Busy? Who me?

We had a great summer break! Well, it wasn’t really a break, because this was probably our busiest summer yet. We stayed BUSY from beginning to end – play dates, dance/gymnastics classes, company, travels, etc. But, we did get a break from traditional school work. 

Now, we’re gearing up for our ‘real’ busy season. School starts in just a little over a week. We’re starting early so we can take time off to head to Disney World!  Dance season is about to get back into full swing (but, I’m not sure this season ever really ended!). Emma’s taking tap, jazz, and ballet again. She’s also competing again this year so she’ll have a choreography class for her team. She’s adding a solo this year, as well. BUSY! Isaac has decided he wants to do competitive gymnastics. So, this year, he’s taking a developmental gymnastics class to teach him what he needs to know to prepare him to compete. He’s very excited about this new prospect. BUSY! Logan is starting his senior year. He’s working, again, with the Upward program at our church. He’s working at Toys R Us, and taking 4 classes at the local college (2 each semester). BUSY! Matt will still be traveling during the upcoming months which adds to my ‘busy’ since he isn’t hear to divvy the driving.

But, you know what? I love it! I love watching my kids do the things they love. I love being wife and mom to my crew! I love homeschooling these crazy kiddos! I love my life!!

And, now, we’re headed out the door to eat pizza before heading to the pool with some of our neighbors! Busy!!

Galveston - Day 4

Day 4, we woke up and Daddy too the kids to the beach for a bit before dance classes started again.

Her class this morning was a Contemporary class.

Afterwards, we visited the Dinos Alive exhibit before heading over to ride the paddle boat, The Colonel, around the harbor.

From there we spent some time at the water park at Moody Garden (which I have no pictures of ).  Then, it was home for more beach time with everyone.

{Homeschool} Our Third Grade Curriculum Choices

Can my sweet girl really be entering the third grade this year? Yep! She sure is, and I’ve got some great stuff planned for her.

Math ~ Horizons 3 (Our last year in Horizons before switching to Saxon 54 next year, and my last year in Horizons for ever. )

Science ~ Elemental Science – Biology with the accompanying lapbook (This one is new, and I am very excited about it. I wanted to purchase it last year, but was at my spending limit. This year, I am combining subjects and re-using old curriculum enough to be able to fit this one in.)

History~ Portraits of American Girlhood (History with the American girls) – This is also new.  Emma is so excited about this one, and I must admit that I am, too.   I’ll post more about this one later.

Reading – She will read 30 minutes a day from her third grade required reading list. I’m still working on her list for this year, but I will post it when I’m done.

Literature – I’ll pick books from Teaching Character Through Literature and Sonlight 3 and 4/5. This is different from the ‘free reading’ in that we discuss these books, and I have her answer comprehension questions, write reports, or do projects.

Grammar – First Language Lessons 3 – We have used FLL for the past two years, and I’m looking forward to using it this year.

Writing – Writing With Ease Level 3 and writing across the curriculum – We dropped out of Level 2 mid-way through the year, but I’m determined to finish level 3. We both enjoy this, but it always seemed to get pushed aside on busy days. I will also have her write for science, history, and literature.

Handwriting – A Reason for Handwriting Cursive – She’s not looking forward to learning to write in cursive, but I’m not making it optional.

Latin – Latin for Children Primer A with DVD’s – I tried to veto Latin this year in favor of Spanish, and she was adamant that we had to keep Latin – no matter what!

Logic – Mind Benders – I have a few old books that I’ll have her work through.

Bible – Who is God?, How to Study Your Bible for Kids, and Lord Teach Me to Pray for Kids 

Fine Arts – History of Classical Music, Harmony Fine Arts Art Appreciation Grade 4, Sketch Tuesday, Art Pac 3 (Emma loves the crafts in these books as much as she loves creating her own art.), and lots and lots of sewing!!

Outside classes – Emma will continue with her dance lessons. She takes tap, jazz, and ballet. She also competes on a competitive team. This year, she opted to drop gymnastics in favor of doing her very first competitive solo in dance.

I can’t wait to see what this year has in store!!

Galveston - Day 3

On our third day in Galveston, Emma had her first two convention classes. She started the morning with a tap class.

Between classes, we visited the aquarium at Moody Gardens. 

She finished her afternoon with a Rockettes class.

After the Rockettes class, it was time to grab a quick bit for dinner before getting ready for the competition.

Emma’s team (Prince Ali) won a third place gold trophy.  I am so proud of them. They were also selected to compete again in the ShowStopper Live Webcast that weekend!

She was soooooooo excited!!

Wordless Wednesday - Tropical Flowers

As seen at the Rainforest Pyramid in Moody Gardens – Galveston, TX

2010 - 2011 Book List

Here's what we read last school year (2nd, 7th, and 11th grades). We read more, but these are the ones I remembered to list on our reading logs.

Emma Grace

1. Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, & a Miracle
2. There's NO Such Things as a Dragon 
3. Curious George Plants a Tree
4. Only in Dreams - P. Jacobs
5. Africa -  D. Petersen
6. The Bee Tree - P. Polacco
7. A Chair for My Mother - V. Williams
8. Elephants - J. Anderson
9. Barry the Bravest St. Bernard - L. Hall
10. Watch Me Grow: Elephant - L. Magloff
11. Elephants - J. Murray 
12. The Littles Go Exploring - J. Peterson
13. Stone Soup - M. Brown
14. The Giving Tree - S. Silverstein
15. Tell Me, Tree - G. Gibbons
16. Elephants of Africa - G. Gibbons
17. It's a Baby African Elephant - K. Doudna
18. Elephants - M. Pelusey
19. The Christmas Tree Ship - J. Winter
20. The Littles Take a Trip - J. Peterson
21. Handel Who Knew What He Liked - M. Anderson
22. A Friend Like You - J. Hubery
23. The Beautiful Princess Without a Face - A. Robins 
24. Giant Pandas - G. Gibbons
25. A Picture Book of Davy Crockett - D. Adler
26. Dim Sum for Everyone! G. Lin
27. Bringing in the New Year - G. Lin
28. Good Morning, China - H. Yi
29. Jin Jin the Dragon - G. Chang
30. Into the Woods - E. Hunter
31. Henry Huggins - B. Cleary
32. Red Butterfly - D. Noyes
33. Little House in the Big Woods - L. Wilder
34. A Child's Garden of Verse - R. L. Stevenson
35. The Racketty-Packetty House - F. Burnett
36. The Trail of Tears - R. Stein
37. If You Lived with the Cherokee - P. Roop
38. Once There Was a Seed - J. Anderson
39. From Bean to Bean Plant - A. Ganeri
40. The White Stallion - by E. Shub 
41. Why Do Plants Have Flowers - L. Spilsbury
42. Daniel's Duck - C. Bulla
43. The Little Red Hen - B. Downard
44. Wagon Train - S. Kramer 
45. Charlotte's Web - E. B. White
46. Paddle to the Sea - H. Holling
47. Rub-a-Dub Sub - L. Ashman
48. Puffer Fish - J. Rake
49. Surprising Beans - M. Blaisdell
50. Sleepover Sleuths - C. Keene
51. James Herriot's Treasury for Children - J. Herriot 
52. What Do Roots Do? - K. Kudlinski
53. What Kinds of Seeds Are These? - H. Roemer
54. Tigers - J. Murray
55. Cuddly Cats - A. Hanson
56. See How Cats Grow - K. Walker
57. Wolves - S. Miller
58. One Guinea Pig is Not Enough - K. Duke
59. Racoons - W. Ripple
60. Amazing Tigers - S. Thomson
61. It's a Baby Zebra - K. Doudna
62. Henry and Mudge: The First Book - C. Rylant
63. Runny Babbit - S. Silverstein 
64. Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night - C. Rylant 
65. A Bear Called Paddington - M. Bond
66. Mercy Watson to the Rescue - K. DiCamillo
67. Dog Heaven - G. Salisbury
68. Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride - K. DiCamillo
69. Mercy Watson Princess in Disguise - K. DiCamillo
70. Mercy Watson Fights Crime - K. DiCamillo
71. Tippy Lemmey - P. McKissack
72. Moosetache - M. Palatini
73. The Giant Jam Sandwich - J. Lord
74. Honey Honey Lion - J. Brett
75. Rainbow Fish - M. Pfister
76. Where the Wild Things Are - M. Sendak
77. Summer Party - C. Rylant
78. Gymnastics Competitions - J. Jones
79. The Clown of God - T. de Paola
80. The Temple of the Ruby of Fire - G. Stilton
81. Squirrels - L. Shaefer
82. Porcupines - L. Schaefer
83. Chipmunks - L. Schaefer
84. Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club - M. Sharmat 
85. Warriors Field Guide: Secrets of the Clans - E. Hunter

Isaac

1. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Classic Starts) - L. Church
2. Frankenstein (Classic Starts) - D. McFadden
3. Imprisoned in the Golden City - D. Jackson
4. Sebastian Bach  The Boy from Thuringia - O. Wheeler
5. The Life and Times of George Frideric Handel - J. Whiting
6. Island of the Blue Dolphins - S. O'Dell  
7. A Picture book of Davy Crockett - D. Adler
8. Susanna of the Alamo - J. Jakes 
9. The Erie Canal - L. Bullard 
10. George Muller - J. Benge 
11. David Copperfield - C. Dickens (abridged) 
12. The Princess and the Goblin -  G. MacDonald
13. Who Was Walt Disney? - W. Stewart
14. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood - H. Pyle (abridged)
15.  The Book of time - G. Prevost
16. Who Was Ronald Reagan? - J. Milton 
 
Logan:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Johann Sebastian Bach and the Art of Baroque Music - D. Getzinger
3. Adoniram Judson: Danger on the Streets of Gold - I. Howat 
4. George Muller - J. Benge 
5. The Scarlet Letter - N. Hawthorne 
6. The Tragic Tale of Narcissa Whitman - C. Harness 
7. Amos Fortune Free Man - E. Yates
 
Tara
1. The Amazing Impossible Erie Canal (to Emma)
2. Yonder Mountain: A Cherokee Legend (to Emma) 
3. Susanna of the Alamo (to E) 
4. The Ugly Duckling (to E) 
5. The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook (to E) 
6. The Little Match Girl (to E) 
7. Pocketful of Pinecones 
8. Courting Miss Amsel - K. Sawyer 
9. Heidi - J. Spyri (abridged - to E)

Galveston–Day 2

Our second day in Galveston was our first full day. We headed to Moody Gardens to pick up our event passes. While there, the girls got a look at the ShowStopper signs and competition area.

 

From there, we headed to the Rainforest Pyramid. That was a beautiful experience. The pyramid was full of beautiful tropical orchids and other tropical plants/animals.

After touring the pyramid, we headed to the SeaWall. We ate our lunch in the car before walking along the Seawall to a local pier.

When we got back to our beach house, we had some more beach time. It was a great day!!