Mimi's Birthday~

Evie got to go with me for my hair appointment and got her long hair~

 Cut to a manageable length.
She loved it so much~

We arrived home in time to decorate for Mimi's party of taco bar and cookie cake~

We also loved reminiscing over her sweet 26 years with her albums!
Happy birthday Beautiful Mimi!!!

Dr Appts, Etc...~

Today we saw Dr. Williams for Calla and she will have another revisional surgery in a few weeks.
We also picked up SJ's new glasses~

When we got home, Evie had another birthday present waiting for her!
She was thrilled~

Thank you Aunt Sissy and Uncle Chris!!!

Savannah sent me these adorable photos of the boys playing outside~

Love them SO much!!!

My Little Writers~

Evie chose to sketch in her journal all by herself and~

Calla grabbed a dry erase marker and practiced her writing too.

Building writing skills is much more than pencil grip. 

Writing on big spaces like sliding glass doors is a favorite around here. 

Cursive~

I found this little paper Evie had pretended to practice her cursive~

I wanted to always remember it.
SO sweet!!!

Breakfast Helpers~

It's a beautiful thing when the kitchen is full of little helpers~

Even the ones who SIT on the counter to work. :)

This and That~

I am so behind with check ups these days so it was Evie and Holly's turn.
Holly weighed 5 more pounds than Evie and made it on the charts.
Evie is still in the 0%ile club but it's all good~

 Calla has had several firsts this week...
The first time she ever sat in a stroller and saved her mama's back!
First time she ever stood on her own two feet in the same room as Macy!
(Just a sweet photo of SJ reading to Macy ((sorry about the wall she ate behind them)))

 And Calla sat in front of her very first fire this week~

Been a pretty wonderful week!

A New Reader~

If ever anyone wanted to learn to read, Evie is that person.
And she doesn't want to start with BOB books...

She dreams of reading chapter books.
So who I am to squelch her dreams.

I posted about this a while ago, and she kind of lost interest.
Today she was back at it and wanted a new sight word GAME.
I wrote two words on a big sticky note and when she found one,
she said the word and gave it a check.

I kid you not... she worked on this all morning and even asked for another
to be used with another chapter book.

In my opinion, half the battle of learning to read is believing you can.
Evie is well on her way!!!

The Little Gardener~

Scott found a little evergreen growing and wanted to transplant to another area.
He dug it up, replanted, and mentioned it needed to be watered every day~

We gave the job to Evie, so she fills her OJ jug each day and waters away.
It is thriving and so is she!!!

Give them a job (responsibility), and it will fuel a lifetime of integrity.

Love is Growing Around Here~

It's a beautiful thing to watch siblings scoop up one they didn't know and begin pulling her in~

It's a lot of give and take... mostly giving but can't brag on these amazing children enough~

Evie: "I'm playing with Calla. She really likes me!"
Love is Growing Around Here!
Everything Beautiful!!!

Another Protégé~

Evie woke up from nap and wanted to shoot some pics of Macy~

Imagine her surprise when I said YES!
Another Protégé!!!

How to Teach a Child to Read~

Being a teacher my whole adult life has given me thousands of opportunities to teach a million different skills.
One of the most rewarding and exciting is teaching a child to read.
There are as many ways to teach a child as there are books for them to read.

I am coming to realize the later I wait to begin formal reading lessons, the quicker they catch on and the hungrier they are to try.

Just this past weekend, Evie came down early one morning holding a chapter book saying she really wanted to read just like her big sisters.

I decided to empower her and this is how I did it~

 I wrote the word 'and' on a post it note with 5 little bookmark tags attached~

 I challenged her to pick a page and search for the word.
When she found it, she would mark it with a tag and look for it again.
This went on and on and on~

 The key was to meet her where she was, and go with it.
She now knows the word 'and' in other places too so she believes she is a reader!

Half the battle to reading is enthusiasm and I wasn't about to squelch it!!!

The other thing I have come to realize is, they will listen to a story anytime, anywhere and these are the books we are reading right now~

 Yes, all of them at the same time during various lessons or times of the day.
They are able to remember what we read last and predict what is coming.

All this reading spills into their play too~
{Searching for things like Pippi Longstocking: Thing Finders}

 Every child is different and allowing them to mature on their own time table
sure makes relationship building all the more sweeter.
And THAT sums up the beauty of home schooling in a nutshell!!!

A Little Sick Girl~

Evie was sick all night last night but has seemed better through the day~

The sputter of a few snowflakes lightened the spirits of everyone around here.
Didn't last long and sure didn't stick but that's how it is in the south.
We take whatever we can get!!!
(Must have been a little virus because she was better by evening)

Eye Appointments~

SJ and WP had their yearly eye appointments today and we received good and bad news~

 SJ's eyes have improved and she is able to reduce patching to one hour a day.
WP's eyes had worsened last appt and upped his patch to three hours.
Today there was no change so he goes up to wearing one for four hours a day.
The best thing about it... no one complains and just does it.
They both were eligible for new glasses and modeled them for us~

 Everyone got stylish shades to wear out in the sun~

Three new pairs of glasses and SO thankful for great eye insurance!!!

Just Things to Remember~

Saturday SJ wanted to make breakfast and lunch all by herself.
(Pig-n-blankets & Ramen noodles: her specialties)
She loved all the accolades showered on her by her sibs~

 The four littles told me they were playing NewSpring with walkie talkies
telling each other that two new girls and where did this dog come from. (Ha)
I was excited to have new shoes and hit the road with my walking buddy, Macy!

My mom stopped by today for no reason and I loved seeing the kids
piled up with her reading all their journal stories~

 Evie got her new glasses today and she looks adorable~

Just a few things to remember!!!

Eye Appt Day~

Today EC had an eye appointment and when I came back to gather everyone to leave
I found this beautiful picture of my children waiting for me to get ready.

I'm asked all the time HOW I care for so many children. It has a lot to do with this oldest love surrounded by her sibs reading to them while waiting for me. I have help with these little people~ they are my help. We do this together as a family. It's not about me caring for them. It has everything to do with us as a family taking care of each other. God gives us the portion we need for this one day and we cling to it with all we have. So very thankful for the life I have with them~

Evie got a great report from the doctor... her eyes are better and they reduced her prescription
and she is getting new glasses!!!
She and Payne will be celebrating their family days in the next week
so we went to the bookstore so they could pick out a little surprise.
It was a great day and we even stopped by to see this angel~

Love my sweet BC!!!!!

I wrote a blog post @ A Beautiful Symphony of WHY we choose to celebrate our children's Gotcha Day~
To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate.

Brave Evie~

Evie decided for some reason know only to her that she would go in her class @ KidSpring tonight~

She was proud of herself and we were too!
As we were talking about the lesson and how she liked it she said, "Will almost drinked out of that hose (water fountain) but I stopped him so we don't get strep." She is hilarious keeping everyone in line and following the rules. Now if she would decide they apply to her as well. LOVE her!!!

A Beautiful Weekend~

Friday afternoon we headed to Sherrie Brooke's wedding with Aunt Susan~

 Rosie and Hayden met us there and we had a ball~

 Saturday I picked up Walmart toy catalogs for everyone and were perfect for an afternoon of Christmas dreaming~

 Sunday we loaded the new KidSpring app with songs and videos from our church, NewSpring... 

Evie was pretty happy about it~

 And as I watched the game with Scott I looked over to see EK and Macy playing horses near the tree~

It reminded me just what Simple Sundays are all about!

A Beautiful Weekend!!!

A Sick Little Girl~

Evie was under the weather a little this week~

But a dr visit and meds had her feeling better in a couple of days.

Thankful!!!

Making Words~ {Outside!}

Amelia needed some coasters cut from logs for a project

and when she was done with them I snatched for a Word Making game~

Evie was the first to try it out because she is usually the one attached to my hip 24/7. :)

I made the a one first and added the t to it getting the word at down

then practiced added a beginning sound to the front.

I wrote letters in chalk and she matched while she sounded to practice play with words!

{Don't even know she's schooling while she plays!}

Our NEW Friday Routine~ {and a Field Trip}

So over the last weeks I have found the chore a day routine was just not working.

I spend the mornings schooling with laundry sprinkled in

and thought I would use a little time in the afternoons to clean...

Not.

{I want my early afternoon to read or blog or watch netflix... gasp!}

In the mornings I have started piling the dishes in the sink until lunch (ahhh)

and after breakfast 

we all get dressed, brush teeth, tidy room, and start school by 9.

Those two words {TIDY ROOM} are huge!

By tidying each day there is less to do when time to actually clean.

If this tells you anything...

I hear my children saying "I am organizing mom". 

When school ends and we finish up lunch everyone heads to their rooms for rest until 3~

Bitty Girls still nap and then play.

Boys play the whole time.

Big girls read for an hour and get school Ipad time.

I read or blog or watch Netflix. :)

Today for our Friday Routine we finished breakfast, threw the dishes in the sink

and went to the schoolroom for one activity~ Writing.

We read over the ideas we listed this week about Egypt~

And they all verbally told me what they learned.

They grabbed their journal to record their knowledge. The end.

Short, sweet, and meaningful.

Okay NOW to the New Routine:

Each twosome headed to their rooms to Organize and Tidy

then they dusted and vacuumed~

{I worked on our room and the living spaces}

The big girls and boys both cleaned their bathrooms too.

I worked right along beside them and our house was clean in about an hour and half.

The bitties mostly just played, organized, played, organized. :)

As I finished all of the things I needed to do, the kids watched another Egypt documentary.

After lunch I looked over to find Evie dangling for the counter rinsing dishes

and loading them into the dishwasher.

Now our house is clean for the weekend

and we can't wait to celebrate Will Perry and my dad's birthdays!!!

After rest today we took a little 15 minute trip to visit the Georgia Guidestones~

 SO cool that we recognized Egyptian hieroglyphics on the capstone
and the kids could read some of the letters~

 Double cool to take their photo in front of the stone with Chinese writing on it~

 A sweet couple was visiting and asked if she could take our photo!!!~

It was a fun outing and even Macy got to go!

Happy Friday!