End of 2nd Grade and Pre-K

I meant to post this last week, but we finished up our school year last Thursday morning.  I was a little apprehensive as to when we would actually get done, if we would need to continue into the summer, but it all worked out well and we are now off for summer!

Caleb finished the following studies:

Bible- Caleb learned about the names for Jesus this year in school.  I love that our curriculum went through the names that the Bible calls Him and refers back to the Old Testament prophecies, as well as the New Testament texts.  We also studied about the history behind the names and how the times and areas influenced that.

Spelling- The spelling program we used this year was actually quite wonderful!  I wasn't too sure about it at the beginning, but Caleb has come so far in being able to think through and spell out words that he might not know.  We covered all basic spellings of the variety of words and Caleb can now confidently write and tackle words that he might not know while reading.  I grossly underestimated the power of spelling, so I'm excited for us to continue working on this skill next year.

English- Again, I was unsure of the English that came with our curriculum, but it also proved to be a great program.  We walked through half of a book (the other half is for next year) and Caleb has excelled in all the topics he has encountered.  To, too, two and there, their, they're are no match for him, among others.

History- This year, our curriculum was pretty history-centric.  We spent the year learning about the founding of the USA and studying the states.  Each day we either read and did a project on a founding father, inventor, or someone else (or something) important in our history -OR- we studied a state.  Caleb learned many different things about the states and can look at a blank United States map and correctly identify roughly 75% of the states on there.

Science- Our science involved  variety of things from kitchen experiments, projects with air, water, light, etc. We used magnets and learned about the body, electricity, wind, animals, insects, and birds.

Math- We worked through the whole second level of Singapore math, a curriculum that isn't super popular, but is a phenomenal program.  The lessons are quick, concentrated and colorful, so the kids pick up the concepts so fast and move on to the next without having to do page after page of wrote practice.  Caleb loves math and asks to work on it, so he's excited to do the next level in 3rd grade!

Reading- Our curriculum has a lot of reading built into it and Caleb read many chapter books this year in school, all centered around simpler times in our country.  He read about the Native Americans, a few Laura Ingels Wilder novels, and others.  This was something that we didn't have to work hard to accomplish as Caleb loves to read.

Piper worked on some school work this year, but with it being pre-K, I didn't push too hard.  However, this year she has started reading, doing simple math and has some serious fine motor skills under control!  We will start Kindergarten next year using My Father's World, like we did with Caleb, and I anticipate that she will love it like he did!

For now, we continue to work on getting this house sold, moving down to join Jes in Houston and enjoy our summer!

Chicken Without A Head

Hi peeps!

Wow, things have been SO, SO busy around here!  Basically, I'm running around like a chicken without it's head, just trying to get the most basic task done.  Essentially, this is how my schedule works:

Monday- We usually have either a MOPS meeting or a Steering meeting, both of which I must attend, as I'm the coordinator of the group.
Tuesday- We usually have any doctor appointment or grocery shopping this day.
Wednesday- Piper has dance in the morning, we usually go home or meet friends for lunch and then leave again and head to my parent's church for dinner and then children's choir.
Thursday- Basically, the same as Tuesday, but I also try to get a lot of my grading for work done this day.

Then, add in the fact that on Tuesday AND Thursday, I leave for work at 5pm and don't return until around 9pm.  On Monday AND Wednesday, I leave for work around 8:30pm and don't get home until after 10:30, sometimes close to 11.

Add in all the things that I've got to do around the house to just keep it running and the kids fed and clothed.

Oh, and homeschooling too.

Then there are all the boxes.  Packing as much as I can at the end of the week and weekend, leaving Monday through Thursday for work and other things, leads me feeling a bit frantic and chaotic.

This will all end soon for a bit, as my semester is mostly over at the end of next week, but that doesn't stop the frantic from creeping up on me.

So, if you email me and I don't respond for a little while, you now know what is going on around here.  Please know that I'll get back to you!  I'm just trying to keep my head attached for now!

Caleb's 8th Birthday

Wow, 8 years?  On some days it seems like it was just the other day that this boy was born in a flurry of fear and anxiety, and on others it seems like it's been a lifetime!

Caleb is still the most bright, smart, sweet, stubborn, march-to-the-beat-of-his-own-drummer kid that I've ever known!

On to the pictures:

I signed the kids up for a toy store promotion a few years ago where they get a coupon for some money off a purchase, so we always try to go and spend that money (and then some) for a gift from Jes and I.  To no one's surprise, Caleb decided on a new DS game that he had been wanting: Wheel of Fortune.  

At least it's somewhat educational, right?!?  

While we were making our purchase, the lady who checked us out was told by both kids that it was Caleb's actual birthday.  She insisted that we head right on over to the customer service counter for a balloon and a crown.  He wore this crown every where we went that day.  

While we were there, they also announced his birthday over the loud speaker.  It was one of the major highlights of his day.

I always take the kids where ever they want for lunch on their actual birthdays and this kid chose IHOP.  He has always had a deep and abiding love for the pancake house, so off we went.  The wait staff came over and brought him ice cream AND sang happy birthday to him.  He just about came unglued, he was so excited!  

Just a few days after his birthday, we had Caleb's party at California Pizza Kitchen.  I kind of planned this party on the fly after saying for months that we weren't going to do anything big.  FYI- I say that every year. Every year I find myself doing another birthday party post.  

We had a yummy cake delivered that was made to look like a pizza.  It was super cute and super tasty too!

We invited lots and lots of friends,

and his sister had fun too!  I had these aprons (you can see them in various photos throughout) made for all the kids as take home gifts.

The kids toured the kitchens,

learned about all the pizza making apparati,

and made their very own personal pizzas!

We had fun with our friends

blew out the candles,

opened presents,

ooo'd and ahh'd over some particularly fun ones,

and squealed in delight over the ones we really wanted.

All in all, I think Caleb had a great birthday and party!

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

I've started, erased, started, erased and now started this post multiple times.  So, I'm just going to start writing and what comes out will stay.  So here goes...

About a month to month and a half ago, Jes got a call about a job opening in another large city.  He gets these calls/emails nearly every other day (that is NOT an exaggeration).  Most of the time he doesn't even entertain the idea of these jobs, but this one seemed interesting.  This company was very interested in talking with him so he agreed to a phone interview, which happened late on a Wednesday evening.

He came home from that phone interview and said, "I will never hear from that company again."  

One week later, he was headed for a face to face interview.

Two weeks later, he went to Georgia for what we thought was another interview, but ended up being a 'let's meet to make sure that we love you, since we already think we do' type meeting.

He was offered the job, tentative to a background check and drug screen, and after some back and forth about salary, he accepted.  

The background check and drug screen came back this past Tuesday and he gave his notice that day.

So, we are moving.  To Houston.

To say that I've struggled with this decision from time to time is an understatement as all my family, friends, the kids' friends, the kids' activities and my job are here, but I am choosing to trust my husband and my God and know that everything will work out.  

I am choosing to look at this as an adventure, but that does not mean that I don't have my moments of sheer terror and fear. 

I have lived in North Texas, with the exception of my college and graduate school years, my entire life, so this will be a huge change for myself and our kids.  

We are in the process of looking for homes and will start packing up our house and placing things in storage that don't need to have in the house.  

Jes starts work in Houston on the 25th of this month, but I will stay behind in McKinney to continue packing things up, finishing out the semester at work, getting the kids to the end of their activities for the year and getting the house on the market.  Caleb, Piper and I will join him sometime in June or July, after our house sells and we get everything wrapped up here.  Jes will commute home each weekend and we will covet our time together, trying to soak up as much as we can before he has to leave again.

This is going to be hard, especially the next few months, but we are all committed to making this work as a family.  However, prayers, good thoughts, well wishes, etc are all appreciated!

Here's to our new journey!

**Whew!  So, glad that's out so I can now talk about it and post picture of the absolute chaos that is and is to come!**

Big Changes

Without revealing too, too much, there are some big changes that are occuring in the Mathis household. 

We should know something in the next 2 weeks, but until then, I can't post out of respect and fear of jeopardizing the possibility!

I'll be back shortly to fill you all in and start posting much more regularly!

XOXO

School Update - A Month Late Progress Report

Hi friends!  I realized the other day that I had neglected to do our yearly progress report on how school has been going for Caleb and Piper.
In order to keep this somewhat brief and to the point, I'm going to break this up by the subjects that we've been working on.  So, here goes:

Bible
So, this year in Bible, we've been studying the names of Jesus based on the scriptures.  Basically, what this looks like is that we read the memory verse, which usually is the same for a couple of weeks, we read corresponding verses from the Bible and then talk about the concept.  There is also a visual component where the verse is printed on a picture that is visually representative of the verse (like Jesus is the bread of life printed on a picture of a loaf of bread), which is colored and taped onto a poster where we are collecting all the pictures.  I've been amazed at Caleb's recall of these verses, often he's able to quote them exactly after a couple of days of not seeing them.  Piper listens when we are discussing this and often chimes in with her point of view, which can be pretty enlightening for a 4 year old.  She's got such a sweet spirit and understands these things far beyond her years.

Spelling
This is a new subject for us this year, as the last couple of years spelling as has been integrated into the other subjects we've been working on.  This year, our spelling comes from Rod and Staff, a Bible based spelling curriculum and is just wonderful.  I've noticed from our friends that go to public school that they are often assigned words that just aren't useful for a 7-8 year old to know at that point in their lives.  Now, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against having themed spelling words based on what the child is studying, but I hardly think that a 7 year old needs to understand the ins and outs of things such as morgue and Iwo Jima, and Vietnam.  All words I've seen on friend's spelling lists.  I'm not going to pretend to know why those words were on 1st and 2nd grader spelling lists, but I do know I can pick our words, and morgue will not be one of them for a very long time.

English
In English, Caleb has been learning the basics of the English language, which makes me very, very happy.  We've learned a myriad of things in this section of our course work, including things like the differences in to, two and too, and there, their and they're.  Caleb understands and uses all of these correctly now, something that makes my English loving heart happy (sidenote: my first college major choice was English.  I love, love, love it!)  Honestly, even though these concepts seem to come fairly easily to my boy, English is often where our conflicts occur.  Even though he grasps these ideas, writing is still a struggle for him.  His handwriting is actually still quite poor, but he's working on this everyday.  He just really, really, really dislikes writing a lot, but I've seen quite a lot of improvement this year and I know we'll see more!

History
In History this year, we are doing an actual study of the history of the United States, complete with a study of each state.  We haven't really had a specific study of history until this year, and honestly History is NOT my favorite subject normally, but this has been really fun for us.  I did not enjoy history when I was in school, but seeing all the interesting things that we've been able to learn about this year has opened my eyes to another view of the subject.  This year's study of the United States has really made me want to take the kids on an extended trip around the US to show them all the things we've been studying.  True to what I expected, Caleb LOVES history time, but then again, his dad LOVES all things history too, so it comes naturally for him!

Math
Math for us this year has been from Singapore math, a method of learning math first by visually processing it and then working the problems in a sequential manner so as to build on each concept.  Most of the year, this method of learning has worked well for Caleb and we've covered a wide range of topics.  He still loves math and looks forward to working on the subject.

Art
Ok, so I have to be honest here, I do not see the need, nor do I want to teach a specific art curriculum to my kids.  We completed the first half of this curriculum that taught how to draw certain things, which was somewhat fun for them, but they just didn't care, nor did I, so I dropped it from our regular set of work.  We do crafts and painting and coloring and building things, etc, so I feel like they are getting the appropriate level of art knowledge.  We also go to the art museum and study works of art, so they are exposed to paintings, sculptures and other art pieces, so I'm ok with that.  I know some people will think I'm doing the kids a terrible disservice not delving deep into this area of study, but honestly, I feel like I'm doing so much more than a lot of public and private schools, so I'm ok with that.

Music
About a year ago, I got a fabulous deal on a keyboard and stand at a consignment sale.  Ever since the keyboard made its appearance in our house, the kids have been either trying to play it or begging me to play it.  I feel like that they need to have some formal training in how to do this, so I'm teaching Caleb first how to read music.  I bought a very simple book on music and how to read it and am working through this with Caleb until he understands the basics and I can start teaching him how to play.  I'm excited about this as musical ability runs deep both in my and Jes's family, so I feel like both of the kids will pick this up pretty well.  Caleb has exceptional tone and ability to match tone with his voice, so he's got the potential there, I just want to tap into it.

Reading
Caleb has always been a skilled and voracious reader.  This year, Caleb has really bumped up his reading level and has completed some chapter books that are far beyond his 2nd grade status.  With his curriculum this year, in conjunction with the studies we've been working on in history, Caleb has been reading books such as Squanto, Farmer Boy, On the Banks of Plum Creek, etc.  He's enjoying the stories and I'm loving seeing him branch out into other genres of literature.  Other than his assigned reading of various books, there is a set time between history and math called book basket time where he is allowed to read anything he would like for a set amount of time.  For Caleb, this is akin to a palate cleanser and allows him to rest a bit and just escape into a book.  Often, he is reading a book from the library on ninjas or Star Wars or some such.

So, that's what Caleb's been up to during school.

Piper, on the other hand, is a completely different story.  I've been playing a little fast and loose with her school work, letting her dictate when and what instead of me setting a rigid schedule and time table.  Before the school year started, I did purchase a preschool workbook with basic skills in it and she's mastered many of those skills.  She's not yet reading, but I've heard so many good things about the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, so I ordered it this week and we should be able to start that this next week.  I'm not pressuring her at all, but I do believe that if she can read and read well that her Kindergarten year will go much more smoothly.  We will use the same curriculum that we did with Caleb during his first year so I know what to expect there and can anticipate somewhat how the next year will go for her.

That's where our school year stands as of now!  We will continue on with what we're working on and finish on point by mid-May so we can take the summer off and just work on fun stuff and enjoy our time together!

48 Questions

I saw this over at a blog that I frequently read and decided that I hadn't done one in a long time, so here goes:

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I was named after an obscure song from the 70s.  Apparently, it was about a dog who commits suicide.  Super duper happy, huh?!?

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?  A couple of weeks ago.  I don't tend to cry often, so it's got to be a big deal.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?  My handwriting is not great, in my eyes, but other people seem to think that it's good.  

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?  Turkey, if I have to choose.  Not a huge fan, but that's what I will always pick.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 2 and I'm sticking to it.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?  Sure. 

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?  I wouldn't say a lot.  I am, on occasion, on the sarcastic side, but I've learned in all my years that some people are highly offended by that.  Being in the profession I'm in, I have to reign that in.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?  Yes, but I have often wished for someone to rip them out.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?  No.  My years for that type of behavior have passed.  Besides, I would be that .0001 percent would get hurt beyond belief.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?  Lucky Charms.  Hello yumminess.  I don't ever eat it, though, because hello sugar!

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?  I rarely wear shoes that tie, these days, so I guess no.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?  Mentally, yes.  Emotionally, yes.  Physically, meh.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?  Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?  Their face, in general.  Then teeth and hair and eyes.

15. RED OR PINK?  Red, but I'm surrounded by oh so much pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?  I am SUCH a people pleaser.  I want to make everyone happy with me and with everyone else, regardless my needs and wants and feelings.  I'm coming to realize, in my old age, that I can't control or alter other people, so I have to just be me.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?  My grandfather and grandmother.  

18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?  Probably anything to do with baking. I've come leaps and bounds in the baking arena and can actually bake things that are edible now, but there are so many pretty things I want to make that I know are out of the realm of my ability.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?  I'm at home, which equals no shoes.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?  Grapes

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?  My kids playing and House Hunters on the tv.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?  Red, red, red.  

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?  Clean laundry, but NOT fabric softener or scented laundry detergent.  I know that sounds weird, but the smell of my houses laundry clean with scent free detergent and baking soda does it for me.  Also, my husband's cologne.  That's a no brainer.

24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?  Very, but I'm not going to force them on other people.  We all have the ability and right to have our own opinions, but I don't think we should force them on anyone else.  We can, however, all agree to disagree and still get along.

25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?  Oh, beach all the way.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?  Football, if on tv or game.  Baseball, if we are AT the game.

27. HAIR COLOR?  I am back to being brunette now, but I was just blonde.  I figure that hair is meant to be cut and colored, so I change pretty often.

28. EYE COLOR?  Hazel.  Most people think my eyes are brown, but they aren't.  They just haven't looked close enough.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope.

30. FAVORITE FOOD?  Any kind of mexican food and sushi.  I LOVE sushi.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?  Always happy endings.  I loathe scary movies.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?  Snow White and the Huntsman

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?  Grey Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?  Winter

35. FAVORITE DESSERT?  Cheesecake, anything covered in chocolate.

36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?  I would have to say cardio.

37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?  Both.

38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?  I'm currently in between books, but have a whole pile on my nightstand.

39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?  I use a trackpad on my laptop.  

40. FAVORITE SOUND?  My children really, truly laughing.  Not the fake laugh that they both can and do do, but when they get really tickled and have that belly laugh going on.

41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?  Anything but doo-wap.  I can't stand that, but everything else is great!

42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?  Probably northern Oregon or the Dakotas.  Oregon is probably further.

43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?  I have a head full of useless science facts and knowledge.  I can also, pretty easily, recall stories that friends have told me years later.  

44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?  Dallas, Texas

45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?  McKinney, Texas - Just north of Dallas.

46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?  Red brick with off white accents.

47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?  Silver

48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS? Yes.