Week 1 of Preschool at Home

So far, we're off to a great start for the year! We are easing our way into school gracefully, with just 2 short days this week.  We're following a schedule that has us working on one letter a week, one number a week, and a color of the month.   Anything beyond that we will start adding into the curriculum once we get the hang of the school days, and have a solid routine.

Letter of the week: A
Number of the week: 1
Color of the month: Red

I'm excited to share with you how we are approaching this!

Kyla is memorizing a verse of the Bible every week that goes along with the letter of the week. 

This week we used Psalm 17:8 "Keep me as the Apple of your eye."  Along with that, we incorporated lots of apple themed stuff to go along with the verse she is learning.  We discussed what kinds of things we can do with apples, and she helped me bake this Apple Chips recipe I found on Pinterest.  And, we're planning to bake Apple Pie together next week.  It's still a little too hot outside for the next few days for us to turn the oven on that high.

Another thing we did with the color red, and the number '1', was coloring this picture of a red
barn.  It had one horse in it, and she practiced tracing the number '1' on the bottom of the page.



With Kendrick, I'm still figuring out how to get him involved and learning things alongside Kyla, so that he feels a part of school.  He has a huge desire to be a part of everything she's doing, and is even trying to recite her Bible verse with her.  This week I let him color pictures of apples, talked with him also about the color red, and let him play with stickers.   I'm working on putting a couple of bins together with special learning items for Kendrick to play with during the school day, I will be posting this soon!



Kendrick had a little trouble getting the stickers apart from the paper, so I had to peel each of the stickers back a bit before giving him the sticker sheet.

Last, but not least, this cute little CD came as a gift from my sweet neighbor friend. This has all the letters and Bible verses we'll be working on through the year, along with a catchy little tune to help the kids have fun memorizing.  So, in the morning before we start our school day, the kids get all their wiggles out wihle listening to this in the livingroom.  They are both already starting to sing along.  So adorable! 

Summer to Fall

Fall is almost here full force, and I can feel it!  School begins just a week from tomorrow. For the last few weeks I have been taking time to lesson plan (homeschooling my youngest 2), create a new daily schedule, fill in the days in my calendar... etc.etc. Can I just say, I'm READY FOR FALL!!??

We have had an event-filled summer, and in the whirlwind have lost all sense of routine, planning, rhythm, bedtime... you name it! This mom has had fun, I admit, but the 'Type A' in me is just itching for life to get back into a routine again!

I must remind myself that even when things seem chaotic, we're creating life-long memories and traditions that the kids will remember forever (hopefully)!! So, I think I better do a re-cap some of the fun we got to have this Summer!

First fun thing:  a camping trip to Northern Idaho state to visit my grandparents, and play at Silverwood. Afterward, on our way home, we got to stay overnight in a hotel in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and reconnect with more family.

At Silverwood Theme Park

My Grandma & Papa, relaxing and watching the grandkids play.

- We had PLENTY of fun-filled days at the lake!!

- Lots of play dates at the park... and lots of play dates, period!

-  Picnics!

- An overnight trip to Grandma Gail & Grandpa Dan's (Micah's mom)

- A visit from our cousin Chiara

- Multiple day trips to Anacortes, Washington Park, and the Donut house!

- A couple of weddings, lots of baby showers, and quite a few new babies born to our close friends!

All-in-all, it has been quite a bit of fun!! Probably one of the best summers we've had so far! The kids are at such great ages, and all very enjoyable... so much easier to pack around now days!  What I will miss when the school year starts: having Cora's company around (we don't get as much time with her in the school year), laying in the sun, swimsuits, flip flops, being able to pack up and go to the park... and stay warm, and most of all having the option to be spontaneous more often!

Committed!

Some of you may already know, last week I started week one of Insanity: The ASYLUM. Here's my Day 1 review on YouTube... feel free to watch, and leave comments or questions! :) 

What I hadn't taken into account is that I found out a couple of my friends were doing CrossFit workouts in their garage gym, and I'd been wanting to join them for a while! I loved the idea of getting some cross-training in and trying something new. So I did it! It was an amazing workout! But I was soooo sore (for like, the next 3 days!!).  My body was totally shocked from all the lifting, and I loved it!

However, this left me with a dilema... do I quit The ASYLUM, and start over later? Or, do I quit these CrossFit workouts and finish Asylum? I was not ok with either one of these options.  SO, here's my plan.  I'm going to keep with my Asylum calendar, and check off each day 1-30 as I go. Then, if I take a break in between for a CrossFit workout (I will take a day of rest the day after, if needed)... Afterward, I'll simply pick back up where I left off on my Asylum schedule.  Make sense?

30-Day Asylum Calendar (adjusted to fit in CrossFit workouts)

Now, I've come to understand there seems to be some controversy between CrossFit and at-home workout programs, like P90X, Insanity, etc. I'm not sure if I completely understand why... but I'm sure someone will fill me in at some point. I think both are great, and plan to use both. My Asylum calendar keeps me on track, leaving me with no guess-work to put into my workouts at home... and I need that, since I'm not always able to get out of the house and have someone watch my kids. When I go to Tim's Gym,  he tells us the workout plan for that day, there.  So for me, this is a win-win, and... it keeps things interesting!

Tim put together a 6-week training program for people to do CrossFit workouts from home, and I'm also planning to incorporate that in my schedule this Summer... I love the community aspect, knowing that other people are doing the same thing, it's free, and they can do it at home with no equipment. Check it out on his blog! 

I started it (1 week late) last night.  Did the "Baseline Test" with my kids on my street. It was pretty cute - they joined in.  I definitely could have done better, was distracted some with the kids, but I did it nonetheless!

(And the kids attempted to join me!  Cora even ran 100m sprints with me!)

How did I do? Here you have it folks:

WOD1: 22.4, 8rds, 5pushups, 8situps, 2:09

The squats were killer! And there is only room for improvement here!

Cora (9) took my photo while doing the hand release push ups

If you decide to do the "Baseline Test," here are a few videos you might want to check out, so that you know what you're doing:

-Hand Release Pushups

- Butterfly Situps

- Air Squats

Also, you can download the "gymboss" app to your Android or iPhone for free, to time everything. It's super easy to use!

With all that said, I'm super excited to be getting involved with these CrossFit workouts, along with my Asylum schedule. I enjoy both of them a ton, and find it fun to get to choose which workout I'm going to do each day!