the joys of homeschooling

i've been feeling quite encouraged since my last post. things are going great with capri "re-doing" some of her phonics lessons. i've noticed her enjoying it more as well, which makes me one happy mama!

last week, we went off the lesson plan...just a smidge...we were wrapping up our south america study on the amazon rainforest and it was a beautiful day...my wonderful hubby called and said, "hey, it's so nice out, why don't you take the kids to the zoo to the rainforest there." (he's handsome and a smarty too). so we packed up and off we went. the kids had SOOOOO much fun...and i did too! we walked through the rainforest, looking at all of the birds flying around and the beautiful and lush green landscape. capri was super curious about the piranhas since she learned about them in class and got to see one in person...a little scared at first, but once she realized they couldn't nibble on her, she was fine. after that we headed over and walked through wichita zoo's "south america" exhibit. it was such a wonderful learning experience. and a great change of pace to our usually planned out day.

we've decided to go again in a couple weeks when we start our study on austrailia...fun huh!?!

ho hum

i love reading all of the blogs the world has to offer on homeschool, but i've kinda been sick lately at the thought of all of the "picture perfect" ones. as a homeschoolin' mama, i know that days are far from perfect. i know that there are those mornings when my head is in my hands and i'm literally begging GOD to help me teach these little hooligans (which i adore by the way). there are days when disrespect is high and patience is low. days when i question, "am i doing the right thing?" everytime i ask that question, GOD shows me that yes, this is the right path, albeit a difficult one.

lately capri has been struggling with phonics...she knows her stuff, but she wants to fly through it, and since phonics requires her to slow down and sound things out, she gets really frustrated at herself, and has been taking it out on me. being pregnant, i'm definitely feeling more emotional and being bullied by a six year old...yeah, i've had my fair share of tears over the past few weeks. (can you imagine why our BIBLE study has been on respect!?!)

last weekend, my wonderful husband knew i had had a rough week, so he took me and the kiddos on a last minute trip to kansas city...it was so needed and necessary to get out of the classroom and just be a family. it also gave us a chance to talk and me a chance to seek out GOD's will with my phonics phobia (cute huh!?!)

i've been going back and forth on whether or not we should do school through the summer. it's been something that i've researched but hadn't really prayed about. so, i started seeking what HE has planned for our homeschool. i feel led to do school our regular 5 days a week through the end of may, then beginning in june, we will cut down to 3 days a week. we will also be going backwards...crazy huh? we will be reviewing some of the more difficult phonics lessons from the past weeks. capri thrives on repetition, and hopefully this will give her the confidence she needs to get it even more. isn't GOD amazing!?! i seriously don't know how anyone can live without HIM in their life. HE gives me so much peace, even in the chaos of homeschooling.

looking at school over the next few weeks, i'm excited not scared of what we will see happen...it may not be perfect, and i may question my sanity at times, but ultimately i know that i'm doing what HE wants for my kiddos.

eat your heart out martha stewart!!!

so, i've been a very busy girl this weekend...friday night we purchased this table for $25 on craigslist (yes, i talked him down from $30...let's pretend the floor looks clean)
it's a much smaller table than what we currently have in the dining/classroom, but with my short arms and the kiddo's even shorter arms, we were always stretching like mad to hand things to each other...this just makes life easier for all parties involved.

i painted the legs white and top with CHALKBOARD paint!!!! saw this idea on pinterest (the site is of the devil...it consumes my downtime during naptime)
AiN't iT pUrDy!?!
(am i allowed to say that "legally" as a homeschooler? oh well...what's done is done!)

the classroom has now been "sorta" converted from a burgundy/gold/traditional boring dining room to a classy black/white/turquoise "almost" classroom.



i still need to paint the bookshelf and cover the back with a funky scrapbook paper and paint the dresser as well, but this preggo mama ran outta steam.
here is the semi-finished product (check out the bench i reupholstered with an old sheet too...i'm on a roll)