BYU MOA

Fieldtrip day was yesterday. I am working on a unit of Art Appreciation with Luke. We went and did a treasure hunt at the BYU MOA. The city of Provo just went from a Covid 19 yellow restriction to a orange restriction so I wasn't sure they would be open. But, they were and it worked out great. We were there for just under 30 minutes (kids, you know).

Here is what we found:

Best Dressed

Chubbiest Cherub (the little baby with white hair)

Most Loving Couple (the couple top right)

Most Angelic Angel

Sweetest Baby 

Scariest (both boys thought this family dinner of spaghetti was the scariest picture ever)

Biggest Muscles (it was awesome that they were boxers)

Funniest 

Friendliest Person

At the end we still hadn't found one we considered the friendliest person. Then, Luke grabbed my hand and told me he knew the perfect one. He took me to this one. I think he is going to be okay. It was a tender moment for this mommy heart. 

We picked up Aunt Amy on our way down there and had a great time together. She really loved this dog family so we snapped a quick picture of it for her.

We also saw a few Native American pictures and thought of our Momma (and Grandma). This picture is for you, Mom.

Cookie Day

I never want to forget this very silly day. Peter has been wanting to make chocolate chip cookies and sell them on our front lawn to neighbors and people passing by. I have been trying to delay him thinking he would change his mind, but he hasn't. Every day he just keeps begging to do it.

Today was the day I told him that he could. We did a very light day of school and he started cookie making at 11am. I gave him the recipe and let him go for it. With all the cooking class he has been taking, I was pretty sure that he could handle it by himself. Well....he did a good job except that instead of using 2.5 cups of flour he just put in .5 cups. Then, he used baking powder instead of baking soda. So, they ended up a molten lava flow in the oven. Poor kid thought the only thing he had done wrong was put them too close together.

After cleaning up that huge mess we worked on it together and the dough turned out perfect! Later on that afternoon he, Talmadge, and Wes set up shop and sold all the cookies we had in 20 minutes. Seeing the amazement and excitement in their eyes was priceless. Luke even went and raided his piggy bank so he could have two of Peter's (Mom's) cookies.

The boys are already planning on doing it again next Thursday. I'm extra tired just thinking of the effort. It is thrilling though to see Peter excited about doing these kinds of things. so I will motivate, encourage, and then hang on for the ride.

Squanto

For the past week (while I was teaching about Japan) I have been studying and gathering materials for our upcoming history lesson. We are going back to America to the time of the pilgrims. I found the most delightful book quite by accident at the Springville Library. This is the book:

I love this book because it told about his unique and remarkable life story and incorporated the miracle of God's hand in his life. It is truly a miracle that he knew English and could help the pilgrims at a time when the only help that could come was help from God. I love it so much that I decided to purchase a copy for our own book collection. I already sobbed my way through it with Luke. In fact, he had to finish the last three pages because tears were just rolling down my checks and my voice was gone. 

*Side note - Provo library has this book too. I have a Provo library card because Brandon was AMAZING and willing to get an non-resident card (Vineyard reimburses their residence $80 of the cost) for the boys. It has been amazing to pull books from both libraries. 

Luke's bike

 

One of my priorities recently was to buy Luke a bike and teach him how to ride it. Most of the stores haven't had bikes in stock for months and months. I was able to recently find a person that fixes up bikes and resells them. So, we contacted them last week and finally made it to their house this week. We found a great bike for Luke - even though he is determined not to learn how to ride a bike. Peter and Talmadge came with us to pick it up and they really loved riding it.

I hope that eventually Luke will want to learn how to ride it. We did go and get him an awesome red bike helmet that he loves. I'll keep you posted.  

Peter's Game Night

Peter has been wanting to host a game night for a really long time. I think he missed us hosting game nights with Brandon's friends and family. I kept putting him off and off again. But, then I decided to give it a try. This past week we finally coordinated getting a few friends together. 

He had such a great time! He found a recipe for egg free cookie dough and he made that up for all the guests. Oh, it was quite messy. I forgot to mention to him that he should slowly add the flower. So, it flew all over the counter and floor. It was so bad of a mess that I waited until the next morning to clean it up. 

These boys are such fabulous kids. I am so glad that they were able to come and have fun. Peter wants to host this twice a month. Whew, I told my friend Sarah that seemed like too much and she volunteered to host the other week. So, Talmadge and Peter will both be having these game nights. It's crazy to see my boy growing and enjoying these types of things. I am trying to be a supportive mom and help him feel confident in new things. 

 

Life is so much fun!

 Overall, I am really having so much fun with life right now. School, for the most part, has been amazing! The boys are enjoying the things we are doing and we have a bunch of delightful extracurricular things we are doing.

This past week Peter made a crossbow with his KiwiCrate. It took a bit more effort from me than I was expecting, but Peter and I just laughed through the process. I ended up having to do a specific part of the project 4 different times. It was crazy. Even Moms should follow instructions. The boys are still teasing me about it.

In history this week we also began to cover a little bit of early Japanese history. I pulled out our Japanese flag and hung it up. We also prepared to have a Sumo wrestling competition. It was hilarious. Peter and Talmadge were good sports about it and we were all laughing so hard. 

The weather is beginning to change out here in Utah. Yesterday, Luke and I spent some time cleaning the yard. I am trying to be a tidy as possible and not procrastinate fall cleanup. I've already trimmed down the rose bush and taken out the blooming carrots. The lawn is also looking so fabulous! This time of year is always so sad for me though. It's awful to think of the garden dying and the flowers being so sad. Thankfully, spring always comes. This year I have decided that I want to plant more cucumbers and maybe even more tomatoes. I really enjoyed canning pasta and it would be fun to have my own to can. 

1st day of School

We started school on August 17th. Our annual pictures in front of the door in our living room is another one of my favorite traditions. It would be fun to go back and put all of the years side-by-side. My boys are growing up so fast now and I resent it. Doing homeschool helps to slow everything down, so I try not to be too upset.

This year Peter's schedule looks like:

Math - Online Beast Academy

English - Online IEW

Science - Coop with Thomas family

History - Coop (Story of the World) with Thomas Family

Tech Class - Online Animation (with Wacom Animation tablet)

Elective - Tinker Kiwi Crate

*Minecraft club, All About Spelling, Piano 

This year Luke's schedule looks like:

Math - Online Beast Academy

English - Brave Writer

Science - Mom most weeks and will join coop when he wants to

History - Co-op (Story of the World) with Thomas family

Tech Class - Online Animation (with Wacom Animation tablet)

Elective - PE Boxing class at home 

*Outschool music classes, All About Spelling, Piano

I have also ordered a monthly geography kit that we will be doing as a family. I am hoping to highlight the country and also highlight the church in that country. We should be getting that crate starting in September. We also do family movie days and I am reading more to the boys too. I am loving this year already!

Berry Picking

 It was time for our annual berry picking morning in Mapleton. Sadly, the weather has not cooled off at all out here this year. We are experiencing record heat which makes us not want to go outside at all.

But, we were determined. This year we took my neighbor Lisa and had a wonderful time. We were only picking for about 45 minutes. This year Luke wanted to pick strawberries and he did a marvelous job. I am trying harder not to push him into doing things he doesn't want to do. It made me happy to see him having a great time here this year. 

This year was a little different with Covid. He didn't have ropes to tie the buckets around your waist like he usually does. The farmer also added plastic liner bags to all the buckets. This is one of my absolute favorite traditions and I feel so blessed that this farmer keeps opening up his home and bushes to people like us. 

Luke was so brave to get in the raspberry bushes and pick a little. There were so bees which he was very scared of. So, he didn't pick for very long. 

This is Peter and Lisa. I loved seeing them out in the field happily picking. 

Another milestone

It's been fascinating to keep track of these statistics. I also hit my 5,000 classes taught milestone this month. It's so nice to be able to look at a class and immediatly know the words I'll be teaching. It makes it easier to add humor and silly songs now. 

One little boy, this morning (Boots) told me I was a bad teacher. I was a bit taken aback. He changed his mind though, when I pulled out a package of hotdogs I had grabbed from my freezer just moments earlier. He REALLY loves hot dogs. Hehehe. Tender mercy, yep!

Ponderings

It's the beginning of a new school year - almost. The thoughts of what to teach the kids are swirling in my brain. I purchased most of our curriculum this morning. I've been carefully looking and researching it all for months.

These thoughts came to my mind this afternoon:

-What do I want my boys to accomplish this year vs. what they want to accomplish this year.

-What is Luke really interested in that will be mentally healthy for him.

I have the whole list of the subjects we will cover, but is there something I'm missing? This year, I know I want to teach them more responsibility around the house. We will be striving to be better at brushing teeth, mowing the lawn, and emptying the dishwasher. I also am planning on their help for meal planning and meal preparation. Is that too much? Not enough? I don't really know. I guess I'll keep pondering and researching.

This is the reason I love home-school so much. There is always time to change and make adjustments. Nothing is every set in stone.