Dreamseekers and Company

Making salsa last fall

Summary for girls – core curriculum with optional bonus items plus a changing-with-time interest-based subject.

Anna, 6th grade:
CORE:
Sonlight American History, Advanced Readers 1
Teaching Textbooks Math 7
Journaling her interest-based studies
BONUS:
Handwriting Without Tears, Cursive Success
Typing with Typing Club or emails, journaling, etc.
Christian Light Publications Art
Out of home – Art class, Friday School, swim lessons, Middle School Church group

Maggie, 3rd grade:
CORE:
Sonlight American History, Regular Readers 1
Teaching Textbooks 4 and/or 5
Journaling her interest-based studies
BONUS:
Handwriting without Tears, Cursive Handwriting
Christian Light Publications Science 3
Christian Light Publications Art
Extra Curricular – Art class, Friday School, swim lessons

Carolyn, 1st grade:
CORE:
Sonlight American History 1 (listening)
Singapore Math – (Primary 1A/1B)
Journaling her interest-based studies
BONUS:
Handwriting Without Tears, Printing Power Plus
Christian Light Education Reading, 1 (will start by reading the “Primer” books without any workbooks)
Christian Light Publications Art or Kumon workbooks
Kumon: Jigsaw
Extra Curricular – Art class, Friday School, swim lessons

Interest led subject ideas:
Track and field – Healthy Kids Running, Make a track and field setup at home? (a hurdle, a “track”, a shotput, a long jump???)
Dog training
Yoga or shorter version or for kids yoga
Drama or watch performances
Tae Kwon Do
Survival skills or practice these skills – maybe something here? Do you know of any good at-home resources or books?
Cooking – mac and cheese, top ramen, scrambled eggs, cookies, biscuits, berry crisps, pound cakes, quick bread, muffins, yeast bread, pizza, stew, steamed vegetables, meatballs, cheesecake, cake, gravy…
Computer programming: Sonic Pi, Processing (graphics coding)
Candy making and crystal growing – Rock Candy, Homemade Pop Rocks, Other candy
Bug collecting – insect collecting kit and many online how-to articles or videos and ID books and ID websites and websites
Chick hatching
Anatomy and dissecting
Bacteria growing (petri dishes and microscopes)
Bridge-building
Chess
Poetry
Crocheting or Knitting
Bird watching
Sex education (will probably force feed this book at least)
Friendship bracelets
Henna
Horsemanship
Passover
Sewing

Week:
*Monday-Thursday core curriculum and interest studies
*Friday reserved for Friday School (8 weeks in fall, 10 weeks in spring) and recover/catching up when Friday School is out. A friend is graciously supervising the girls at Friday School and driving them home at the end of the day. This wouldn’t be possible without her!
*Art class weekly – not sure which day yet, but hoping for an afternoon class.

Considering:
Swim lessons weekly, probably in the evening for 1-4 months
Ballet, would be twice a week in the afternoons

Additional curriculum on hand:
Anna
All About Spelling 2
Daily 6 Trait Writing, Level 5
Christian Light Publications Science 6
Growing with Grammar 4
Wordly Wise A/B/C

Maggie
All About Spelling 2
Daily 6 Trait Writing, 2
Growing With Grammar, 2

Carolyn
Christian Light Education Science, 1

The boys:

Daniel, Kindergarten:
Not sure! Skills will be letter recognition, number recognition, counting, colors, shapes… preschool stuff. Learning to hold a pencil. Learning to sit and work. Learning English, how to use a wheelchair, emotional regulation… SO MUCH STUFF. We’ll see how he’s doing as fall approaches. I have plenty of leftover preschool and kingergarten stuff I can offer him if he shows interest during schooltime.
Things I have that I hope he will try:
Brain Quest Workbook, Pre-K
Kumon: Coloring
Kumon: Tracing
Kumon: Sticker & Paste
Kumon: Mazes
Kumon: Letters
Read-aloud, picture books

Jordan, 4th grade:
Puzzling over how to incorporate Jordan into the school day best. He’s not in a place where he can attend to academic schoolwork, but he is still working on many things. I expect to have a respite provider with him two days per week.

Archive:
*2018-2019 School Year Take Two
*2017-2018 School Curriculum and Review
*2016-2017 School Curriculum and Review
*2015-2016 School Curriculum and Review
*2014-2015 School Curriculum
*2013-2014 Review

The sound of a cricket
And a gentle breeze in the trees
Daniel giggling and splashing in a bucket
Jordan stomping big ga-lumps in the kiddie pool
A car driving slowly down our country dead-end road with a casual wave
Yells and laughs in the back yard and distant splashes of cannonballs
The slight smell of a blooming rose on the air and dry grass everywhere
That gentle breeze touching my skin like a cool breath
More crickets joining the first to make a background chorus
Of a perfect summer hour

The girls attended one week of day camp, Anna going to a horse camp and the girls to regular day camp.

Welcome to the crazy house!

Must have been another good, long day of playing!

We’ve had some of these kinds of days.

Maggie makes me laugh.

Believe it or not, she had a bath just the night before.

Two filthy, sweaty kids at the end of a week of day camp.

Anna and her horse, Alpony.

Getting her end-of-camp certificate.

Proud of Anna.

Alpony was a really stubborn pony, but Anna was able to get him to move.

Middle-schooler!

Anna on Alpony!

Cozy!

Carrie decided to wear her dad’s clothes!

Beautiful roses in our front yard.

It was a good day, seeing Jordan be interested in the dogs.

Benny

Ruby

I have seen a LOT of these this month! Our blueberry patch is heavy with berries.

Jordan makes me laugh sometimes!

Passed out one hot day.

It was pretty exciting to see Daniel take an interest in walking a little bit. He doesn’t do much of this, but it’s good for him!

My mother gives the most incredible head rubs in the whole world. Here she is causing Carolyn to collapse onto the table in perfect happiness.

Daniel likes lots of music, but he especially appreciates the dramtic:

We’ve been inviting our cat to eat inside, because if we ever get a second cat, we need to have a place to slowly introduce them… like the kitchen where the food bowls would be. Anyway, our healthy, content, excellent-hunter, always-outdoor cat wouldn’t go outside after breakfast. She followed me upstairs and climbed onto my bed. She gave me a reproachful look and settled in to stay.

Oops.

Her name is Boots.

My sister has five children (number six is due in less than a month!) and of course we have five children. We live just over an hour apart from each other…. going back and forth to birthday parties has neither been practical nor desired as we both seem to prefer the calmness and routine of more everyday kind of days. But we both enjoy a good celebration two or three times a year.

We have three regular gatherings: Christmas, Fourth of July, and a summer “thing.” Other sightings of our dearest each others happens on occasion, but these are our main traditional get-togethers. When our kids were all “babies,” we got together to go “camping” at our house up here. We put up tents for the bravest little ones (and their dads) to sleep in, tempted them to try the big pool and roasted hot dogs over the fire. We mothers slept in the house with the babies. We got so good at stuff that we went actual proper camping for the last two summers at a nearby lake and enjoyed the freedom and freshness and nearness of water (and dirt?) and look forward to trying that again.

This year, however, Melissa is 36 weeks pregnant and Daniel and Jordan don’t like leaving home much. So we took the occasion to plan an “all cousins” summer birthday party. Cupcakes came with Melissa along with a few gifts and Brian and I organized a treasure hunt true to my Uncle Kevin’s legendary style. Well, it wasn’t exact, but it involved little sheets of paper with clues and sticks making an “x” on the spot and… of course… lots of candy and trinkets. Kevin even mailed us some of his leftover treasures to take our treasure boxes up to the next notch!

A note on my boys: Jordan lost his marbles a few times, but always brought it back together and he most definitely enjoyed his time in the pool and the freedom of lots of outside time. The first hour and the last couple hours of the party he self-regulated with his favorite music and his swing in his play room. Daniel also spent the beginning and end of the party in his safe zone (his bedroom in this case), even dropping off to sleep at about 6pm from all the excitement and warm weather. During the outside part of the party, he made buddies with Melissa’s 2-year-old and even wanted to go into the pool for the first time! Huge success!

I’m proud of my sister for how well she’s handling summer schedules and late pregnancy and five children. Melissa, you make me proud. Don’t forget that you were going to take time to stop and rest.

I’m proud of our husbands as they navigate the rigors of parenting and husbanding even through energetic and tired and stressful situations. You both make it look easy and are absolutely essential to this whole thing working. Thanks for being you.

Without further ado…. pictures and video!

Clues for Jackson – age 9

Clues for Hudson, almost 8

Clues for Felicity, 6

Clues for Nora, 4

Clue for Tessa, 2

Clues for Anna, 11

Clues for Maggie, 8

Clues for Carolyn, 5

Daniel’s treasure map, but he pooped out before time. We brought it in for him.

It did my own soul good to see Daniel participating in a family event and having the family interact with him. A real treat.

Starting the fire for hot dogs.

Freckles and hot dog…. time for summer!

The oldest two cousins doing their thing.

The current youngest!

Jordan getting a ride to keep him happy.

Melissa brought Daniel an activity board and he likes it!

Gathered ’round the table.

That there is a bunch of hoodlums!

He brings out extra smiles for a camera!

Beautiful blue sky and best buddy girls.

After some play (Brian saying one to three and then splashing his legs/back in the water), cold little Daniel snuggled up and held on and was sweet and dear with Brian.

Nora found her treasure!

Tessa has hers! Melissa can still get down to the ground and back up too!

Maggie and Hudson on the hunt.

Hmm… Carolyn isn’t impressed with the next clue?

I think they are throwing rocks at bad guys (as instructed) on their way to their treasure.

Loaded with goodies!

The big kids made it to the end of theirs too.

Pleased with their finds.

Winding down.

Daniel in the pool!