Good News

Juan is starting a new job on Monday.  About two months ago one of Juan's former co-workers from Nokia let him know about a job opening at Ericsson where she is currently working that she thought Juan would be a great fit for.  Juan was ready for a job change, but there were few chances to move up in Coca Cola (without moving to Atlanta).  Ericsson is a Swedish communications company and benefits are generally much better with European companies than American companies.  We felt this was a great opportunity and blessing.  He applied, he interviewed, a job offer was made and he accepted.  We are super excited about this opportunity and the commute will be just about the same to the one he is making now.  Ericsson's North American headquarters are in Plano so there should be lots of opportunities to move up within the company and maybe even move to a job site that is only 15 minutes away from our home.      

Corbin Update

Corbin got a new haircut a couple of weeks ago.  The back of his hair kept getting tangled and I felt it was time for a shorter look.  Now I miss the curls, but they will grow back.
Before


After


Corbin loves his Ganna (as you can see from the picture) and his Grandpa. He loves monster trucks, robots and bugs along with anything Jovi likes which includes unicorns, dressing up and hair bows. The other day he was carrying around his two favorite monster trucks and one of Jovi's stuffed unicorns all morning long, so cute. He is starting to like drawing and has shown some interest in learning how to draw shapes. He knows almost all his colors. He loves playing outside in the sandbox and digging in the dirt. He loves to sing and I regularly hear him singing Book of Mormon Stories (one of his favorites) while he plays in his room.

Corbin is not a very picky eater, he likes anything with rice and will usually eat a bite or two of anything I make. He likes to snack throughout the day though so he doesn't eat all that much in any one sitting. If you add up all he eats in a day though, he eats a lot. He doesn't like hamburgers, he says that he likes them because they are one of Jovi's favorite foods, but he rarely ever eats more than one tiny bite. He does love french fries and chocolate milk and (to show that I really do feed him good food) his favorite snacks are fruit like grapes, apples and raspberries.

A few weeks ago we had a tornado warning in our area. We watched the news for about an hour that evening and it had a profound effect on Corbin. He is now terrified of tornadoes. He thinks they want to eat our minivan. (No matter how often you explain that a tornado is not alive and they go away after a storm, a 2 year old will not understand. Everything is personified when you are two.) The worst part is that he is afraid to go to sleep by himself. Bedtime is now dreaded at our house by both parents and Corbin. I am hoping something changes soon or we might all go crazy.

Corbin is so funny. He loves to do things for a laugh and you have to be careful what you laugh at (like fake burping) because once he finds something that gets laugh he will do it over and over again. Corbin's favorite book right now is We're Going On A Bear Hunt . He asks to read it about every other day. Corbin is such a fun little boy, we are so glad he is part of our family.

Jovi's 5th Birthday

I can barely believe that my little Jovi turned 5 on Saturday.  About a month ago we gave Jovi a choice between having a friend birthday party or going to a castle for dinner (Medieval Times)on her birthday.  Jovi chose the castle, so on Saturday, after her first soccer game of the season where she scored 2 goals she got to dress in her very own princess dress.  (Made by me, Simplicity 5520).




This was originally to be a family only party, but Eden, unfortunately got sick and so Jovi got to invite her friend Julia.  They were so excited!



When we got there the girls loved it. We got to meet the princess, see the horses they use in the show, and Jovi got knighted by the king.



Eventually we went in and sat down to dinner and a show.


The kids loved waving their flags and cheering for our knight, the red knight. You don't get any silverware to eat with and it took Jovi and Julia a minute to figure it out, but they ended up drinking their soup through straws, very funny. Corbin was a little scared at first, but he soon got excited cheering for the show. Jovi told me her favorite part was when the knights were jousting, it was a lot of fun. All the kids got a bit tired by the end and were asking when it was going to be over, but everyone seemed to really enjoy it. We had a great time.





After the show Jovi got to open presents in the parking lot next to the castle. She got several great presents from her Aunts and grandparents.






Jovi is a wonderful little little girl. She loves all things girly, especially princesses and unicorns. She draws the cutest unicorn pictures, but my favorite picture she made recently was a picture of our whole family as Mermaids, Mermen and even a Merdog. Jovi still loves Scooby Doo and Barbie movies. She likes doing school, she is learning addition and how to read cvc words right now along with some geography and history. Jovi loves playing with friends, including her brother. She is a great big sister helping her brother (when he lets her) and generally being a good example. She is very caring and tries to do what is right. I am so glad Jovi is part of our family.

Dallas Museum of Art

On the first Tuesday of every month the Dallas Museum of Art has free admission and runs children's programs from 11:00-2:00.  We went this Tuesday with friends from Justin and had a really great time.  I think we will be going every month from now on. They had story time, some art projects and a family tour that we didn't get to do this time (something for next time). Jovi got to be the trash in a story about why the rooster crows in the morning.





When the story teller asked her name she proudly said Jovi Elizabeth Flores. She had a great bow at the end too, but I didn't get a picture of it.

I wasn't totally sure if it was allowed to bring in outside food and the DMA's website said they had kid lunches for $5.50 so we bought two. The adult food at the DMA restaurant may be nice, but the kid lunches were a disappointment. Half a sandwich, some animal crackers and a drink is not what I would call a great lunch. Now that I know it is totally acceptable to bring a lunch, we will be doing that from now on.

The kids got to do two art projects. They made a paper flower and then, after going though a neat instalment art piece they made a skeleton puppet. Corbin had fun making his, he cut almost the whole thing out himself, and then I spent the rest of the time chasing him around the kids area.


Jovi spent a lot of time on her skeleton. I thought it turned out pretty cute.





We had a great time at the DMA and a great time spending time with our friends.

Hopefully Helpful Links

These are websites that I've found useful or inspirational for Jovi's school.  I hope you find some of them helpful.


FREE CURRICULUM

BrightlyBeamingRescources this site will eventually have full lesson plans for 0-8 year olds.  Kindergarten+ levels are not complete, but I really like the pre-K curriculum (it even has a weekly schedule) and what is there in the older areas is really neat.

ConfessionsofaHomeschoolingMom it's an awesome blog full of inspiration, great ideas and resource links, but she also offers a letter of the week curriculum, free if you download it in pieces or $10 for it all in one download.

Homeschoolshare One of my favorite sites that I've used more than any other so far (and listed as a link on this blog a bunch of times).  You could use just this site for a really fun preschool program or add some math and reading for a kindergarten program. (they have mostly units based on literature, but have science, math and history units too, I found one on castles and one on princesses)

Tot School is curriculum for 2-4 year olds.  I use the tot trays with Corbin right now and once he's ready for more I'll add some tot books and packs which can be used like Before Five in a Row lessons.

THIS website offers a compilation of free phonics programs and resources.  The have a whole program that they offer if you want to print it.  I've been very happy with our program/book Phonics Pathways: Clear Steps to Easy Reading and Perfect Spelling.  It's been a great fit with Jovi and her needs, but might not be for everyone.  It can't hurt to try a free program if you are looking for one.

Centre for Innovation in Mathmatics Teaching offers the math curriculum that England's public schools use.  It is the complete program from PreK through high school.  It is supposed to be a very high level program that works on a lot of mental math.

Starfall is a site that has interactive, phonics readers and worksheets.  They also have books and worksheets you can print for free along with a lot of reasonably priced phonics materials.

Cullen's ABC's offers an online preschool with videos and activities.  This one is new to me and I haven't looked at it much but what I've seen looks neat.


BLOGS and FUN STUFF

Superteacher worksheets FREE worksheets, just about any type you can think of.

HERE is a site that offers FREE arts and crafts.

Scriptures 4 kids offers 4 different reading levels of scriptures and other games to play using the scriptures.  I keep meaning to get Jovi on this site and I forget.  She really likes getting on the Friend website though.

This BLOG offers FREE, printable flannel board scripture stories. 

Find FREE file folder games HERE and HERE.

Two paper doll sites, HERE and HERE.  The first one has all sorts of fantasy paper dolls and the second has paper dolls from around the world.

LDSFamilyFun offers FHE lessons, you don't even need the videos.

Second Week

I've learned several things through our first 2 1/2 weeks of homeschooling.  The first thing I've learned the past two weeks is that my schedule is still a work in progress.  Major tweaking to our daily schedule has been done since we started.  We've gone from a 5 day a week schedule to a 4 day a week schedule (there always seems to be one day a week where we are busy all day long).  I've cut out our manners program and Corbin's BFIAR lessons for now, decreased what we are doing with Jovi's FIAR lessons and added a ten week fairy princess program (it helps motivate Jovi to happily do her handwriting and reading lessons when she has something extra fun to look forward to).  

The second thing I've learned that goes along with scheduling is to never do detailed lesson plans more than two weeks in advance because I'll have to pretty much rewrite them from scratch if I do.

The third thing I've learned, at least I'm working on learning, is that less is more.  Sure, there are tons of fun, interesting things that I can teach Jovi.  Things that we can have fun doing together.   But I have to focus on my educational goals for Jovi and plan the important stuff, like reading, math and handwriting first.  Jovi can only deal with parent led activities (and it doesn't seem to matter what type) for about an hour before she needs an unstructured break so planning less content for other areas helps us get through everything in a day.

The fourth thing I've learned is to have outside time in the morning, it is just too darn HOT to go out any other time except for the occasional pool trip. (duh moment, how could I not have known that growing up here)

The fifth thing I've learned is that we are really, really addicted to TV.  Cutting down is easier when you have fun stuff to do, but the kids still watch a lot of TV everyday and request more than I let them watch.  Does anyone have some suggestions?  I've been thinking about totally cutting it out for a few weeks, but I'm a bit scared.  What am I going to do when the kids are going crazy and I'm all out of energy or when I'm trying to make dinner and Corbin is either making a huge mess or tearing up things that don't need tearing up?  Right now I turn on the TV and and we all get a little break.  I've tried a few other options with not so great results, but I'm willing to try again.  There are a lot of reasons to watch less tv with young children, my mom sends me research articles about it.  Learning disabilities and ADHD symptoms are more likely in children who watch a lot (being more than 2 hours a day) of tv along with lower IQs, and that's not even talking about content and what kids are learning (although we rarely watch anything other than movies, PBS or qubo when the kids are in the room). Anyway, if you have some ideas, please send them my way.

So on to the actual week...Last week we read  Lentil (Picture Puffins) about a little boy who saves the day with his harmonica.  I think it is a favorite with Jovi.  With our new 4 day a week program we are doing a week and a half (or 6 days) with each book so we finished the lessons on Tuesday.  The two highlights of the week were getting Jovi her own ($3 from Walmart) harmonica and making lemonade (lemons play a big role in the story).  Here is the lemonade that we made together, it was yummy.


Last week we did one Before Five In A Row Lesson, we read  Goodnight Moon and then we made puffy paint and painted moon and star pictures on black poster board.  This puffy paint was a lot of fun.  You mix 1 cup of glue, 3 cups of shaving cream and a little paint together, draw a shape on the poster board and then fingerpaint with it. 








Here are some things I've learned about art projects, especially paint projects, with small children (most were learned through some painful errors).  Do all art over tile or linoleum (never carpet).  Have all supplies ready before starting.  Have an art only tablecloth.  Strip your kids, have them wear an art smock or clothing you truly don't care about because even if it is supposed to be washable, it isn't always true.  The last and most important, don't do ANYTHING else except watch and help the kids during an art project.  This is IMPERATIVE, turn your back for one minute and that awesome puffy paint could be all over your walls.  Art is fun, especially using paints, but it does take some effort to have a positive experience.

Here are the two folders Jovi has made to go with her FIAR lessons.  All the minibooks are from homeschoolshare .  Jovi likes making things like this, otherwise I don't think I'd bother.  I originally thought they would be great for reviewing lessons and what we learned throughout the week, but Jovi doesn't show any interest in reviewing things.  It is a cool way for ME to remember what we've done and maybe she'll like looking through them some time in the future.  (I can hope can't I?)






Hope you enjoyed. :)

First week of homeschooling

Last week was our first week of homeschooling.  It wasn't a "normal" week because we spent the afternoons helping my sister who has back problems, but we did get in almost all the subjects (missed out on science and manners).  It's still early to tell much about the curriculum I've chosen, but the Five in a Row lessons went well and Jovi really likes the reading lessons.  I had kind of planned for this, but Corbin is not always in a "lesson" mood so a few days last week we just played together which was fun too.  So far I am not excited about the Math lessons.  We've been doing colors, shapes and counting to 10 and that is with doubling up on lessons.  She's willing to do it and likes the games we do before the worksheet, but she isn't learning anything new.  I talked with someone and they said that Horizons Math starts out slow and then speeds up fast, I'd say we are ready for it to speed up.  Our Five in a Row book this week was Madeline.  We had lots of fun learning about France.  Jovi is able to find France on our world wall map without help.  This doesn't translate to other maps yet, but it was her first week of working with any maps at all so I'd say it is a good start.  We put together a notebook with all the things we learned last week using lots of cute minibooks from Homeschoolshare so she will have a way to review her lessons.  I'll try to take a picture of it and next week's notebook to give you an idea of what we are doing.  On Friday we went to la Madeline for lunch, Jovi was very excited to find out that croissants were French and had a croissant peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

We read The Little Rabbit (Pictureback(R)) for Corbin's Before Five in a Row lesson.  A very cute book.  It is about a little girl who gets a pet rabbit.  We talked about baby animals ,colors, pets and on Thursday went and got the kids their very own own pets.  Two beta fish in their own PLASTIC bowls (our last beta died when its pretty glass bowl was accidentally pushed off the counter and shattered, very sad).  I wanted to get goldfish, but they apparently need very large tanks and a filter.  This is not what I remember as a child who had feeder goldfish as pets.  They lived in a normal fishbowl and seemed to do just fine, but I guess betas are just as good and they are very easy to take care of.  The kids were SO excited.  Jovi named her fish Rainbow Rose.




Corbin named his fish Blue Fish. We got our last beta fish when Jovi was two and she named it Blue so I think it is an age thing. Kids this age are just really literal, it's funny.




I'm not planning on taking them to restaurants and getting them pets regularly or anything, but I thought we should do a few special things for our first week.  It's been fun and we look forward to next week.