They Joys of Homeschooling

Today I was reminded of the joys of homeschooling!  We had gorgeous weather in Austin today!  We started our day with some painting and then started our schoolwork.  

 Aidan's favorite subject is math and almost always asks if we can start with that!  Right now he is doing number bonds and loves making up his own!

 Ryla is continuing her preschool at home.  She has mastered counting to 20, can write her name, and can recognize 3/4 of her letters!  Right now Go Fish is our favorite learning game!  She makes the whole family play.

 The weather was so magnificent that we took a huge recess to the park and after lunch came home and spent the next few hours in our backyard.  Ryla can now swing on her own and swings for up to 30 minutes at a time.

 Aidan was playing "Pharaoh" and barking out orders to Ryla.  Ryla thought it was great and did everything she was asked.  I think the fact that she adores her big brother helps.

 We had reading still left to do so I brought it outside so we could enjoy the sunshine!  One great thing I have noticed about part time home schooling is that Ryla and Noah have both learned a lot listening in on Aidan's lessons.  This was one of Aidan's best days at reading and I think a big part is that we were able to be outside most of the day!

 The biggest joy of homeschooling is the time that my kids get to spend together.  Aidan loves to go to school two days a week but also loves being at home those other days.  I feel it is really the best of both worlds.  Right now Noah goes to school on homeschooling days so that I can teach more effectively but I'm excited for the day that I can teach all three from home!

Booboos and Shinanagans

I love watching these two play together.  We have had a break in our "Winter weather" so I have been able to send the kids outside to enjoy the sunshine.  On Mondays it is just these two.  I tried to grab a few photos but they were so active that it was hard to get a good shot.  Listening to their giggles is just precious.  They ran inside about every 5 to 10 minutes with a "tragic" booboo but then would immediately ran outside once they got their hug from Mommy.

 This was an interesting game they made up.  It was, sit at the bottom while the other one goes down to knock you off.  Lots of "booboos" for that game.

 They love their tire swing.  Their weight matches perfectly for longtime swings or whatever you would call this.... :-)

 This was the photo I got when I asked them to look at the camera and smile!

Can't wait to watch their relationship grow!  One of the many reasons I love having kids so close in age!

Love for Daddy

       These two kiddos piled on top of their Daddy right after dinner!  To say they love their Dad is and understatement!  

Aidan turns 6!

     I can't believe I have a 6 year old!!  Aidan had a fun filled birthday that seemed to last a few days.  The night before his birthday we took him to a couple of toy stores where he was able to spend his birthday money.  He found a few things he liked, but overall, we weren't too successful. He ended up telling us what he wanted and we bought it online.  

     On his actual birthday we went and picked out his ice-cream cake and we brought it to our New Years Celebration at a good friend's house.  He and his friends stayed up until Midnight!!!!  There were no temper tantrums and the kids had a great time.

     The next day he had a couple of friends spend the night from church.  They stayed up until all hours playing with their nerf guns!  Daddy and I were tired but he had a blast!