Whirlwind Week

We have had a crazy week that came on the heels of a crazy week. I determined Sunday night after everyone was showered and in bed from an ice cream social at the park in extremely high temperatures and humidity, that I would not be waking them at a set time Monday morning. Emotions had been high and it was obvious everyone needed to sleep until their bodies woke themselves. So we got a slow start to our school work, but we were all the better for it. 

Tuesday we got some of our school done and then headed out to take Emilia to her 6 month well check. She is growing well, but is still a little peanut. She is 13.5 lbs and 25.5 in. We got home and had lunch and finished our work before rest time. 

Wednesday we had a full day at home which was good to fit some of the extras in during our short week. The kids also packed their backpacks for the flight to El Paso. I put together breakfast/snack boxes for them as our flight left at 5:30 am and we wouldn't be getting breakfast before we boarded. We try to avoid eating in the airports if at all possible. Wednesday afternoon I noticed our ac didn't seem to be working correctly. Especially given that is really wasn't that warm of a day. By the evening we were sure it was not working. We put a call in for a service call but they weren't available to come until the following day. 

Awaiting his turn and working on some school work.

Thursday we started the day at the dentist as 4 of the 5 kiddos had their cleanings. They all got a good report with no cavities. We ran a couple of errands that needed taken care of before we left Friday, then it was home to finish up school and packing. By this time of day, it was extremely warm outside and inside the house. The basement was cooler but still quite humid. I had to keep cleaning and packing as there were still several things that needed to be taken care of before we left. By 4:30 we had to take a break from the heat. So I loaded everyone in the van and headed to McDonalds. I planned to stay until the air was fixed, but unfortunately that wasn't in the cards. The outside unit had to be replaced and part of the inside unit. This couldn't be done that evening so it was back home to finish what had to be done to be ready to leave. Once Kyle got home around 8 we decided that we would go to sleep at my Mom's. It was just so warm and we all needed a good night's sleep before a day of traveling. So we rushed around to load the van. It made things a little crazy, but we were able to get a few hours of good sleep. 

Friday we woke up at 3:30 to get to the airport by 4:30. Even though it was a very early morning, the kids all did great and we had smooth travel. We arrived in El Paso in time for lunch, a quick swim, and then we all headed to Cattleman's Ranch. We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyable evening walk through the ranch. It was fun for Gram and Poppy to have all their grandchildren together for one evening. The other cousins flew home Saturday morning.

Saturday was a day full of swimming and also grocery shopping for the week. 

This morning we all went to church and then Taco Cabana for lunch. It is one of our favorite places to eat while visiting El Paso. This afternoon we did some napping and are planning some early evening swimming.

I think that sums up the last week...well except for finding a house, but I think I will keep those details for a separate post.

Art Camp

This week we took a break from our regular programming. The three oldest children attended an Art Smarts Camp at a local church. They look forward to this camp every year, as do I. They always have a blast, learn so much, and I get a little time with just the little ones.

Landon took guitar, production, and set design. He may be taking after his Mom. I loved working on the sets and stage crew in high school. I even served as stage crew chief my senior year. During the closing program, he played his guitar and ran one of the cameras.

Elaine took painting, knitting, and a candy making class. She is obviously following in her Grandma's footsteps more so then mine. She made some really yummy fudge. I'm hoping she can help me with my endeavors.

Levi's age group rotates through several different activities each day. This helps them get a taste of lots of different things before they choose classes when they are older. He sang with the K-1 choir in the closing program.

I think Elliot appreciated the time to talk with Kyle and I and have our undivided attention. He also benefited from a few treats that aren't always an option when everyone is along. He aslo helped me clean up and out the toy area in the basement.

Playing with Slime

I love seeing empty spaces!

Emilia had her 6 month pictures taken this week. I should have those to post next week.

                  

Caught playing during nap time.

Caught napping during the program.

I have gotten lots of packing done for our upcoming trip to El Paso, and a few errands taken care of too. We also were able to visit a few mornings with friends. The three big kids also attended VBS with some family friends in evening.

We also had some not so welcome events this week. Monday night we ended up having to leave our van at the dealership to have the alternator replaced. Then Friday night as I was preparing the griddle to make scrambled eggs for a quick dinner before the Art Smarts Camp Program, I smelled burning and melting plastic. We then realized there was an electrical fire in one of the kitchen outlets. We had to kill the power in the house until an electrician could come and make it safe again. Thankfully everyone made it to the program and the damage can be repaired on Monday.

Next week we will back to our routine for a week, then we are off to El Paso for vacation with Kyle's family.

So until next week,

Carnahan Academy is Back in Session

We have two weeks in the books for the 2016-2017 school year.  I will be doing a weekly recap to keep a record of what we are doing and hopefully keep family and friends up to date with us here at Treelane Tales.

This first post may be kind of lengthy as I set the scene for each kiddo for this learning cycle.

Landon is 10. He is finishing Teaching Textbooks Math 4 and will be moving to Math 5. He is reading a student version of Pilgrims Progress and then moving back to finish up the Imagination Station Series. He is also reading through Boyhood and Beyond with Kyle.

Elaine is 8. She just started Teaching Textbooks Math 4. She is reading the Boxcar Children Book #2. She will probably finish the first 4 books in the series before she moves on to something else. She is also going through The Care and Keeping of You with me about one night a week.

Together Landon and Elaine are working through Grammar Fix It #1 and All Things Fun and Fascinating from IEW for the core of their Language Arts. They also do All About Spelling which I am loving. It is really giving them the skills to spell and read accurately.

Levi is 5 and he is currently reading a Salute to Courage from ABeka. He started and finished Path to Adventure our first week. He loves to read and devours books. He is working through ABeka Arithmetic 1. So he is focused on addition facts, counting money, and telling time. He also does All About Spelling. I am also using IEW PAL Writing and Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl to keep his Language Arts Skills moving forward.

This cycle I decided to set up "Learning Boxes" for Elliot. I have 5 boxes, 4 have a mix of early learning activities and 1 is a sensory box. I will change out the activities each month. This months sensory box is empty for use in water play, while the weather is warm. He has been learning about jobs and different "workers" in our community. What Do People Do All Day is a great book for his age, but I think we are all enjoying it. We just read a little each day as it is divided into lots of little stories. We should have it wrapped up by the end of July. We have also been reading his ABC What Elliot Can Be book,Alphabet Friend Cards from ABeka.
as it goes well with our topic for the month. Having the activities organized this way has made it easy to keep him engaged while I am instructing a sibling, nursing a baby, changing a diaper, or whatever else may arise. Elaine often helps him "play" his "games" as he calls them. I am glad he finds them so much fun. Most of the activities were from items I already had on hand and several of them I borrowed from a friend. Thanks, Shawna! I am also using some ABC and number sticker books, tracing and cutting books by Kumon, and lots of playtime.

Emilia is often found army crawling to places she shouldn't be, playing with any tags she can find, entertaining a sibling, nursing, or being held. She definitely likes to be right in the mix of things.

As a family we are going through Mystery of History Volume 2 and God's Design for Science: Chemistry. Of course the older the child the more involved they are in the ins and outs of the lessons. My favorite time so far has been our Morning Time. I have wanted to do something like this for awhile, but it is finally working well this year. We start the morning all together by singing one hymn and one newer worship song. This month we are singing Great is Thy Faithfulness and Unstoppable God. Then we do our Bible Lesson. This year we are using Answers for Kids Bible Curriculum. We are also memorizing some fun poems together using Poetry Memorization.

I am sure that I could never include everything we do in a day or week in one post, but the details will probably be filled in as we go. So for now here are a few more pictures of us in action from the last two weeks.

We also took a day off to celebrate July 4th in Princeton with the cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's.

 Until next week,

Clothes in a Pile

When it has been almost a year since your last post, where do you begin? I often wish I had time to record the goings on of our family in a more timely and routine fashion, but such is my life. When I often have to leave dishes in the sink and find clothes for the day in the large pile of clean clothes instead of our closets, something has to be set aside. So much has transpired that it would be of little use to try and recap the time between my last post and this new one. So I will just start fresh, which makes since as we are about to embark on another new start for our family. Our newest addition will be making his debut before the end of next month. That is right we will be a family of 6. When this year of homeschooling wraps up I will have a 6 (almost 7), 5, 2, and new year old. I have to admit I am very excited to meet our new little guy, but I have also been frantically trying take care of anything I can before he is born. I guess I am anticipating our normal will come to a complete halt, which it probably will.  I have made a large batch of laundry soap, compiled a list of freezer meals I hope to make over the next few weeks, sketched out lesson plans for the rest of the year, washed and put away little onsies, and other such tasks. But just like any other time our family has navigated a transition, we will focus on pushing on toward the goal of knowing Christ and sharing His love with those around us. We will just be doing it wearing whatever clothes we find on top of the pile.

Elaine turns 4

Elaine has been a little into Tinkerbell for about a year. Well actually the whole family enjoyed the Tinkerbell movies on the Disney Channel. I have always been a fan of Peter Pan and Neverland. So Neverland made a fun theme for Elaine's 4th Birthday. It was a fun party, even though the rain kept us indoors.

Daddy decorated the cupcakes. The strawberry ones were little Tinkerbell dresses, and the chocolate ones had little leaves on top. I saw these on pinterest, and Daddy translated them to fit our theme.

Thankfully our deck keeps the rain off the covered patio from the walkout basement. We used this space for the pinata.

We cleared out the rug and furniture from our living room so we could set up tables for the kids to eat and do their craft.

Elaine had a very Happy 4th Birthday.

I got lots of ideas for her party here. This theme worked well as she had boys and girls at her party. 

Elaine, 

We are always amazed at how thoughtful you are. You look out for your little brother, and think through choices and the results before you make a decision to act. You love to wear dresses, and tuck in all your stuff animals and babies each night for nap time and bed time. You frequently ask for broccoli and ranch for a snack, and get upset when Daddy makes a green smoothie and doesn't share with you. I think you may be ready for your baby brother to move out of your room...but I bet you miss him when he does. You love to do "school work" and can write your name, count, write your letters, and make some letter sounds. You are the most beautiful ballerina. I love your heart for those that are hurting. God continues to shape you, and Daddy and I are so glad we get to play a part in His awesome plan for you. Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mom and Dad

Spring and New Life

I love Spring, how everything seems to come back to life. Our yard and neighborhood is beautiful this time of year. It always gives me a renewed look at life too. Such an awesome way to prepare for Easter celebrations, a real sense of the new life we are offered in Christ.

I also want to leave you with this song. It has really been a powerful reminder for me this week. After all, the message that Jesus Paid it All is not one that can be taken lightly.

Happy Easter!

My Help is on the Way

I have felt a little beat down by life. No huge battle to describe, no specific struggle, just the ins and outs of life.

Teaching my oldest to read, helping my daughter understand how to express her self appropriately, praying my youngest would be healthy and sleep.  All while watching that I eat healthy, exercise, keep house, love my husband, and spend time in God's Word.

Some days go really well, and others just go.

The past two Sundays the worship team at church has lead us in this song. It really speaks to me. When I feel beat down, I need to remember my help is on the way.