exhibit, but little J was a little scared of the dark and spooky look everything had to it. They really did have it set up like it neat! Dimmed lights, some soft spooky sounding music playing, and even a woman dressed as a pirate to greet you. We saw items such as old perfume bottles, plates, gold bars, coins, the ships porthole, and lots more - all from the SS Republic from the Civil War-era. It was very interesting to see the treasures that were from the mid-1800's!!

Lesson learned = alot can be learned from history, both in history in general, and our own personal history...for example, something devastating is bound to happen to us all throughout our life, but we can find treasures if we dig really deep during those times...

ingredients

I got emotionally distracted earlier this week, it's been happening alot lately. I've realized that I've become a sensitive person. Something about the past 3 years of my life has worn me down to realize how very very short this life is, and how simple life should be for what it's worth - too often I sit and grieve about the complexities. During the time I was crying and being sad, I was also cooking a homemade goody - I left out a key ingredient in one of our favorites... Strawberry Bread. I left out the sugar!!! HA!! It doesn't require alot of sugar, but would taste like crap without it all together. So, it went in the garbage disposal and I waved goodbye to it and told everyone I was sorry there'd be no strawberry bread!!


Lesson learned = nothing negative in this life should distract or discourage me so much that I forget about the sweetness in my life...

she smiles

This past weekend we went over to my dad's to hang out with my brothers daughter. She was visiting for the weekend only and I was so glad to hang out for a bit with her!

I took this picture right before she busted out laughing. For some reason, this picture just captures who Haleigh is for me. One beautiful and bubbly young lady.

Late at night, several times a week, she text messages me:

"I miss daddy so much - I love you Aunt S"

....yet, through everything. She still smiles....

time with grampy

A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart."

~unknown

more from the beach trip...

We opted to stay at a resort this beach trip, and WOW did the kids love it!!! Thank goodness, it was overcast most of our visit, so it was just right for some pool splashin fun!!!

Above... little J waiting anxiously for his big brother to come down the gigantic slide...

Below: Big E diggin the slide bigtime!

soulemama lovin

I have been a reader at soulemama.com for around 2 years now, and I'm just in awe of her craftiness!! I've snatched a few of her ideas up for our home here and there, such as the nature table, and some cardboard creations for the kiddo's. Then when her first book The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections
published, I was on board instantly and was SO excited when it arrived in my mailbox!!! That book has been such a handy guide to easy creative ideas that honestly, I would have never even thought of!

So.... when I saw that she had a new book in the making, I signed up for Amazon.com pre-order and this week my book order arrived!! I was surprised when our mail (which was held for 3 days) arrived and this was in the mix!! Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures looks like SO much fun!!! I am eager to tackle Brandie's Book and the letter satchels!

I can not wait to dive in and try some of these ideas! I've never been really into sewing, but have always wanted to give it a shot. I did sew some as a child with my mom, and a little here and there by hand as an adult. Never anything to write home about though. I love fabrics, and patterns, and this book has all the right stuff for someone like me who's green at it!!

**LLYWD list = learn to sew.... I'm gonna dive in and learn, maybe it'll turn out terrible but who knows??? You only live once :-)