Pre-K at Home - Day 1

So, I can't decide, is it homeschool or home school?  Officially TCS calls them "at-home" days for "at-home assignments," and avoids the word(s) all together.

I should probably do the same, as "homeschooling" implies that I have done a lot of research into curriculum and create my own lesson plains.  Blissfully, this is not the case!  Charlotte's wonderful Pre-K teacher supplies a detailed list of assignments to do at home.  It took us about an hour and half to get through all of them, but we took a break in the middle to hit up the splash pad with some friends.

Charlotte is really enthusiastic about having Mommy as her teacher; let's hope it holds!  One of her assignments today was to practice writing the letter "p" in rice or shaving cream.

We took this messy project out doors!

I think it may be a while before we see the perfect d'nealian p, but at least we're having fun getting there!

First Day of Pre-K

Yesterday marked Charlotte's first day of Pre-K.  I can hardly believe it, though she is one of the youngest kids in her class.  Fingers crossed that she does well.  Otherwise I have no problems keeping her back for another year of Pre-K, or even moving her back to her old MDO class and trying again next year.

We packed up her bags and a special lunch box and hurried out the door Monday morning.  Late as usual.  But I think it was worth it to snag these photos before we parted.

I really love this one of Charlotte and her Daddy.

After I saw her cute uniformed self on her way to class with her classmates, the day seemed to drag on forever.  Who knew 2:30 could be so long after 8:30?  I've been dropping Charlotte off at "school" for years, and TCS is actually at the same church where she has attended MDO since she was two, so the drop off itself wasn't very monumental for me.  The pick-up line, however, blew my mind.  And made me feel old.  I was so happy to see her!

As I buckled her into the car I asked her if she'd had a good day. "Yes!" she said.  But then, crestfallen, she said, "But I didn't read a book."  I have been telling her that she was going to learn how to read in Pre-K; apparently she thought the knowledge would just fall on her instantly on the first day.  She was even more unhappy at home when she proudly asked me what a page filled with a bunch of letters she'd written said and I had to tell her that she hadn't actually written any actual words (except for PET, of course).  Oh the tears! I quickly found a couple of places where she'd accidentally created "jon" and "huh" and declared those words as well, but told her that it is going to take some time before she can read and write.  Poor girl!

Her new school is a Christian school (non-denominational) and they follow a basic catechism each morning at assembly.  We haven't used the term catechism around here before (though I certainly remember the little book we had my first year of Sunday school), and I thought she was going to share some new knowledge with me when she asked, "Mommy, do you know what a catechism is?"
To which I replied, "Tell me, Charlotte."
"It is a bug!  It turns into a butterfly!"
Sorry sweetheart, that is a caterpillar.  One day of pre-k and she's already confusing old knowledge with the new, though I'm sure she'll get it straightened out soon enough :-)

After pickup, we swung by Bottie's house to show off the new uniform and snagged these photos as well:

It was a busy, fun day, and today we had our first "home school" day.  It went well!  Charlotte had fun, anyway :-).

Frederick is

• halfway between 19 and 20 months.
• obsessed with keys.  Not the play set I made with "real" keys, but real sets that turn on real cars. Which leads to...
• obsessed with cars and twuks. wace (red/race) twucks, why (white) twucks, bii (big) twucks.  The kid really loves twucks.  Every trip down the highway next to an 18 wheeler brings utter joy.  I now find myself speeding up to drive next to the darn things instead of only hurry past them. I need to post a video that shows his awe over the dozens of "race trucks" that google images pulls upon the computer screen.
• not a fan of a security blanket, but instead likes takes his red car with him to bed.
• a super smiley kid.
• underweight now, after being in the 95% for weight at 4 months old.
• insanely busy.
• a climber.
• crazy about his sister and loves to do whatever she does.  It melts my heart to see them smile and laugh and play together.
• determined.
• the worlds most awesome snuggler.
• still learning to say daddy.  I think I'll be sad when he stops calling Fred "Daddin."
• into graffiti.  Our walls show the damage.
• sometimes a cat on the floor.  He has a great meow.
• mischievous.
• a streaker.
• fond of saying "no, no, no," where just one "no" would suffice.
• using new words every day, but likes to hum something that sounds like "thank you," rather than opening his mouth to form words.
• precious and I love him.

Charlotte is

• nearly 4.   Can you believe it?
• fiery.  
• a writer of the words PET and CAT.
• fond of making up stories about PET and CAT, and making mommy write them down in a book.  (I must share the book, mustn't I?)
• independent.
• full of the craziest ideas. 
• going to start Pre-K in just a few days.
• excited about her new school and teacher.
• excited about learning how to read.
• always testing her boundaries and my limits.
• happiest as mommy's best helper...unless it requires picking up the blocks.
• interested in bugs.  Dead or alive, actually.  I try to keep her from picking up the dead ones when possible and encourage her to return the live ones to the grass before she finds herself holding yet another dead bug.
• crazy about her little brother.
• fond of taking blankets out of the linen closet and spreading them out all over the floor with her stuffed animals tucked in under them.
• a good helper when it comes to making cookies, especially if I need someone to lick the batter off the mixer.
• fond of games like Hi-Ho-Cherry-O and Chess, though I am pretty sure she makes up her own rules for Chess.
• like a fish in the water.
• a gift from God.  I love her.

Blogging? What's Blogging?

I just haven't felt much like it lately, but recently, I've missed it.  I keep stumbling upon bits of my day, things the kids do or things that make me smile that I want to share.  I haven't felt much like photography, either, lately, either.  Perhaps that has something to do with my lack of enthusiasm for sharing as well.

It seems that the last couple of months have found me in a minor slump.  The kind of slump that you really only see when you look backwards.  The kind that you have power over once you acknowledge it exists.

I have just been tired and simply slipped into survival mode - only doing what must be done to get by.
I could list all of the things that I've found trying and tiring the last couple of months, but then I might sound like someone who doesn't appreciate all of good things God has given me.  And perhaps, by being so tired I still haven't appreciated them enough.  But finally, I am tired of being tired.  Time to get over it and get on with life and enjoy the little things.

I am trying to remember how I used to find amusing all of the crazy things that my kids do.   At least if I share the worst of the moments on a blog, someone will find them amusing, even if I don't, and maybe someday I'll look back at these posts and think, "Oh, that was such an awful day; I'd totally forgotten it!"

So, what have we been up to this summer?

• A trip to Monterrey Bay and San Francisco for
  me and Fred.
• Visiting the beach.
• Frederick's first days at Mother's Day Out.
• Driving to Virginia and back for a family reunion.
• Swimming with family.
• Swimming with friends.
• Making s'mores and tent camping in the back yard (until 9 pm anyway - ha!).
• A girls weekend and bachelorette party for my friend Vicki in Austin.
• Vicki and Paul's beautiful wedding.
• Preparing to be Charlotte's co-teacher this fall. (yipes!  glad it is only PK.)
• Party planning for Charlotte's 4th birthday party.
• A new obsession with Pinterest.  

Lately I have been trying to tackle a lot of things around the house.  It turns out things get a little shabby when you are simply on survival mode.  Or, maybe that is just the two kids party.  More than likely, a little of both.  I've been dreaming up schemes for our house that won't cost much money and busy doing things that don't cost any, like adding photographs to unused frames and adding them to the wall and using the steamvac on the master bedroom carpet.

Of course, the latter was spurred by another incident.  The kind of incident that might happen when your slightly sick 19 month old removes his diaper while you are busy drying your hair and putting on makeup.  This might not be so bad if it he wasn't feeling a little sick to his tummy and if it hadn't also involved a library book.  At least now our carpet looks almost new. See the fun things you have been missing out on since I haven't been blogging?  Maybe you wish I hadn't decided to start back up again. :-P


And I will close here, and let you know that there are so many things on my blogger list that I have yet to share.  And soon you will know them.  Like it or not.