Greetings from Prunetucky!

Wow, this blogging is pretty sophisticated; now I just need a digital camera! No recent pics, sorry! Soon, though!

Aiden started kindergarten last week and he feels so BIG now. Our curriculum: Living life mostly, reading On the Banks of Plum Creek, Robert Frost's poetry, the Bible with memory verses, and phonics-letter tiles and 3-letter words! We are adding in dominoes, card games, bean counting, cooking, other games for math. Nature journaling and science experiments each once a week. We learn 3 new ASL signs and Spanish every other day. Want to work in piano, folk song/classical music, and drawing, but mom needs to get her act together and work those in soon. Lots of craft projects (sock puppet pet) and a cricket house so far. Lots of bug and lizard collecting and playing in the garden.

Our philosophy for HSing is to learn in a relaxed and 'real' atmosphere. Develop a relationship with the natural world around us by close observation and asking lots of questions. Learning the abstract by first experiencing as much real life as possible. Learning to read and write and think by first hearing great literature and poetry. Being held accountable for information by retelling or narrating back what you have learned in your own words. Learning history from first-hand accounts as much as possible. Character building and a love for God with early development of good habits of respect, kindess, honesty, self-control, etc.

Little Liam enjoys sitting on my lap with his blanket, sucking on his middle and ring finger of his left hand during Aiden's reading time. Now that Aiden is more occupied with 'school' matters, Liam has become a bit more independent, (i.e. getting his own toys, thinking up his own uses for those toys, and getting into mischief too of course). He has 4 teeth (maybe more) coming in all at once now, so he has been a little crabby. He is obsessed with Ozzie's (our new cat) ears; he loves how Ozzie can bend them away from his outreached finger and flicks them in response to Liam's finger touch. Poor feline endures kids packing him around, pokes, prods, Ben (huge lab) chasing him. He chose us, but he had no idea what was in store for him, surely!

Anyway, both boys are sick now with colds and mom's work schedule has been crazy, so life the last few days has been not the greatest. Better days ahead for sure though. Praise God! My boss has agreed to let me reduce my hours and set my own schedule as of September 7th, so I can be wife and mommy and MT and still keep my sanity (what remains)!

Long post; subsequent posts will be shorter!