Summer Fun in the Backyard

Stephen Camping and Fishing

June Fun has finally set in as it FINALLY got warmer. Well, mostly warmer. We had a few really hot days, but it has otherwise been our usual enjoyable summer.

Stephen's reward for his sticker chart in May was to earn a backyard camping trip with Daddy in hopes to earn another trip in June to the "wild." His behavior was all of a sudden amazing and we have had two months of super-kid on a mission. Hey, whatever works! The trial camping trip in the backyard went quite well except for Daddy's sore back in the morning. We managed to involve Rhea that night in a good ol' marshmallow roast followed by girl time with Mom while the boys settled in for the night.

Stephen and Tom then tried their luck in the "wild" forest preserve where they would let you out if the "wild" didn't agree with your kiddo. It was great that we didn't need to take them up on their middle of the night exit offers. Stephen had a GREAT time and caught a ton of fish, including a 12" bass. Daddy caught a few fish too including one with teeth that he discovered after it was too late. Ouch!

4th of July

Animals and Cultures in God's World

Welcome to our new curriculum, Animals and Cultures in God's World. Last year was my first year with a schedule that I bought, and this year is my first year with my own schedule. I was finding that I was spending more time than I wanted tweaking a purchased schedule, and then adding a ton of stuff due to our very busy kiddos. Stephen was also requiring more in depth studies that can't be found for his age level. So, I spent a few hours developing a program for him that he is loving. We will travel around the world this year visiting animals, people, music, dance, art food. Stephen has been especially interested in the geography portion and enjoys building his own replicas of monuments and animal habitats. I have included a few samples from his notebook as well.

Time to land on planet earth now and start exploring our world from the ground. We first started with introducing maps. I had already been working with Stephen on map skill for about six months, so he had an understanding of where continents and oceans were as well as general map reading skills. I was fortunate enough to end up with these incredible maps. Each day, Stephen locates the country on the big wall maps as well as his globe.

The kids made some puppet videos with the animals they created. Click on the lower left hand arrow, not the center of the frame.

Stephen's Soccer

Stephen is playing soccer again this spring, but this time at our new church. We have been attending Calvary Church in Naperville since February and love it. There are so many opportunities for the kids and Tom and I are starting an orchestra for the music ministry. It is an exciting time and like I said, the kids really enjoy their time at Calvary.

Stephen says that he enjoys every position, but he really excels at goalie

Dirty and lovin' it!

He actually pulled these out of the dirty laundry that morning. I told him to find a clean pair of pants and then he pointed out the obvious by telling me that they would get dirty anyway.

Grandma and Grandpa Spring Visit

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit us just in time for the spring flowers at the Arboretum. They were also just in time to watch us let our butterflies go that we raised over the past month. Everything was so beautiful and Grandpa took some amazing pictures!

Our Children's Garden

We are SO ready for Spring and have been very busy. We had tons of sunflowers, zinnias and other flowers I can't pronounce to fill this garden over the summer. The kids mostly liked building the garden and playing in the sprinkler! Stephen is working on a mosaic step that we will be watching once the snow hits. I hope all of the little glass beads actually stay in the concrete!