This year we have formed our own homeschool group with a family in our church and two families I've met from another area church. Together we have about 11 kids, which is the perfect number to do lots of fun activities together and build some great friendships. I teach the older kids class, from 7 year olds up to 10. Then there is another little class with 4 & 5 year olds. Another mom volunteered to watch Jacob and his buddy Woody in the nursery.
We don't really have a specific topic, but a variety of things that we wouldn't otherwise cover in typical curriculum. So far we have done health & safety and we'll do some cooking and maybe sewing and maybe sign language-- anything the kids decide they want to do. We also have one of the dads come and teach gym for 30 minutes and then we eat lunch together. The kids look forward to this every week. It is so much easier than traveling to our CC group we went to last year and doesn't take up our whole day.
This week we went with our group on a field trip to a local Farm & Museum. (It's about an hour and a half drive.) They had a special homeschool day with different activities scheduled. It was the perfect weather for the day and the kids had so much fun! The theme was squash & pumpkins. First they took a trip to the farm garden and looked at the different types of squash and pumpkins.
They got to help bake some pumpkin bread, which we then had to go home and make later they liked so much!
They played pumpkin bowling.
Tossing the leaves wasn't really on the schedule of activities, but it turned out to be probably their favorite part. There was a pretty big pile! There was also a sandbox nearby, so one mom stayed with Jacob and his friend outside while we did some of the other activities.
After lunch, we went back inside and did some math, counting & probability, trying to estimate and then count how many seeds were inside the pumpkin.
Then all the kids got a turn churning the ice cream maker for pumpkin ice cream, which was delicious!
Here's our fun group! Even two little boys for Andrew to get to know!
Before we left, we took a wagon ride around the farmyard and saw some of the animals. Jacob loved it-- he was perfectly still the whole time, taking it all in!
My little baby boy somehow turned two. This kid has been through more than any kid should have gone through, but he is tough, and he is one of the funniest and most easygoing little boys I've seen. Here are some fun facts about Jacob at two:
* He really doesn't eat. He is super picky. He likes meat, and of course he likes sweets. He always eats good at breakfast. But there is not a single fruit or vegetable he will eat on its own. He may eat them mixed into something like a casserole, but most of the time even that will only be a bite or two. He loves his juice. And the pulmonary dr. said it would make sense for him to be thirsty a lot with the way his throat is at this point. But he wants juice ALL THE TIME. Which is probably why he doesn't eat much. But who can say no to this face?
* He is officially in a big boy bed now. Andrew and Jacob recently got bunk beds for their room. The transition was smoother than we could have ever imagined. The first night he got out of bed once, cried less than five minutes after we put him back in, then went to sleep all night. Naptime was just as smooth. He will get up in the morning and play with Andrew but he knows not to come out of the room. Even after nap time he'll play by himself until I come get him. He is such an easy little guy!
* He still rocks that cheese grin! He was full of them on his birthday! He uses it to get all sorts of things he wants. He now refers to himself in the first person all the time. "Jacob's cup," "Jacob's juice," "Jacob's plate..." And if he doesn't know what something is called, it is "that", as in "Jacob's that."
* He loves to play with little cars, and I love seeing his little chubby hands drive his cars around on the floor or in the bath. He usually carries one with him wherever he goes. And he loves seeing or hearing cars outside. He also loves to play with dinosaurs and now he's finally into books as well, flipping the pages and pointing at things he likes.
* He was walking around on his birthday singing "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you" all day long. There are days when I wonder if he hears as well as he should, especially since it was determined that his adenoids are gigantic (like Abi's were when she was consistently failing hearing tests), but then he goes and says complete sentences that are fairly clear. He has A LOT of words and amazes me with the new ones he learns every day. Some other favorites are: "toffee" for coffee and "pobby" for "potty".
* (Look at his tongue sticking out when he's concentrating in this picture!) He always wants to be held (which I will take as long as I can get it), as long as we're not outside or at the playground, at which point if I call him to tell him its time to go he will run away from me as far as possible and cover his eyes to hide. "Hold me" always comes out as "holdy" when he says it!
* (This fire truck was a gift from Grandma & Grandpa. He loved it, and so did his brother & sisters, who always want to play in there with him.) I thought he would turn out to be a super mischievous kid and get into all sorts of trouble, but he's really very compliant and very sweet. He understands when you ask him to do certain things, like throw something away, he can put his own cup and dish on the counter when he's done, and he never whines about going to bed. He really doesn't cry much at all, unless he wants to be held.
He does get into a little trouble with this guy. This is his buddy Woody, from church. He always asks for him when he gets in the nursery, and Woody talks about him at home, as well. His big sister is best friends with Leah. What a blessing for him to have such a good friend at such a young age. Even if they are constantly fighting over toys, they are also hilarious when they're together!
One year ago, shortly after his birthday was when we first found out about his seizures. I can still remember that day so clearly, walking in to the hospital room filled with doctors, one who was a neurosurgeon and one who was an oncologist. And then six months later he had surgery to remove the tumor that was causing the seizures. This past Monday we went back for a follow-up MRI. We don't have any results yet, but look how far we've come since that day. I don't expect any negative results. He is one tough little guy, already going through more medical procedures than I have in my life. We are so thankful for what God has done for him and how he continues to amaze us with his health and his growth. He's always smiling (even when he's in the hospital, like below) and always happy.
Last weekend was our church's annual Fall Festival. You never know how the weather will be this time of year in Vermont, but it turned out to be sunny and hot that day. We've had unusually warm weather for September, so it didn't really feel like fall, but we sure did have a fun day. There were tons of games, food, a bounce house, and prizes for the kids. There was even an area for the toddlers, where Jacob played happily almost the whole time!
I didn't get a lot of pictures of Andrew at the Fall Festival because he was too busy in the bounce house or running around playing games. But afterward, I took him to his taekwando belt testing. I wasn't sure if he would be prepared or not, but his instructor said he would be fine and she's very lenient in passing them to the next belt. Since we went later in the day, he ended up testing with a bunch of kids that were much higher belts than he and so he got nervous and had some problems with his pattern, but she let him try again with some help, and he ended up doing just fine.
They rotate around so they can spar with all different people, and he ended up sparring with the biggest guy there (his instructor teaches mixed classes from preschool all the way up to adult-- that way they can all work together and help each other). I think the guy was pretty easy on him.
He tried to do a back kick to break his board, but couldn't do it (not many can, according to the instructor). But he did it first try with his hand.
Now he's officially high green! (The order goes: white, yellow, high yellow, green, high green, blue, high blue, red, high red, then black. So he's halfway to black.) I'm definitely going to make him put in a little more practice before his next testing but I'm thankful that he's gained the confidence to get this far.
We were lucky to have gotten to go to the lake about three different times this summer. We love that Vermont has so many options for State Parks with swimming spots, and that you can get in free with a library pass. So we take advantage of the warm months by getting outside.
Jacob was a fish this year! He would sit in the shallow part of the water and just dig in the sand or put water in his bucket for hours. And be perfectly happy. He tried going out further once or twice and after realizing he couldn't stand up and ending up face down, he didn't do it again. So we didn't really worry about him.
Andrew and Leah both loved going out as far as they could. Andrew was great as long as he had his trusty floatie and his goggles. He's still a little intimidated by the water, but was not afraid to get out there and swim! Leah was a little braver and would go out without a float. She practiced swimming a lot on her own and would go out and play without fear.
Abi's not as bold with going out past where she can stand up. She enjoys the water and the sand, but cautiously, and only with her float.
One of our favorite lake activities is building sand castle villages and adding aqueducts for running water. We try to get them so we can have a giant pool of water that will travel down back into the lake. Of course, Brett and I do most of the work but the kids love going back and forth dumping their buckets.
We're always sad when summer comes to an end, but we know we have something to look forward to when the weather gets warm again!
