Monday, June 3, 2019

First Day of School // 2019

Today was our first day of the 2019-2020 school year! Yay!! I think it's kind of hilarious that we're starting our new school year the same week our local public school system is finishing up their last week of school. LOL!

We have some big firsts coming up this fall when our Classical Conversations community begins our new year in August. Our oldest, sweet LO, will be entering Challenge A, the 7th grade program. And me? Oh, right. I'm directing (leading) the program for our community. Just me and a room full of 12-year-olds. Eeeeek!

I decided to switch up our school year a bit this year to help us stay organized and engaged, while providing plenty of flexibility to give us a restful year of homeschooling. We typically don't start our year until August, but I decided to kick us off today--June 3rd!

When I put together the calendar to track our 180 days of school, I absolutely loved how it turned out! We start our year out easy, just 3 days per week through June and July, taking the entire week of LO's birthday off of course, because, PARTY TIME!!! Then we start full weeks in August, taking entire weeks off to align with our CC breaks (rather than only taking the Tuesday co-op day off). This alone is a major win for us! Actual break weeks ftw! Hurray! We also take off all holidays, family birthdays, and plenty of December for Christmas.



The best part? We finish our school year the same day we finish Challenge A on April 28th! This is HUGE for us. Usually we still have a whole month or so to go after CC ends, and it leads to lots of frustration and confusion amongst my children.

"Why are we still doing school? The End-of-Year Celebration at CC was last week!"

LOL!

Now we will finish at the same time as the last day of Challenge A, we'll take the entire month of May off, and start back up again the first week of June 2020. I'm hopeful that this schedule works out as well in reality as it does in theory! LOL!

Our first week was a total success, and I'm excited to start week 2 on Monday!

Meanwhile, back to my First Day of School post!

Here's my beautiful 11-year-old (she'll be 12 in 47 days!!!) as she officially begins the middle school  years: 7th grade, to be exact. I cannot even express to y'all how amazed I am by this smart little beauty every.single.day. She is so intelligent and driven--at least when it comes to academics. Chores? Notsomuch. ((eyeroll))


Yep! First day of 7th grade. I just couldn't be more proud of her, and I couldn't be more excited about what lies ahead for her this year. It's going to be a HUGE year of growth and OWNERSHIP. I love her so much!!!


Chase. My sweet, sweet Chase. This handsome young fella right here is heading into 4th grade! Isn't he just the cutest little 9-year-old you've ever seen? We have a big year ahead for Chase, too! This will be his first year in Essentials at CC. There's a lot of growth ahead for him -- especially in grammar, writing, and math!


First day of 4th grade! Love that smile!


Would you look at this guy? E is 6 and is starting 1st grade! He is so stinkin' adorable!! I'm excited for him to make some big leaps in school this year, especially in his reading skills. I've found that each of my kids learns at different tempos and I embrace, encourage, and support their growth at their own pace.


Look at that smile! Love!!


Here they are: my heart. I just love these beautiful souls God so graciously entrusted to me! I cannot wait to see what He has in store for our homeschool this year! Every day is such a blessing -- even though some days are harder than others. I'm just rejoicing in the plan we have ahead of us for this year, and praying that we have a restful, yet solid, academic year!

Thursday, May 2, 2019

E's 6th Birthday!

((Still playing catch-up on the blog... posting this on 6/8/2019. Better late than never!))

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We celebrated E's 6th birthday with a little trip to Great Wolf Lodge! It was so much fun, and we especially enjoyed my mom (Mona!) joining us for her first visit to GWL. E had a super great time, as did the other 3!



Squish wasn't too sure about this water park stuff... but I promise he eventually had a blast! I really didn't get any pics of the older 3--including the birthday boy himself--because they were too busy hitting all the waterslides and playing lots of MagiQuest.


We went to dinner at Dave & Buster's on E's birthday, and came back to the hotel for a little cake and lots of presents!



Isn't he the cutest, sweetest, most hilarious 6-year-old you've ever seen??




He LOVES Charmander!


HAHAHAHAHAHA! That face!


One of his favorites new toys! It's a car that drives on the wall. Too cool.


My sweet boy had a great time celebrating his birthday at GWL! I'm so proud of this young man and am so excited about this next year!


Tuesday, January 1, 2019

New Years // 2018

// Still playing catch up on the blog... I'm actually posting this on 6/7/19. Better late than never?

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Time to celebrate the New Year! We had so much fun partying with our besties 'til late into the night! E found the noisemakers... shocking.


This guy looks like he's ready to ring in the new year in style!


LO and our littlest. Sweet loves!


E's ready to toast to the new year with one of his BFFs!


These two. I hope to use this image in the slideshow I'll inevitably play at the rehearsal dinner before their big wedding day!


Back at home, we had our countdown balloons to get us through midnight! The kids LOVE doing these every year! We put fun activities in each balloon and label them for every 30 minutes. Then the kids take turns being the one to pop open each balloon at the specified time and lead the next activity. So much fun!


We had a great time welcoming 2019!

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Christmas 2018

// Still playing catch up on the blog... posting on 6/7/19. Better late than never?

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We had a great Christmas with our family! Here are a few quick snapshots.

First up? O playing peek-a-boo with Mona! LOVE.


The spread for Santa! Chocolate milk not pictured.


Buddy the Elf delivering candy canes to our goofballs.


Santa's been here! Ready for Christmas morning!


Had to share a pic of my kiddos with all of their cousins. My mom and I made matching pajama bottoms for ALL of them! Aren't they adorable?!


My sweet crew! I love these guys so much!!


Wait--is that a Santa sighting?? Love my Chase!

Sunday, December 9, 2018

Snow Day // 2018

// Still playing catch up on the blog... posting on 6/7/19. Better late than never?

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It snowed in December. We felt obligated to enjoy it for the one day it'd stick around, especially since the entire county shuts down here in South Carolina when a single flurry is spotted.

O was excited about his first time playing in the snow...


...until he had to gear up! As you can see, he wasn't a fan. LOL!


The older three didn't have any issues with the snow.



O was still not a fan.



He didn't find any joy in the white stuff.



Nice side-eye to the snow-covered roof, O. LOL!


Look out! Chase nails 'em!


O? Still. Not. A. Fan.



Friday, November 2, 2018

Chase's 9th Birthday - Part III

DISCLAIMER: Today is June 7, 2019. I'm a bit behind on posting to my blog. LOL! This is the final post in the recap of Chase's 9th birthday from 2018! LOL!

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Chase's 9th birthday extravaganza wrapped up with a Pokémon-themed birthday party with his buddies at our house. It was so much fun! Chase had a great time, and I think his friends did, too!

I made a Pokémon-themed invitation (yes, we live on Sesames Street). HAHAHAHA!

He requested a Pikachu cake and was pleased with the results!


The boys had fun coloring, playing Pokémon bingo, playing video games, and of course...


...eating PIZZA!




Time for cake!!


Ash--er, I mean, Chase--made a wish and blew out his candles!


We sent home a little party favor with each of his friends.


These boys had a great time, and we are so grateful they chose to join us for Chase's 9th birthday celebration!