HS: September

Another month has flown by and it has been full of learning!  I feel like we have really hit our stride this month as far as school goes and so that has been great!

We've continued studying in the Doctrine and Covenants.  It has been so amazing.  The depth of our gospel conversations this last month has been incredible.  There are angels in our home and in our school.  It's incredible and I love it.  

One thing that I have decided to do which kind of puts a kink in my original plan (but I am totally okay with!) is speed up our study of the Doctrine and Covenants.  In the upcoming months, and beginning in January, there will be a new manual for teaching in the home released by the church.  This is such an answer to prayer.  I am so excited for it!  Really excited.  So beginning in January we will start studying the New Testament.  So I am trying to move things forward a bit so we are ready for that.

This month we talked about the Angel Moroni and the Gold Plates, Martin Harris and the lost pages, Oliver Cowdery, Joseph and Oliver getting the Priesthood, Witnesses seeing the Gold Plates, the preparations and organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, some of the early miracles that happened in the church, early growth of the church, Samuel Smith's Mission, Joseph and Emma, and how only the prophet can receive revelations for the church (but we can receive our own personal revelation).  So much goodness!

Next up is MATH!  Jacob is doing so well in Math and we both truly love doing it every day.  We finished our first unit which mostly focused on number sense from 0-10.  So much of this was review but there was some new things sprinkled in there.  We talked about some addition stories, introduced the plus sign, tally mark addition, number line addition, introduced the penny, adding pennies, and ABCD patterns.  We don't really have a lot of tests (because I can usually tell if Jacob is understanding something or not) but we did have a test after we completed his first unit - 100%.  I was so proud of him.  

We started up his second unit which has a much bigger focus on addition and subtraction.  So far we have practiced adding on, and making five, four, three and two.  

Sarah's preschool is one thing I feel like needs a change.  It's going okay but that's all.  I feel like we are both kind of indifferent about it and so I am working on making some changes.  We will probably still use the things I got for this year but let it work as more of a supplement and bring something more to the front.  This girl loves to learn and it has been fun to work with her more independently and find out more how she learns.  I can't wait to dive in more and thought we would need to give it more time but this girl is ready to be all in!  Let's just hope I can keep up ;)

This month we did finish her bunny unit which focused all about love and the color red.  

We also started our second unit all about BEARS!  The emphasis this time is about the color black and obedience.  

History has been great!  I feel like Jacob is really beginning to enjoy it and that has been a lot of fun to see - because history is my favorite!  We are still talking about ancient history.  And this month has been all about ANCIENT EGYPT!  We've talked about their daily life, writing, government, buildings, and beliefs about the afterlife.  We also talked about Herodotus who is considered the father of history and his findings about Egypt and the power and importance of history.  We have also been reading a great book called Boy of the Pyramids by Ruth Fosdick Jones.  And Melina was able to show Jacob some of the neat things she got when she traveled to Egypt a couple years ago.  It's been awesome.  

Science has been going really well also.  We are still learning about all things water!  We've talked about evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, the water cycle, bodies of water, how water shapes the earth and oceans, currents, and tides.  

Jacob is also going full speed in his language arts now!  One thing that has been so amazing this month is his spelling!  He is doing so much better and I am so proud of him.  It does not come naturally but he is really putting forth a lot of effort and that is all I ask!  He finished his first spelling chart this month and we were thrilled (we've been working on it since June!).  

He also finished reviewing all of his kindergarten phonics cards and is not working on his new first grade ones.  

This month we worked on syllables, poetry, previewed the phonogram OU and EA, did a lot of work on the EE phonogram and began working on common and proper nouns.  One project that Jacob probably spent a good week on was his "All About Me" Book.  He worked so hard on this and it turned out fantastic.  It's definitely a keeper and it was fun to hear about the things that he loves.  There was some surprises ;)  

Jacob also works on his handwriting while I read aloud to him.  We finished Homer Price by Robert McCloskey (which was hilarious), then read Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates (absolutely loved, very tender and sweet), and are now reading Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore.  

We ended up only go on one formal hike but we have been spending a lot of time outside.  

For art appreciation we are still studying ancient art.  This month we studied the Standard of Ur, the Pyramid of Djoser, the Bent Pyramid, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and Stonehenge.  

Music appreciation has also continued to go well.  We are still studying Johann Sebastian Bach.  This month we have listened to the Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor and Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (SPOOKY!).  It's been so fun!

This month our state study just didn't happen.  Time just slipped by me and before I knew it we were in our last week and I didn't want to just scrunch it in there.  I am still not quite sure WHEN to do it - but we all love it and so we've got to find a time somewhere!

We did do an art project this month!  We talked about sunflowers and then did some watercolor.  Life is always better with watercolors!

That felt like so much WORK writing down about all of our WORK.  Our days are busy and full.  I am grateful for this life and what we are trying to do.  

If someone could help me figure out how to more effectively keep my house clean and keep the seemingly endless piles of laundry from drowning me at all times though, I would love that!

Fall

Winter is an etching, 

Spring a watercolor, 

Summer an oil painting, and 

Autumn a mosaic of them all. 

- Stanley Horowitz - 

Utah State Fair

Every year when I was young, our family would always go to the Oregon State Fair and I loved going.  Melina asked me today if there was anything that I really looked forward to with the fair when I was young and I don't think it was anything specific but I loved that day every year.  

For some reason, we have never been to the Utah State Fair!  So this year I decided that we were going to fix that and go!  

Last night after Mark got off work, we headed down to Draper and stayed the night at my parent's house.  We had a nice breakfast this morning with them and Megan came over too and then we headed up to the fair!

The kids were so excited!  They could not wait.  The only fair they have ever been to is our little county fair and I knew this would be quite the upgrade (I actually love our county fair - but it's obviously much smaller in scale).  

It was a smokey (my heart is so sad for all of those affected by these fires) and windy day but we didn't let that slow us down.  The kids could not wait to get started on the rides.  And Jacob and Sarah were both so brave - they were up for everything!  They can't wait until they are bigger and can go on everything!  

It was lots of fun to have Melina with us and she joined Mark, Jacob and Sarah, while Benjamin and I were their cheerleaders on the side.  And let me just say, Benjamin was an absolute gem the whole day.  He was so good to just cruise along with everything we did.  

We rode rides for a little bit and then grabbed some corn dogs and headed to the circus tent.  I've never been to a circus before so this was a first for all of us.  It was really fun.  And there was only one segment where I was convinced something horrific was about to happen...think... three motorcycles going in a small cage at the same time with a girl dangling in the middle!  AHHH!

We came back and did some more rides and games and then headed over to the animal section.  They were in the middle of doing the auction so things seemed a little confusing.  But they had a section for kids where they could see animals at different stages of growth and pet them and learn about the specific animal's life cycle.  It was actually really interesting.  Sarah was in heaven.  

The heat was starting to get to all of us and we felt ourselves dragging so the obvious solution was to get some ice cream.  Sarah was not happy about the rate in which her ice cream was melting but the rest of us loved the treat!

By this time the wind was really starting to pick up and we wanted to be on the road by dinner time so we told the kids they could each pick one more ride.  Jacob and Sarah both wanted to do this one ride, which isn't really even a ride, but has different slides and things you walk through.  Kids are funny.  So they went through that twice and then we headed out.  

It was such a fun day and we have unanimously decided it's going to be a new tradition!  We can't wait for more state fairs in the future!

Sarah's 4th Birthday

Yesterday, we got to celebrate our favorite little girl in the entire world.  Sarah has been so excited to turn FOUR and we were so glad to celebrate all things Sarah.  I feel like I say it every time I talk about Sarah but this girl has had a gift since the moment she was born.  She makes people happy.  Her brothers adore her and she is everyone's favorite playmate.  She is kind and she notices people and their feelings.  She is the first to say she is "sorry" (even if she doesn't need to) and the first to give hugs or put an arm around someone.  

Sarah isn't all sugar.  There is definitely some spice in the mix too.  She has some spunk and sass to her which is all her own.  Most of the time is can be really funny but we are working on reeling her in a little bit too.  ;)

Sarah loves to read, dress up, dance, learn, swing, swim, play games, sing songs...pretty much she is up for everything!  She loves to make friends.  She is great at encouraging people, especially her brothers.  She is a great cheerleader for everyone and loves to see people do their best.  I love that about her.  

Some of Sarah's favorite things are:

Books:  Madeline in Paris by Ludwig Bemelmans, Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown, and the Frozen Little Golden Book.  

Activities: Playing legos with Jacob, riding her bike and reading books. 

Food:  Pancakes, popcorn, peanuts, strawberries, and blueberries.

Game: Hungry Hungry Hippo

Songs: If You're Happy and You Know It, I Am a Child of God, and The Wise Man and the Foolish Man. 

It came as no surprise to any of us, when we asked Sarah what she wanted to do for her birthday party and her immediate reply was PRINCESS.  We love our little princess.  

Our little princess was the first to get up (as always) and she was so excited that it was FINALLY the day!  We had her birthday breakfast of German Pancakes with strawberry sauce, bacon, and orange juice.  We then started to get ready for her party!

Sarah was so lucky to have so many people come and celebrate with her.  Grandpa and Grandma, Gramps and Grammy, and Aunt Melina and Aunt Megan all came up to party with her!

We played (while I tried to get things up and going!) and Sarah got to open one of her presents early.  A new Aurora dress up!

We then played kiss the frog and Grandpa Berning was the winner of that one!

The weather turned out to be pretty windy so we moved inside and opened presents.  This is one lucky little girl.  She got loads of new dress ups (with accessories!), lots of new books, a beautiful nightgown with a matching nightgown for her baby, a new sleeping bag for her baby, and pretend pots and pans so she can "cook".  

While we were getting lunch put together, Jacob and Sarah melted everyone's hearts with their special relationship.  Jacob asked Sarah, "If you want to put on your princess dress, I'll dance with you."  And Sarah put it on, while Jacob picked her a flower and put it in her hair while they danced together in the grass.  It doesn't get much better than that.  

Sarah picked out our menu for her birthday party: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (in the shape of a heart) with strawberry yogurt and a pink drink.  You got it!

And to top it all off, a strawberry cake!  Sarah loves the book, The Poky Little Puppy and in the story it talks about strawberry shortcake and so kept saying that's what she wanted for her birthday.  When I showed her pictures of what strawberry shortcake was she informed me that that was NOT right.  Finally, I pulled up a strawberry cake recipe and she approved.  ;)

Sarah frolicked around in her princess dress all afternoon soaking in the freedom of no longer having to take a nap.  She said she wanted quesadillas for dinner and so we headed to Cafe Sabor for dinner.  To end the day, Mark and the kiddos joined me at young women's because we were having a daddy daughter pinewood derby.  It was great and the kids loved watching the action!

We love this girl so much.  She is one of a kind and we love every bit of her.  We know she will do great things in this world...because she is already doing them.  

Keep being you, sis.  And know how much you are loved.  And that you will always be our little princess.