First day of School 2013-2014

TOTAL SUCCESS!  As yesterday approached I was completely nervous! I really had no idea what to expect, 3 children to school? How was I going to make this happen without pulling my hair out? Well, the reality of it is that it was easier than just one!  Yes, I really did just say that!  In the years past, Kaylee has been schooling and the boys were not quite there yet!  We did do some preschool with Camden but not a full curriculum.  So, I would have to find something to keep them busy while we schooled.  Asking for something every few minutes or getting into something that would distract me from focusing on schooling Kaylee! Ah, yesterday was complete bliss! We all sat at the table together!  Every one of them was so engaged and excited about learning! It was wonderful!  My prayer for this school year is that they keep their drive for learning and the excitement doesn't fade!  In our kitchen, we have the verse "Whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord, not men." Colossians 3:23 This is my burning desire for my children, I pray that they give school 100% at all times. Yes, we all know that this isn't going to be the reality but why strive for less?


So, what did we do?

Before school, we headed outside for back to school photos! Just because you're not hopping on a bus or being dropped off at the school house doesn't mean that you can't get pretty and take first day photos! We sure do! :)

We start our morning with the Bible, EVERY morning. Opening God's work and praying for our school day!  This year, I have researched and compiled Bible verses that correlate with the ABC theme I like to use!  The first week A, second week B, so on and so on!  This week our Bible verse is: "A gentle answer turns away anger." Proverbs 15:1 - All three of the children learn this verse and we talk about it every day!  You see why I chose it, "answer" and "anger" ~ "A"  Now, once we are finished discussing it, they each have an activity to do with the verse, not every day but just a couple of days during the week.  Yesterday, Kaylee wrote the verse {Second Grade} Camden wrote the words using A {Kindergarten} and Kinston practiced his A's.  So, since we are doing all subjects together I am just learning how to have different activities at their levels for each of them!

After Bible we dove right into our textbooks! First we chose reading. I have learned that Kaylee's favorite subject is math, so saving Math for last is the best thing for us!  Reading hasn't been her favorite thing to do in the past, so getting that finished early always helps her stay focused!  I'm praying for her love of reading though!   So, Kaylee opened her Reading book as well as Camden, of course they aren't using the same books so I just helped both of them at the same time!  Kinston used this time to practice his ABC's on his flash cards!

After reading, time for math!  All three of them have a Math textbook!  So they were all working diligently, together, simultaneously ~ at this point I had honestly thought there had been a miracle in my children over the summer. It was so awesome to see them all working so great, at the same time! Moms with three or more children know exactly what I'm saying here.....no need to explain!

 Never underestimate the little person in the family! Kinston turned 3 in April and he is so excited about learning! I'm so proud of him, too!

After we were finished with Math, we took a break! The kids could do whatever they'd like! They chose Disney infinity on the Xbox!   I gave them about 30 minutes to take a break!

After their break, we came back to the table and I read them a book. We spent a lot of time with the book, for children just reading through the book isn't enough!  It's time to explore! Take time to talk about the cover, details in the pages, look for colors, letters and words that they know!  At the end, talk about it have the children tell their most favorite part!  Yesterday, our story was about animals - it was a great story that kept them engaged about animals having a fashion show!  The title was "Animal Fashion Parade" by Christine Barrett.  Guess where I bought it? The Dollar Tree! Have I mentioned how much I love that place? Spending a little bit of time in there can cause you to find awesome things! Many of Camden and Kinston's text books came from there! 

Continuing with our A theme, the next activity we did was art! We talked about apples and the letter it starts with and then I split the apple with a knife. We talked about the inside, the seeds, where it grows, etc.  Then, I got the paint and paper out! They weren't quite sure what we were going to do with all of it, but when I showed them they thought it was so cool! Yay!

After painting was over, we took time to do "About Me" sheets! This is such an exciting activity every year! It's an adorable keepsake too! What they want to be when they grow up, what would they buy with a million dollars, etc!

Next step, lunch time!  Gee & Papa brought them a first day of school lunch from ChicFilaA!  They were very excited!