First Day of School 2011-2012

I know its blurry but Austen asked that I take his picture with " my best friend Hanns"

another year with a vibrant learner :)

Welcome back! I am so happy to be blogging again about school and not about all the other issues of our lives. We had a great first day back at school. The kids woke up much earlier than I did as I was up late signing them up for different activities throughout the valley and reserving their places in other events. However, they played quietly, which they are great at doing now and Jay came in to let me know that Miss Dainty, our resident tooth fairy, had come again and left " two whole dollars" for the front tooth that he brushed out.

We came downstairs and enjoyed green pancakes with honey and even Hannah joined us for breakfast, something that she typically sleeps through. I decided to skip my workout today as we were having some handymen come and fix odds and ends around the home. ANYWAYS, we started with Konos- yeah!!! Our character trait is responsibility for the next 13 weeks and it is going to be so incredibly fun!!! I cannot even wait to dive into this trait!

The lesson began today by asking what is responsibility. The kids came up with very good suggestions of what would be considered responsibility ie: what would happen if the anole was not fed, the clothes were not washed ( Moriah- " they would be dirty"), did not water the plants, etc. Then, we discussed what it means to be responsible, can we be responsible for everyone else's things , etc.

The three little pigs came into play and we had  a great time reading the story and acting it out with our "three little pig felt homes" that the kids' Grandma made for them. I remember reading this exact story with my own Grandma as a child and it brings back so many great memories of sitting on her lap, looking out the huge front window into the country landscape. Also, we stood in a line and sang " I've Been Working On the Railroad" together. At one point, Austen just stared at me refusing to pretend because he didn't have a real hammer. Oh my!

Finally, we discussed different verses in the bible that pertained to responsibility. We are focusing on Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 6:33 for the next few weeks. Jayden read out of the bible about Moses and the burning bush and the responsibility that Moses was given by God to instruct and teach the children of Israel. Responsible actions give rewards while irresponsible ones have consequences. It was so fun to just hear Austen comment throughout the day, that is responsible, no that is not responsible. I LOVE how interactive activities and biblical teaching go hand in hand in this home educating journey!

We finished up with some more books, sing spell read and write with Austen, Austen's first grade math, some drawing and listening to Adventures in Odyssey. An incredibly great first day back! I am really looking forward to tomorrow and picking up some chocolate chips and butter as we were missing two MAIN ingredients for our back to school cookie cake. I hope all my other fellow home educating mamas enjoyed their day