school involvement

I am so fortunate to be able to be a part of my daughters schooling. I love going in to help out at the school. it really does give you a better idea of what is going on. It shows me what she is learning first hand, the way teachers interact with students and other adults and what the other children my daughter spends all of her time with are like. I hope that I can continue to be an active part of my childrens education. I have seen how much she truely is learning. Its just amazing. It goes way beyond the core subjects, theyre teaching them the proper way to handle different situations use their manners and how to get along with others more than i could ever list. There are alot of things she does in school that would be hard for us to reproduce at home. I just wish that there were more time in a day. I feel like by the time she gets home from school theres just not enough time in the day to get everything done. between homework which is very simple, reading lessons that we are doing by choice, baths supper, reading betime stories the day is already gone. I kinda wish kindergarten could be half day like when we were little. she is still so young and a full school day is a very long day for such a young child. Carters excited to start preschool next year which is also something that I will be involved in. Infact, they expect you to be involved, i cant tell you happy this makes me. If they dont let you come into the classroom it really makes me wonder what is going on. Carter wants to be just like his big sis. he was watching us do our reading lesson the other night and now making the ssss sound all around the house. He really is picking stuff up even if hes not sitting for stuff. he was in the room when brooke and i were doing the lesson and really likes the sound, i show him an s and he wont tell me its an s but tells me the sound.

spring update

Spring is here :) So excited for warmer weather, playing outside and sleepy children at the end of the day! Our family is doing great. We have been in our new home a year now, the kids are making friends and things just feel right. Brooke is thriving at school, she absolutely loves learning and school. I have to admit we considered homeschooling and i sometimes still do. That said we have an awesome school that she loves. I know there are a ton of benefits of each and its not going to be a one answer is right for every family. Brooke is eager to learn and picks most things up quickly, and really loves to be around others. She really wants that interaction and I have to say i am not one that always seeks that interaction or know alot of families with children her age that we would spend alot of time with. So for the time being we have decided that public school is the route we are taking right now, not to say that if things were to ever change we wouldnt change our minds about homeschooling. she started preschool this fall the school year is about 3/4 done. she has learned so many things, i have to say some of these things arent things that i thought much about. I have always worked with the kids and learning, but the truth is no matter how much i teach them i am amazed at how much they continue to teach me. We are currently working on learning how to read, we looked at many options back when we were really considering homeschooling and then we were reminded of how to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons when another mom on facebook mentioned it. We have just started this i really like it and brooke is very eager to do it each night as well. I cant believe we are working on reading it seems like i was just teaching her colors and shapes and animal sounds, where did the time go. Shes growing so much and is having fun with ballet and excited to start t-ball. Carter is doing great as well. He had pneumonia this winter which was no fun at all but is doing much better other than dealing with those annoying allergies. He is a very smart little boy but definately a boy, much more active than his sister and not so eager to do "school work" i use that term loosely really just meaning any learning activity. Hes stubborn and wants to do what he chooses. We are working on abc and number recognition its going slowly but i am staying consistent knowing that even though it seems hes not really into it or paying attention he will pick it up, infact im pretty sure he knows more than he lets on. he will show me a d and thats for you, a c and say thats for me and does this with the b and j for jeremy and brooke as well. Today he cut out strips of paper to make paper chains while helping out at the school, i am proud to say that at 2.5 he can cut as well as some of the 4 and 5 year olds at school.

new to blogging

Blogging is completely new to me... i thought that i would start as a way to share and a way of preserving all of our memories. Posts will be on anything that pertains to our family, so expect a ton of post related to children, their development and education. maybe some homemaking and our efforts to cut costs and to be a greener family.