Everything Under the Son
Because JESUS is my everything
Success!
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
The first official day of Jones Academy was a success. We had lots of fun, and got much accomplished...both winners in my book. Here is a peek at our first day.
I set the breakfast table with a fun "school" themed centerpiece. We had writing paper place-mats. I used library books, crayons, watercolor paints, teddy bear counter math manipulatives, tape, markers, and of course, the most important school book of all, our bibles!
Here is another picture of the table where you can see the "Back to School" banner I hung across the window.
We enjoyed a yummy breakfast together, and then the kids were super excited about the school supply scavenger hunt. They followed clues from place to place, all over the house, to collect their new school supplies. They found markers, pencils, new notepads, scissors, and glue, as well as rulers and crayons! It was super fun to see them race to find the supplies, and then read the clue to figure out where to look next. Here they are posing for a quick pic during the hunt. Aren't they cute holding their new school-boxes, complete with chalkboard lids?? If you look closely, you can see the red and pink streamers hanging in the background...so fun!
Nathaniel was able to enjoy breakfast and the scavenger hunt with us, but then he had to head off to work for the day. Before he left, he prayed over all of us...a precious prayer for joy and learning together. Then we hopped into our home-school classroom and got down to business. I went over the tentative schedule, which of course has already changed some! Ha! We also began our "100 Days of School" countdown charts, filled out mini posters with some fun goals, decided on the prize for our "Fall Reading Challenge" (75 books each!), and looked at the fun curriculum we are using for the year. The kids were super excited to get started, so we jumped right in. Levi and I completed our Morning Meeting time, his first math lesson of the year, and three lessons in his reading curriculum. He also loved playing with the linking cubes, and some fun read-aloud time with his library books. Natalie and I worked on her math lesson, looked at the first Bible Card in our Bible curriculum and completed the questions that accompany it, watched the first video for Latin, and she completed her first set of Latin vocabulary cards. She was also able to decorate a cover page for one of her notebooks...she drew a beautiful horse of course! :)
In the midst of our morning of work, we stopped for a popcorn snack!
It was a fabulous morning of work, and we got lots accomplished for our first day! After lunch, we all enjoyed some quiet time, reading and playing quietly. It was a precious thing when as I listened to Natalie offer to read a chapter book to Levi. They discussed it and figured out that if she reads the books to him, they both get credit for them in the reading challenge. They spent almost an hour, snuggled together reading...Levi listening intently as Natalie read him a story about Flat Stanley. That, my friends, is one of my prayers for us on this journey...that my children will see each other as brother and sister, but more importantly as best friends. I want their relationship to run deep, and for them to develop a close bond as we learn and play together. Their reading together that afternoon will be a precious memory I will treasure in my heart.
After quiet time, it was time for another surprise! Everyone scurried to put on shoes and met me at the car. We headed out for frozen yogurt as an afternoon treat for our hard work. It was delicious...YumYum!
After yogurt, we headed to take Natalie for her horseback riding lessons. A fun ending to a great day! As we were getting in the car AFTER our yogurt, I looked down at Levi's feet, only to realize he had on two different flip-flops. One navy, and one brown. When I asked him about it, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "I couldn't find two that matched so I just picked these two!" No big deal to him, so no big deal to me, ha! That boy is always providing laughter :)
We've gone on to have another successful day of home-schooling at Jones Academy, adding some handwriting for Levi, as well as Grammar and History for Natalie. It's going to be a busy but fantastic year!!
If you think of it, continue to pray for us as we journey forward with Jones Academy. God has big plans for us!
I set the breakfast table with a fun "school" themed centerpiece. We had writing paper place-mats. I used library books, crayons, watercolor paints, teddy bear counter math manipulatives, tape, markers, and of course, the most important school book of all, our bibles!
Here is another picture of the table where you can see the "Back to School" banner I hung across the window.
We enjoyed a yummy breakfast together, and then the kids were super excited about the school supply scavenger hunt. They followed clues from place to place, all over the house, to collect their new school supplies. They found markers, pencils, new notepads, scissors, and glue, as well as rulers and crayons! It was super fun to see them race to find the supplies, and then read the clue to figure out where to look next. Here they are posing for a quick pic during the hunt. Aren't they cute holding their new school-boxes, complete with chalkboard lids?? If you look closely, you can see the red and pink streamers hanging in the background...so fun!
Nathaniel was able to enjoy breakfast and the scavenger hunt with us, but then he had to head off to work for the day. Before he left, he prayed over all of us...a precious prayer for joy and learning together. Then we hopped into our home-school classroom and got down to business. I went over the tentative schedule, which of course has already changed some! Ha! We also began our "100 Days of School" countdown charts, filled out mini posters with some fun goals, decided on the prize for our "Fall Reading Challenge" (75 books each!), and looked at the fun curriculum we are using for the year. The kids were super excited to get started, so we jumped right in. Levi and I completed our Morning Meeting time, his first math lesson of the year, and three lessons in his reading curriculum. He also loved playing with the linking cubes, and some fun read-aloud time with his library books. Natalie and I worked on her math lesson, looked at the first Bible Card in our Bible curriculum and completed the questions that accompany it, watched the first video for Latin, and she completed her first set of Latin vocabulary cards. She was also able to decorate a cover page for one of her notebooks...she drew a beautiful horse of course! :)
In the midst of our morning of work, we stopped for a popcorn snack!
It was a fabulous morning of work, and we got lots accomplished for our first day! After lunch, we all enjoyed some quiet time, reading and playing quietly. It was a precious thing when as I listened to Natalie offer to read a chapter book to Levi. They discussed it and figured out that if she reads the books to him, they both get credit for them in the reading challenge. They spent almost an hour, snuggled together reading...Levi listening intently as Natalie read him a story about Flat Stanley. That, my friends, is one of my prayers for us on this journey...that my children will see each other as brother and sister, but more importantly as best friends. I want their relationship to run deep, and for them to develop a close bond as we learn and play together. Their reading together that afternoon will be a precious memory I will treasure in my heart.
After quiet time, it was time for another surprise! Everyone scurried to put on shoes and met me at the car. We headed out for frozen yogurt as an afternoon treat for our hard work. It was delicious...YumYum!
After yogurt, we headed to take Natalie for her horseback riding lessons. A fun ending to a great day! As we were getting in the car AFTER our yogurt, I looked down at Levi's feet, only to realize he had on two different flip-flops. One navy, and one brown. When I asked him about it, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, "I couldn't find two that matched so I just picked these two!" No big deal to him, so no big deal to me, ha! That boy is always providing laughter :)
We've gone on to have another successful day of home-schooling at Jones Academy, adding some handwriting for Levi, as well as Grammar and History for Natalie. It's going to be a busy but fantastic year!!
If you think of it, continue to pray for us as we journey forward with Jones Academy. God has big plans for us!
posted by Anne, 10:04 PM
