Blue and Elephants

Today is brought to you by the color blue and elephants. I am not sure what these two things really have in common, but those are the themes.

The book we read is called, "When the Elephant Walks". It is a never-ending loop book about what happens when the elephant walks and scares other critters in the story. It is a cute story and Drew likes pointing out all the "extras" in the book, like sunglasses, hats, umbrellas, strollers, and swings. It is fun seeing what he really recognizes and he is starting to use words for them.

I think I should explain that Drew still isn't the most verbal child. He knows what we are saying, follows directions, and understands, but chooses not to use a lot of words. I know that sounds odd that he chooses that, but he does and being around him makes it clear that he is just not opting to use words. He will decide when he wants to use them, and other times not.

Elephant was one of his first words, so anything having to do with them makes him a happy camper. We made an elephant face out of construction paper. I cut out the pieces and he taped them down. If I had been thinking we would have made it into a mask, but I might save that idea for later.

I also set up a station for painting blue today. It was supposed to be painting straight lines, but that didn't hold his interest. The reason for taping the paper to the door is to increase muscle coordination by working on a vertical surface. Apparently, that is one way to help kids have legible handwriting later on, to have them work upright. Blue paint got all over him and the floor, but that is why I highly recommend the Crayola Washable Kids Paint set. It is great and very easy to clean up. It is the same paint I used to color the shaving cream to make water.

I am starting to feel like a good chunk of our homeschooling stuff ends in a bath for Drew. Which isn't a problem, it just reminds me of my mom saying I would always come home dirty from preschool. I enjoy myself getting that dirty, so I am assuming Drew is having a good time, too.

Introduction from Ashley!

Hi! I'm Ashley, Molly's sister-in-law. (Her husband is my little brother!) My husband and I have two little girls, and we're just starting the homeschooling adventure with the older one. I'll be writing here on occasion, as I'm inspired. And by "inspired" I mean, so excited about something that I can't wait to share. No promises for all the in-between times, though!

So in the way of introduction...

Paul and Ashley

Paul is a web developer.
Ashley is a graphic designer turned stay at home mom.
We've been living in Atlanta, GA for about 8 years now.

Savannah and Caroline

Savannah is almost 4 and loves being outside, elephants, and the color green.
Caroline just turned 1 and loves to explore, chase after her big sister, and put everything into her mouth.



Our plan right now is to homeschool for Pre-K/K4, primarily to see if homeschooling is going to work for our family. Also, with Savannah's late August birthday, I want to get an idea if she'll be ready for kindergarten next year (2014) or if she should be held back. I am not sure yet about my curriculum, but I have been researching the various free Pre-K curricula that's out there. (If you're interested, here's a little round up on my blog.) So we'll see. ;-)

*Images credit: Jules Photography. I'm not obligated to link to her, I just do because I had such a good experience!

Sky and Water

Today we did Genesis 1:6-8:

⁶ And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

 

The craft for today was making a picture of the sky and the water. It was a fun one! We glued cotton balls to a blue piece of paper. Then I mixed blue washable paint with shaving cream. Drew painted with this mixture to make water.  

I knew this craft was going to be a messy one so we did it without a shirt. He also went right into the tub afterward, which was a bonus for him. We talked about cleaning up after getting messy. We are also doing some basic life skills with all of this, such as, wiping up messes and cleaning up after we finish something.

I like the way it came out. When we get all done with the days of creation they will go in a book for him. We did Day 1 yesterday, but it wasn't nearly as exciting. I will say I am glad God's final product didn't come out this messy, but it does serve as a good reminder about the chaos that was before creation.

A New Adventure

Welcome to my new blog. I wanted to make somewhere to share our homeschooling adventure without overloading my normal everyday blog with stuff. Mildly silly, but it seemed like a good idea. I am not sure how often I will post. I am hoping it is regular, but make no promises since life gets a bit crazy here in the borogroves. I might have guest post from time to time if people want to contribute.

The Cast of Characters:

AJ and Molly  aka  The Parents

AJ - A nerdy dad and engineer who works for a local company in Orlando.

Molly - A nerdy mom who stays home and takes care of Drew.

Drew aka The kiddo

Drew - a very hyper 2 year old boy

We are currently using the ABC Jesus Loves Me curriculum. So far, I am liking it. It does take some work to get things going for us, but Drew has enjoyed what we have done already. I don't plan on posting curriculum or things like that. I figure there are plenty of sites like that and I don't want to add to that. I plan on posting my take on homeschooling and what that looks like to us. If you want to add to this please let me know and I would love to have some other takes on homeschooling. I promise the pictures will get better, but all I have access to right now is my phone. So, bear with me on this front.

Thanks for joining us on this new adventure!