I made a hat.

I haven't made anything in a long time, and it felt so good to be crocheting again. I started on the fall hats for the kiddos and decided this time to make myself one first. I don't have a green hat so...now I do! And I'm sure the kids will steal it a ton too. I made this pattern myself which means it was fun, has lots of mistakes, and I enjoyed not having to look at a printout or follow rows--except the ones that were in my head.

After taking these pictures I have decided that it would look better without a pompom. 

Oh, it made me so happy to create something! 

Summer Break Week 11

Next week is our last week of summer break and it feels surreal. Where did it all go? It seemed we started with potty training and then....Oh, I had a surprise pregnancy that ended in a surprise miscarriage that went on for over a month. That's where it went. I honestly thought about delaying school but I know the kids will want a full summer break next spring so, no delays are allowed! And we are all itching to get back into the swing of things. 

Everything we need to start school has been ordered and purchased, except for some play-dough for Esther which I may just skip, and the kids new math books. But they have a few weeks with their old math to finish up so I will wait on ordering those. 

Charlotte will be with us for the first two weeks of our school and the kids are super excited about that. Since I work one-on-one (after morning time) with each kid they will have someone to play with! 

We made these super cute felt wallets this week! What a fun craft.

The craziest thing that happened this week is Reuben fell while playing and on a rock no less and scratched the back of his head all up! It looked scarier then it was and he's okay...but boy did he frighten his mama! Also, heads are hard to put band-aids on. Who knew? He was pretty scared too when it happened but he's such a nice gentle boy, he was fine after resting.  But sadly he hasn't been able to swim all week due to his injury.

We were at a friends house and 45 minutes from home so after calming him down and stopping the bleeding I threw everyone in the car and drove all the way home. Thank goodness for rescue remedy, arnica and aconite! 

Here is to the last week of summer break, which starts...tomorrow. School, here we come!

Homeschooling Brain Dump: Becky

Becky is starting third grade this August. She loves crafts. Her least favorite subject is math. She will be doing felt creations for her hobby! 

I also have Becky taking over her breakfasts during most of the school week. Her favorite thing to make is sausage and eggs or eggy toast. She also loves yogurt and plain toast with butter.

I have gone back and forth about modifying Year 3 for Becky since she is doing 3-4 hours a week of the Barton Reading Program on top of all that is scheduled for Ambleside. I know Barton takes so much of her mental energy I don't want to overwhelm or unnecessarily burden her but I am not sure what to cut out. Every book is so amazing and good and I get excited about reading it and I don't want to regulate it to a free read or put it back on the shelf. I am thinking of cutting as we go--if a week is too overwhelming I'll simply add the readings to next week or take more time. We will see where we end up in January and I'll reassess if we need more weeks for Year 3, I'm fine with adding in another month or two of school if needed. 

My goal for Becky is to have her reading at the end of Year 3. That is her goal too--she loves reading and writing even though she struggles with it, she really wants to read and write stories. She tries to write everything and she asks me how to spell it! Other than reading I just hope we have a good time and I can get everyone fed and arrive on time. Becky will also be doing ballet this term for her extracurricular as well as piano. We will be busy busy! 

Becky is amazing at narrating. She's a natural narrator and she also loves to be read to. I'll be reading her all of Year 3, and I'm excited to revisit the books. I got some good maps for Marco Polo this year and I also ordered a book of Leonardo's pictures--with Reuben I would Google them but now we have the book to flip through. 

Becky is an introvert so finding time throughout the day to give her space and let her nest in her room is a must. She thrives when she has quiet to contemplate and alone time is a much needed respite for her solitary soul. She also loves crafts and keeping her supplied with felt, glue, stickers, yarn, tape and scissors is her love language. 

Becky, I hope you have a great year 3 and I can't wait to see you grow a little bit more this fall.