Our Week with Progress in the School Room

This week, we tackled the school room.  With only 2 weeks of summer left, I'm starting to feel the urgency.

Our classroom needed to be configured a little differently for 3 students than for 2.

We've been talking about moving the second computer out of the school room for a while now, and finally, we did it.  After taking down the computer and the table that it was on, we turned the long table sideways.

Without the baby cage set up, it looks quite spacious in here!  (I moved the play yard while we rearranged things and vacuumed, but it's set up again now.)

I got started on copying first quarter lesson plans, and worked on my binder for the school year.  I even printed some worksheets for the first couple of weeks of school.

In fact, I was so into it, that I got Jack and Hannah together for their first lesson in their spelling books!

Hannah thought it was pretty cool, and Jack was more like, "What the heck, Mom?"  But I explained that with the Little Ones here, and some extra chaos we have going on in our world right now, we probably wouldn't hit a full day of school every day once school starts, so I'd like to store up a little in advance.  We actually did a second lesson today.

I got a little fancy with one of our Small Guests' hair one day this week.  I think I'm going to start making bows by the 3s instead of in pairs.  They pull them out and toss them when I'm not looking!

They tend to squabble when they're both in "the cage" but sometimes I need them confined for a bit.  Fortunately, we have plenty of interesting toys around here.  The stacking pegs are still a favorite.  One of the girls can stack quite a few pegs together.  I think it helps that we put them away after they're done with them, and then they don't see them again for a few days.

This week we hit 7 weeks with our Special Visitors.  They're very sweet, and I'm enjoying them immensely.  I will miss them when they go (probably late Sept.).

This week Paul also started a building project.

This poor room was designed as a dining room.  But our family is big, and our table is big, and we decided to dine in the great room.  We turned the "dining room" into an office for Paul.

Well, now it's getting a new incarnation.  Paul got one side all walled off in a single day, which is awesome, so I'm not trying to keep the toddlers out of an active construction zone.  We have a gate up at the other entrance to the room, so that side of the wall won't need to be finished as urgently.

And yes, that's Sam, napping in the front room after getting home from 4 days of football camp.

What about Katie?  What has she been doing while Jack and Hannah are working on spelling?  Well, I got out the Fundanoodle letter building magnets and let her play with those for a bit.  Here, she's making K for Katie.  These are great fine motor practice because the strong magnets require a bit of work to remove from the magnet board.

I got a chance to get out with some friends for a Mom's Night Out, and came home feeling refreshed.  Laughter really is good medicine.  Only one week left until school starts!  Uniforms bought, backpack washed, homeschool materials purchased, supplies stocked up on...  I think we're just about ready.

And no, I haven't forgotten about our Big News of last week (believe me, it's very much on my mind!).  I'll be sharing with you in a matter of hours, I promise.


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Our Week with Big News

Most of this week, 4 of the kids were gone at camp.  Sam was gone a couple days for the Jr/Sr camping trip, so for a brief while, it was just Eli, Katie, and the Little Ones here.

The Little Ones are gluten free, so I'm immersed in a whole new world of feeding.  I tried doing peanut butter and GF crackers.  One small fry approved, the other took them apart.  

The weather has been just right for morning park days.

Not chilly enough to need sleeves, but not hot, either.  By the time it starts really warming up, we're ready to go home for lunch and naps, anyway.  

With just 4 kids, I felt brave enough to take them to Family Night at Chick Fil A.

I also picked up some marigolds to replace the flowers that have died since the last time I planted.  I'm not great about gardening.

This week they started in-home therapy.  It's nice that I don't have to take them one more place, but it's frustrating to lose 6 hours/week not being able to do other stuff because I have to sit in on the therapy time.

Thursday, the Little Ones had a visit out of town, so we were gone most of the day.  On our way, we saw a big, long train carrying an assortment of military vehicles, which was pretty cool.

Eli was a great helper, following Katie around at an unfamiliar park while we were there.

When we got home, I had an email with very big news for our family in it.  Paul got home from picking up Josiah, Brianna, Jack, and Hannah from camp a couple hours later, and we started talking and planning.

Friday, we went to yet another park to hang out with friends.

Brianna, playing chicken with the swings.  It was fun to hear all their stories from camp.

Have I mentioned how much the Little Ones like my big boys?  Sam will get in the play yard with them and they climb all over him.  It's so cute.  When they see Sam, Eli, or Josiah, they start pointing and yelling, "Bu buh!"  I have no idea what they're calling them, but it's pretty adorable.

The Little Ones hanging out with me while I planted the flowers.

So what was our Big News?  Well, I promise to tell you next week.  I hate to be a tease, but with as much uncertainty as we've got going, I want to wait until it happens.

 But I will say...

                           ...airplane tickets have been purchased!

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Patterns of Evidence - Exodus DVD #giveaway

I just watched the most fascinating, affirming documentary!  Patterns of Evidence - Exodus is a film maker's look at what archaeology has to say about Biblical history regarding the events leading up to and following the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

It seems that in the last 7 decades or so, scientists and archaeologists have begun to doubt that the Exodus as described in the Bible ever actually took place.  The reason hinges on a verse that talks about the Jewish slaves working on building projects in the city of Ramses.  But there's no evidence to support this.

There is, however, all sorts of evidence for the progression of events outlined in the Bible happening earlier than the time of Ramses.

Self proclaimed skeptic Timothy Mahoney takes us along as he travels throughout the Middle East, and even to Europe, in search of answers.  Along the way, he talks with many interesting people, soliciting their opinions in a respectful manner, even when they do not support his hopes.

You'll want to see this DVD, I'm sure, so here's the opportunity to win a copy:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So what about that Ramses timeline dilemma?  Well, like many parts of the Bible, the book of Exodus wasn't written down as it was happening, but instead, was written down much later.  The reference to Ramses may have referred to a location rather than the Pharaoh.  Also, there is some doubt about the validity of the timeline of Egyptian history that has generally been accepted up to this point.

The long and the short of it is, I walked away from this movie reassured in my faith that the events which the Jewish people have been celebrating at Passover really did happen in the way the Bible documents.

This movie would be a great addition to a study of ancient history or modern archaeology or even apologetics.

You can connect with Patterns of Evidence on Facebook and Twitter.  You can watch a trailer from the DVD on YouTube.  And you can purchase the DVD through the website or on Amazon.

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Our Week - with a Big Drive

This week has flown by in a blur.  Paul was out of town for a couple of days the end of last week at a big fire.  Monday, Jack and I went to the dentist.

Hannah and Katie have been hanging out in the school room, playing with some of our preschool fun stuff.  Hannah has the rice tray and Katie has the button sorting cups.

Remember when we reviewed the stacking pegs from 4Knowledge-4Fun?  Jack still pulls these out every couple of weeks.  They're a favorite with Brayden, too.  I thought I'd see what our little guests thought of them.  They loved pulling them out of the pegboard, and they liked bringing them to me to connect them to each other.  They also made great projectiles.

Miss Katie is working on getting all the ABCs in order!  Josiah was not happy that I chose to hang this right outside his bedroom door, because the bus makes noise, but it's a perfect spot for it in our playroom.  (If you're curious, I shared the components I used to set this up last week.)

We've also been working on puzzles this week.  I shared on Facebook a picture of the huge mound of pieces that resulted when our little friends dumped a couple dozen tray puzzles out.

They like the cat!  Silly Wheelie is not very good about getting away from them.  He's also not crazy about the new gates we've put up, since he's not a big fan of leaping any more.  Kitty is getting old.

We have to get outside early in the day if we're going to play out there, because it's been getting HOT here this week!

We got a postcard from Annaliese in Australia!  The best mail of the whole week.

So, you know how Chick Fil A does a customer appreciation day where you get free food for dressing up like a cow?  I had advance notice, and I still didn't finish these until 2 weeks after the event had passed.  Left to right:  Hannah's, Small Fry, Katie's.  I would have made 2 little ones, but I ran out of fabric.  Simple peasant dress patterns, with a little bit of black ruffled elastic on Hannah and Katie's, and little black & white bows on all 3 (I added one to K's after I took this picture).

Speaking of sewing!  We needed another pack & play sheet around here, so I whipped one up in bunny flannel.  You can see my how to make a pack & play sheet tutorial, if you're interested.

Only, I think I was working a little too fast, trying to get it done during nap time, because I accidentally sewed the elastic to the outside of the sheet instead of the inside.  I know no one will see it, but I still felt a little silly when I realized what I'd done.

Bath time!  The nice thing is, throwing all the toys out kept them occupied for a few minutes, and they tossed them all back into the tub after the bath was over.

We've been out the door early every day to take Sam to football practice.  One day, however, we went on a very big drive to send 4 of the kids off to camp!  

Josiah and Brianna went as teen helpers, and Jack and Hannah went as campers.  This is Hannah's first year going to camp, and first time going away from home without us.  Obviously, it's been harder on me than on her.  I slipped a little note into her glasses case when I packed up her stuff, so she'll know I'm thinking of her.  

After driving more than 300 miles on Thursday, we needed some down time on Friday, so we went to the park.  I love the way she goes down the slide!  I didn't teach her that.

It was rather warm, and Katie came up and said, "It's hot.  Can we go home now?"  So much for sitting and chatting with my friend!  I spent most of my time following the Little Ones around.  I splurged and bought them squeaky shoes to help me keep track of them.  It's like toddler mama echolocation.  

Hard to believe it's August already!  Just a little over 3 weeks until school starts!  Once the other kids get back from camp, it will be time to start getting ready in earnest.  I've done some uniform shopping, but I have a few gaps to fill in (like shoes!).  

If you haven't seen it yet, the Flexi of the Month for August is just lovely, and it comes in 2 colorways.  (affiliate link)


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