Lollipops and Lip Gloss: school

Showing posts with label school. Show all posts

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Last Day of School!

This year, this has a whole new meaning! Last day for the summer or last day for... ????
Watching the kids so excited about the last day and excited about the little things... getting to watch movies at school, eating popcorn in the classroom, taking their shoes off...
at first I was a bit sad, thinking about how much FUN they are having and I am "taking" that away.
Then I realize...
I can continue the joy in the little things, not just at the end of the school, but ALL the time!!!!!!!!!

Monthly Movie Day!
Popcorn and Popsicles!
Soda for Subtraction!
(and you know, we do NOT give our kids soda at home, so that would be a HUGE treat!)

What is on my mind now is the layout of our new schoolroom. Any suggestions? Websites for ideas? Blogs that give tips?
I'm going to give the girls some graph paper and see what they design. I want to take something from each girl and design a great space. (That doesn't cost much at all.)

Last day of school! WOOO HOOO!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

We Are A Homeschool Family Now!

Most of you are not surprised. I have always said if it came down to it and I needed to, I would pull my kids out of school. Well, it was time. ~~Past time.~~ God's time. I pulled Angela out of school. She LOVES being at home. In the week and a half I have had her at home, she has already shown SO MUCH improvement! Her reading is already better. Her math skill are good. Most importantly, she is happy.

Next year, Evelyn will be home schooled too.

And yesterday Amber told us she wanted to experience it too!

WOW!

God is really changing hearts around here!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Homework tip

Spelling Pre-tests.
I've done them every week with my kids. Sometimes there are tears. I often hear "but my teacher didn't say to do this!" or "It's not on my planner, I don't have to do it!" or other things I won't relive by writing down. We've done creative things, writing in sand, chalk, eraser boards, you name it, we've probably done it. BUT those really cool ideas take time. Now I do FOUR pretests at the same time. That takes talent, people. So we stick to pencil and paper. Until this week with my genus idea!
Nintendo DSI Pictochat!
The kids now all have Nintendo DSIs. There is a chatroom feature. The chatroom capability reaches from our house to a few steps from the back fence. And the kids LOVE it! How cool is it to chat with someone in the same room with you?! It totally cracks me up! But they love it. And now I do too! Why? Because it has saved my Thursday nights!

I get on one Dsi and the kids get on the others and we do the pretests. They all get to chat the words to me. I give them time to set up different colors or backgrounds, so I know who writes what word easier, then we start. I know immediately if they spell a word wrong and I mark it on the list. At the end, if they only have a few words wrong, they get to write it on the chat feature. If it has been a not-so-good pretest, they have to use the old fashion way of pencil and paper. The only problem, we only have 4 Dsi's instead of 5... (HA! "only 4"! Not to long ago, I never thought we would even have one!) someone has to wait until Angela finishes her test (she only has a few words) to start on theirs.

Try it! Or another creative way to do spelling pretests and let me know!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

First Day of School... Mom's point of view

Whew! We made it through the day! I thought about the kids all day and wondered what they were doing... if they were having a good day... how their lunch was... simultaneously enjoying the peace and quiet! It was amazing... I got to watch what I wanted on TV! (So... I didn't actually watch TV, but knowing I could watch what I wanted when I wanted without interruption was a luxury!) I cleaned the whole house top to bottom! (OK... ENOUGH of this fairy tale! I did get the bathrooms done...) I completed my whole chore list! And had time to spare for a nap (and play on facebook, and blog, and chat on-line...)!
Picking up the kids from school was filled with excitement and anxiety. I didn't even make it to the playground because there were too many moms to catch up with on the way! Instead, my kids met me by the cars. (We don't do car line, we do backdoor walkers, otherwise known as mom's social time!) They all came home with smiles and excited stories. Evelyn walked around singing how much she loved school! (SHOCK! Excitement!!!) Amber had stories of her friends and is so excited to be in class with a close friend!

Angela's bff since preschool is in her class! She did have a hard time because a girl in pigtails kept touching her birthmark. It was a bit too much for her... Angela asked me today why God gave her the birthmark. I don't have that answer. I told her that. I also said "So you can show the world what beauty really is!" After talking for a while about what else went wrong that day, she was fine and ready for a good year. We both just hope the kids get used to her birthmark pretty soon so they will stop asking questions. This is something we go through in any new situation and it gets better.

The bus for Emily didn't get home until almost 5 o'clock! I was going crazy and really curious about her day. She loved it. It is a challenge, to find her classes and know how it all works, but she is really excited about it. She was glowing with excitement for all this year holds. The best part... the girls all kept talking and talking and sharing and sharing and were happy. As soon as dad stepped into the house, he took time to sit with each child and hear about their day! I'm so thankful the girls want to sit and share with their mom and dad the events of the day. The first day of school! And to clear up the sock drama... that child has decided socks are not quite so bad after all and will wear them to school. Now to see if we can keep the hair drama to a minimum! (I'll take those dramas!) Mrs. Tickle, did she live up to her name??? Evelyn says YES!

Our annual picture outside the school! Smiles this year!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Not My Child! Monday ... first day of school

Not my Child! on the first day of school!

My child did not start Jr High today...
My child did not ride the bus today... for the first time... to jr high.
I am not scared of the big 8th graders... and the bad words they use.
I am Not a nervous wreck!

My child did not refuse to wear socks today... and lock herself in her room.
Did I mention she shares that room with her sister?

My child did not wear bright red socks, pink shoes and a fuchsia shirt... all thinking they matched.

My child did not have scraggly hair on this all important picture taking, impression making morning... all because this summer she gave herself a haircut!
I did not sucessfully, without tears for the first time ever (this mom of 4 girls who surely knows how to do all things hair...) use a straight iron and curling iron and hair dryer with a fancy brush on everyone's hair (except for the child that was locked in her room because of the sock drama)!

My child did not look way too grown up this morning!

I am not super proud of my kiddos this morning... as they are off on another adventure this year at school!

Read about what other children (and moms) are NOT doing! Check out McMama's blog!

Coming up tomorrow...
Reports on the first day of school! Does Mrs. Tickle live up to her name? Did the girls make friends? Did Angela get any questions... you know the birthmark ones... and ... PICTURES!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Letting go

It might have been at the street corner, in the middle of the kitchen, leaning across the car, or in the bright and colorful doorway. But it happened. Many of us said goodbye to our kids as they started school. Some of us may have had tears. Some of us may have hidden our delight. Some may have been so rushed that there was no time for emotion. Ready or not, school started, and it’s time to let go a little more.
As your hands loosen their grip a bit and you take a step or two back, keep your eyes forever watchful and your heart open and full. Our kids need us now more than ever as the outside seeps its way in. When we’ve made a little progress in letting go, we see more ways they are asking for it. “Mom, can I ride my bike to school?” “You can pick me up, but does anyone have to see you?” “ I go potty by myself.” “I can do it!” In the early years, one of the first signs of independence is when they become mobile.
As they learn to crawl, notice how it seems they crawl away from you more than to you. From that point on, the steps they take carry them farther away from us and closer to the outside world.
No matter what age they are by your side, hold them close and teach them. But mostly - love them. When the time comes for you to loosen that grip a little, it is love that will carry them (and you) through.