Mermaid Video

La Maison

Okay, so I've heard some grumbling that there aren't photos of the outside of the house. I know that I haven't really posted any, and I definitely want to have some for the future before & after pictures. 

The house, as viewed from the street:

This is our street:

The back of the house:

View of the backyard from the house:

View of the house from the backyard:

 Future home of the garden:

I want to use this space for a fire ring & backyard camping:

We don't have a deck or patio, so we're using the old shuffleboard court for the kids' pools, toys, planters and some seating:

We haven't done anything with the outside of the house, but I hope that next year we can make her a little prettier.

Mermaid

Kyrie was having a blast cooling off in our backyard pool this hot, hot afternoon!

When she did something amazing! She started floating on her back! This is an activity that has completely terrified her during swimming lessons, but in the comfort of the small pool and of her own free will, she found the courage to try.

We are so proud of our little mermaid!

Degen in the "big" pool!

Lesson Plans

As autumn and back-to-school approaches, my mind turns to school. Many of Kyrie's friends will start or increase their time in preschool this year. We don't take a lengthy break from lessons here, but continue with our thematic units throughout the summer.
These days it seems like I'm always lesson planning. The thematic units I do with Kyrie last approximately a week, so I start collecting materials and writing down plans for the next unit on "Wednesday." This is something that I really enjoy. It speaks to my organizational nature and the petite list-maker perched on my shoulder- I don't need an angel & devil, just a little list-maker to keep track of everything.
I've been doing some sort of 'lessons' with Kyrie since she was about a year old. In the beginning, we read stories, sang songs and did finger plays. Then I added art projects. Next was basic worksheets. Each year I have grown my lesson plans to include more & more activities and more & more weeks of units. I now have 30 thematic units, ranging from Mother Goose to weather & seasons. I spend about 3 hours every week in preparation for the (almost) daily lessons. Each day, we spend about 2 hours reading, playing games, working with flash cards, making crafts, and practicing with worksheets. Kyrie also has several educational games on her computer that she plays independently. It is great to see Degen sitting at the computer to play, too!

Kyrie painting a birdhouse to end our Birds & Bats unit.

This has been a very exciting year because I can really see the progress that Kyrie has made. Our main focus this year has been the alphabet (handwriting & phonics) and counting. Kyrie is doing a great job! We have finished learning almost all of the "down letters" (Ii, H, E, F, Ll) and now we are starting the curves. Counting is coming along a bit more slowly, but she understands the one-to-one ratio and I'm pleased with her effort (math was never my strength either).
I think that the most difficult thing with home education is keeping your expectations reasonable. There have been times when I've gotten frustrated with Kyrie's lack of interest and/or effort in a task. I am trying my best to set aside my sometimes over-passionate emotions as a parent so that I can focus on providing Kyrie with the educational support that she needs (ie. though I want her to be ready to do something, she may not be ready academically). Balancing expectations is not always easy, but I am grateful that I'm providing Kyrie with the one-on-one attention that allows us to work together at a pace that best fits her educational needs.

 The finished project, complete with little birds. 

(She was very disappointed that real birds couldn't live inside it because it was too small.)

Though I will proceed with academic objectives on par for kindergarten students through the next year, we have decided that we will not register Kyrie with our school district until age 6 (2012). When she begins school, she will be almost a year older than her peers, but we think that this decision will ultimately be advantageous for her.
This fall, we will continue swim lessons and dance lessons at the rec center and rejoin story times at the library. We are grateful that we'll still be able to see our friends for play dates once a week.

Degen's 'beginner' art project.

Wildlife

One afternoon, I looked out my front window and saw this doe & fawn in the yard across the street. I quietly made my way out the front door and got these great photos. I love that though we are in the middle of the city, our neighborhood often feels like we're in the middle of the country.

Feeling Groovy

End of Summer pictures! These are from our playgroup photo session and were too cute not to post. I made these tie-dye shirts for the kids at a tie-dye play date over the summer. I hope that the kids do this well at their Fall pictures in September!

Friends Forever

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful playgroup! Three years ago, our group of 5 moms and 5 daughters was created. We have had play dates, parties, Mom's Nights Out, picnics, classes, family activities, the addition of 3 little brothers and more fun than we could ever add up.
This Fall, three of our friends, Mia, Morgan & Rhaya,will head off for preschool, and our time together will lessen a little. We wanted to commemorate this special time in our girls' lives and the friendships that they share with group pictures.
Our beautiful, little girls had as much fun taking pictures as they would at any play date! Here are our darling daughters!

Mia, Isabelle, Rhaya, Kyrie & Morgan

 The Fab Five!

Our Princesses