We started school on July 13 so that we could do "year round schooling" and take weeks off during the year. I have found that I am a "sprinter homeschooler". I work very hard and then I simply run out of steam and border on burnout. So when I am about to pull my hair out, we'll just take a few weeks off, regroup, and then start another sprint!
Our 7th grader: (Junior High- oh my!)
Our 5th grader:
Our 3rd grader:
As I was doing this post, I realized I did not ever take an "official" 1st day of school picture of Fulton. Having 6 children has definitely caused me to forget things I never have before. I have forgotten family and friends birthdays, forgotten dates of doctor's appointments until the last hour, etc. Oh well, I'll get the official picture later. This is a silly picture of Fulton hard at work on some school work. (Note the green headband in his hair)
Our kindergarten student:
We decided to bring Ethan home this year as he had been attending a half-day church kindergarten as his older siblings did. In the past, the children have graduated 5K from there and then came home for 1st grade. It was a tough decision, but I am so happy that God led us to bring Ethan home. He is doing fabulous in school, and we have seen positive changes in his behavior- praise God for that! I am really enjoying teaching him using My Father's World curriculum (mfwbooks.com).
Our cute preschoolers:
Last bit of fun before school started:
This picture simply does not do justice to the hilarious event that took place in my kitchen back in July! We had 2 friends come stay with Shelby and Fulton for a weekend in July while our Katie went to stay at their house with the rest of their family. Fulton was on kitchen duty and had to sweep after dinner. His friend, Luke, was ready to go play so he offerred to help Fulton. Well, Fulton works at the speed of a turtle - on a good day. Luke grabbed the broom and swept
so fast that the rest of us started rolling with laughter. I've never seen anyone sweep quite like that. Then Ethan joined in, and it became more of a show than a chore. I don't know how many crumbs those 3 boys managed to actually get off the floor, but they sure gave us a good laugh. I wish you could have seen it- hysterical!
Laundry day always ends up with the little girls playing in the "boats". They have such fun! Oh and that's marker on their faces. Their big sister Katie practiced her face painting skills earlier in the day :)
!
My cousin's daughter, Kylene, also came to stay with us for a few days in July. She and Katie are only a few weeks apart in age and have always been close. Kylene loves horses so she had a wonderful time with Oreo. It was alot of fun, and we hardly noticed she was there. I pointed that out to David saying maybe we could adopt
just one more! I wonder how many comments that will generate. I am beginning to think no one is reading this blog anymore :)
I was very thankful that the girls were able to wear the dresses from my sister's wedding to the Purity Ball. I was afraid that they might complain that they looked like "twins", but they didn't mention it! The ball was held in a hotel not too far from home. We found out about it through our homeschooling accountability group. Shelby and Katie were very excited to go to a ball with their daddy!
