Catch Up

Have you been wondering what we have been up to? LOL! So have I.....no actually September and October were busy months for us.
Edward started out bowling again this year but after only 4 weeks in, we ended up pulling him from the league. We did this because we had a situation happen that we felt wasn't healthy for Edward to be around on a weekly basis. I feel bad because he loved it so much but we wanted to do what was best for him and not cause him un-do stress. I am trying my best to take him once a month or more, it would be easier if our towns Bowling Alleys were open more during the week.
Edward is now almost 12 weeks into his 1st Semester of Young Child through Kindermusik. He will be receiving his glockenspiel in about 3 weeks.
Edward started going to Awana's 2 Wednesdays ago (this coming Wednesday will be his 3rd week). He loves it and so do we. He has to memorize Bible verses and so many other wonderful things. It is a great experience for him. He has a little vest and has to earn badges, and receives jewels in a crown for memorizing his verses. I was so impressed the first week he had to say the American Flag Salute on his own with no help...he recited it perfectly word for word. We start every school morning with reading our Bible, doing our devotional, calendar work, saying the Flag Salute, the Christian Flag Salute and the Bible Pledge. It was just amazing that he after only 1 1/2 months into our school year was already able to recite it word for word. He is such a bright little guy.
Edward is still participating in Monart Classes. He drew an elephant 3 weeks ago and we were just amazed by his drawing. I will have to scan in some of his drawings and post them on the blog. We didn't have Monart Classes this last week. He only has 2 more classes this session and then nothing until mid-January.
Edward just finished up his 2 month long tap dancing classes. He loved it and desires to take more lessons. He is also asking to participate in Soccer, I just need to find acceptable places for him to participate in these activities.
I am still busy teaching the A to Z Animal Science Class for the K-2nd graders in our homeschool co-op, I also am the editor for the weekly newsletter, always am making something for the weekly luncheons and shuttling Edward to his extra activities.
Kirk is busy with work and coming home to play with Edward.

Future Republican

Today Edward and I (with some members of our homeschool co-op) went to a Republican sign holding. We stood on the corner in our town for almost an hour and held signs for the Republican party. Edward will be going with me to the polls on Tuesday to vote and we might even go to another Republican sign hold that day.

Moses

Edward went to Awana's dressed as one of his favorite Bible Characters for Favorite Bible Characters Night.

Tip Tap Toes

Edward loved his Tap Dancing Classes that he took during the months of September and October. They had a little 3 to 4 minute recital the last day. He was the only boy in the class. He says he would love to continue on with Tap Dancing Lessons.

Origami Me Please

Want a good laugh? I have been teaching a A to Z Animal Science Class for our homeschool co-op. I have 23 children signed up for my class. The basic curriculum comes from our local zoo, I supplement it further with researching the web for more information and facts about the animals. So far we have done Alligators and Bats (I now know more about these animals that I ever thought I would). This coming week is Cranes. Last week we made bats that we glued together onto crafts stick, so that you could fly your bat. With Cranes we will be attempting (using this term lightly as these kids range from Kindergarten age to 2nd grade) to make Origami Cranes. Let me first say, I have never done any time of Origami in my life. So yesterday while Kirk picked up Edward from Tap Dancing Class and took him to the park, I worked on honing my skills at this craft. It took my 5 tries and they still aren't perfect. Trust me Origami is as complicated (if not more so) than it looks. Near the end of his Kindergarten Year, Sonlight has them doing some Origami. I better keep practicing, so I know what I am doing. I love homeschooling....I get to learn new things right along side of Edward at times.

No Soccer This Fall

I really need to find a good place for soccer. Maybe I am wrong but I don't think that 5 yr & 6 yr old children should be practicing soccer at 7pm until 7:30 or 8pm. Edwards bedtime is 9pm and I don't think he should be doing an activity that winds him up right before bedtime. This is another activity offered through our rec center. Parents are the coaches, we didn't recieve a call about the first practice until 3 days before it. She could even give me at that time set days for weekly practices. With our schedule we need set days and preferably earlier times. So we just ended up dropping soccer altogether this time and will be asking around about Soccer Programs. Edward will of course be taking the British Soccer Challenge again this summer. That is through the rec center but I must say it is the best program I have ever participated in through them.

Tap Dancing Classes

Edward is enjoying Tap dancing lessons, but I need to find a different place for him if he wants to continue. Our rec center leaves something to be desired. Our first day, we were greeted by a teenage girl with a bit of an attitude. She informed us that she was not going to let the parents stay and watch (umm....this wasn't not mentioned anywhere in the sign up for the class and in all the other classes we have participated in through the rec center we have been able to stay). I looked at her and told her that I would have to see if that would be okay with Edward, as he had not been prepared that he would be being left alone. Plus this broke Kirks heart, he doesn't get to watch Edward do very many activities and he was looking forward to seeing Edward do this. Plus we are new to Tap Dancing so we have no clue what he should be doing to improve. When I said I was going to have talk to Edward first, in a very snotty tone of voice she "informed" me that she had already talked to her boss and her boss was backing her up. Ummm....is her boss Edwards parents or the parents of the other children in the class????? No!!!!!!! Oh trust me, when I get a chance I will be calling the director of the Rec Center and having words about this with them. I understand why she is doing it, because the children tend to pay attention better when the parents aren't there but in the same hand we have no clue what he is doing or suppose to be doing. She will only tell you if you ask her when you pick them up and then she is very vague about it. I was able to find a place locally that provides a Kindertap class, I just need to be able to remember to call them. I have to do so during the day when we are schooling, by the time I get a chance to think for myself and remember it is after 5pm. I am not sure if we have already missed the sign up date for the semester or not. So needless to say, Kirk and I feel that Tap Dancing Classes for Edward are all that they could be for him to truly get an idea about Tap Dancing.

We are 3 weeks in....

We are 3 week into our school year. Edward is finding Kindergarten to be a great adventure. He is loving science. He especially likes the experiments (we have done 3 so far). I like most of the Sonlight Curriculum but I think that there needs to be some serious work and updating done on their Language Arts program. I think we might look for a different one to use next year. We will be starting Explode the Code, as soon as it arrives. I had to order it. We will also be using some of the Tatrus Method once we have our letters down. There are some letters that still allude Edward, but he is getting more and more of them every day. Edward also love math. We are using Math U See, plus working on money. Right now we are working on pennies mainly, plus sorting quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies. We have already finished the Box Car Children (book 1). We started the Arrow and the Apple today. I think he will love the story of William Tell. He is very excited about the crossbow that we read about in the story. Of course we also mapped out where the Alps are, along with Austria and Germany on our map. He seems to like map work. We are also doing Calendar work, learning the days, weeks and months. We working on learning the Pledge of Allegiance to the US Flag, Christian Flag Pledge and the Pledge to the Bible. Of course during calendar time, we also talk about the weather and seasons. We are working on writing our first and last name. Edward has been able to write his first name for a while now but we need to work on neatness. I love the Reason for Handwriting. Edward seems to love it too. We are also doing the Horizons Health, I like it for the most part. I am happy to report that we are able to get all of the Sonlight and various other subjects done in about 4 hours. That is nice. I will be slowly adding other things over the year for Edward to increase his learning opportunities as I feel that is some ways Sonlight is way to laid back on various things but since this is only Kindergarten I don't want to push it to much either....know what I mean?

It Might Be Hit and Miss

Edward will be starting school next Tuesday, we have a full fall ahead of us with 8 weeks of Tap Dancing Lessons, Homeschool Bowling League, 15 weeks of Kindermusik Class (this is 1 of 2 semesters that he will be taking this school year...next year will be his last year and then it will be some sort of musical instrument lessons...these classes will help him to make a very educated decision as to what instrument interests him the most), Homeschool Co-op Classes (2 of which I am teaching), Church, 6 weeks of Soccer and not to mention school lessons. With all these activities, my computer time is going to be very limited. I will try my best to keep up with everyone but Edward, his education and social activities take place over computer time. He will be my soul focus for the next 43 weeks. Of course I will be posting here as much as I can about Edward activities, homeschooling adventures, and life in general to keep you all up to date the best I can.
We are also off this weekend for one last mini family vacation. Have a beautiful Labor day Weekend with your family and loved ones.

Edward's Newest Endeavors

Today was a big day for Edward, he got his first official Library Card. We will be going to our local Library once a week, so that he can learn how the library system works and how to utilize it. He is so excited that he has his very own Library Card.

Edward's newest interest is Tap Dancing. We watched Singin In The Rain a few nights ago and he loved the tap dancing portions. Kirk asked him if he wanted to take Tap Dancing Classes, at first he said no but he has agreed to give it a try. We found a beginner class that is 8 weeks long (once a week) at our local Recreational Center. We figure this will be a great way for him to see if it is something he truly is interested in.

Also, he will be playing soccer for the first time this fall. He took a soccer camp this summer and loved it. He has been begging ever since then to play soccer on a team. We found a team for 5 yr olds/Kindergarteners, also through our Recreational Center. There are 6 games, this means it should be 6 weeks long weather permitting. Of course there will also be practices. This is where we could get into trouble and may have to drop this idea all together, as we have a pretty full week with Kindermusik and Bowling League, in addition to Tap Classes. Will keep you posted and of course there will be pictures of Edward tap dancing.

Another Thompson Family Update

I just noticed that it has been 15 days since I have blogged....like others I use my blog to communicate with family and friends who live a great distance from us and are unable to share in our daily lives. I also use it as a way to keep record of our lives. I plan to print out my entries and make keep them for Edward to share with his children and their children.

We have been very busy this month preparing for the upcoming school year. Edward will be starting Kindergarten in just a few more weeks. Public School officially started here (also in OK and TX) last Thursday. I think that it is just to hot out and still to summery for kids to be cooped up in a class room. We will start our school year the day after Labor Day. Edward is looking forward to school. We will be using Sonlight this year for our curriculum, along with Horizon's Health (K), Math-U-See (primer), Character First (series 1), and A Reason For Handwriting (K). We will also be learning some Spanish this year using Teach Me Spanish CD. Next semester we will be learning some French using the same series. Then I plan for him to learn Hebrew the first semester of 1st grade. We aren't learning to write any of these languages yet, just what they sound like in familiar childrens songs. When Edward gets to 3rd Grade we will use the Rosetta Stone Homeschool Series to learn these languages more in depth. We will also be working on America Sign Langauge this year too. We are also going to be using Tatras to an extent to learn to read, this is also known as Vertical Phonics. I have heard good things about this. Thank you Renee for showing me this program...you are always so kind to share.

Edward starts Kindermusik Young Child 1 tomorrow. He starts Homeschool Bowling League on the 4th of Sept (he rocked during summer league...he bowled a high game scratch of 105, a high series of 196 and his game average was 81...he was 2nd highest in game average and in high series, would have been in high game scratch if he would have just bowled a 107 or better game. Not bad if you ask me). This will be our last year for summer bowling league. Next summer he and I will go bowling once a week together. He will be moving up that fall to the Batnam's League which is sanctioned and doesn't allow bumpers. We will be working during the summer to get use to bowling without bumpers, with out the distractions or pressure of being on a league. Plus there were somethings that I saw during summer league that I just don't want Edward to be around or see. I think a break will do us good and we will see about doing a summer league in 2010.

Our Homeschool Co-op starts on Sept 5th. I will be teaching 2 classes this semester. A Arts and Crafts Class for Pre-K to 2nd grade and an A to Z Animal Science Class (this is a curriculum that is through our local zoo) for K to 2nd grade. My Arts and Craft class is only 6 weeks long. The A to Z Animal Science Class is actually 2 semesters long, so I will teach that class all school year long. I am looking forward to it.

I just have to share what we are having for dinner tonight....stuffed head of tenderloin (as seen on one of Edward's Favorite Food Network Shows; Good Eats), this is stuffed with crumbled blue cheese....Kirk's mouth has been watering ever since he saw the show so I thought I would fix it for him. We will also be having Parsley and Chive Mashed Potatoes, Broccoliflower and Purple Cauliflower (we haven't had either of these so I thought they would be fun to try), butter and egg dinner rolls, and for desert petite strawberry shortcakes. Is your mouth watering yet? I will have to let you know how this dinner turns out. One night I also plan to make Swedish Potato Balls (Kroppkakor) for Kirk. His mom's parents use to make them when she was a kid and he remembers eating them when he would go to visit them. He has been talking about them. I also have Swedish on my side of the family, I think it would be great for Edward to taste some Swedish style foods. There a Swedish Community here in Kansas (Lindsborg....aka Little Sweden) that has a Swedish Festival (Svensk Hyllningsfest) once a year, I am hoping we will be able to go in either 2009 or 2011 (it's only done every uneven year). It is in Mid-October.

It is different with Sebastian gone, we all miss him so much. Thank you all for the well wishes and condolences. It has taken some getting use too. So far Bear and Storm seem to be dealing with it well.

We are off here over Labor Day weekend for a mini family vacation in Nevada. Pray everyone comes home in one piece and no one tries to amputate any of their body parts.

We wanted to wish Happy Birthday to Jim, Mom T (Kirk's Mom), Oma Du (my Grandma), Paige (our beautiful neice), and Charlene, who all have birthdays in August. Also Happy Anniversary to my brother and his wife.

For those praying for us, please remember that Kirk goes at the end of next month to see the Urologist. Will keep you posted.

Edwards Big Night

This week was VBS....the theme was Pirates. Edward has been enjoying himself. Tonight there was an alter call for anyone who wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Edward raised his hand and went up. He was the first child to go up. He prayed that Jesus would come into his heart and be his Lord and Savior. PTL! Yes, I had tears in my eyes. I know that Edward knew what this meant because he stated afterwards that this meant he would get to go to heaven and not to the bad place where Satan was. After Edward was done, it was like a flood gate was opened and about 10 more kids followed suit and got saved.

4th of July

This 4th of July, we went to a picnic at church. We had fun.

Swimming Lessons

This year Edward took swimming lessons again. This year was one step of where he was last year (this year he was a Goldfish). He did awesome. He will take this class again at the beginning of August. He has improved so much over last year. Even would jump into the water or go under water.

British Soccer Challenge Camp

In June Edward participated in a British Soccer Challenge Camp, he loved it. It was his first time to play soccer. His coach said that he was good on the defense. He had a great time making new friends. He says he wants to play soccer again. He seemened to enjoy it alot more than he did playing Blast Ball.

National Childrens Day!

Did you know that today was National Childrens Day? NCD is the 2nd Sunday of June. During this time you are asked to make a commitment to your child(ren) or the child(ren) in your live. An example of that commitment is: As a parent/guardian, I will commit myself, in the coming year, to love, cherish, nurture(physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual needs), and affirm...
And No Kids this doesn't mean that there are presents involved except those that your parents have for you on their commitment cards. To me those are the best presents of all that a parent or someone that loves you can give to you.

Watch Out Edward is at the Wheel

Thought that you would enjoy this picture of Edward behind the wheel of a Go Kart. This if the first time that he has ever driven on by himself. He usually rides double with Kirk or I. He was so excited about this adventure. BTW, this was at Kirk's Works Company Picnic Yesterday.

Hold Your Children A Little Tighter

Please cherish every moment the Lord give you with your children because you never know when it might be your last. Yesterday morning I received a phone call from the head of our homeschool Co-op letting me know that one of my fellow homeschool moms passed away this morning. She was about my age (35) and had 3 beautiful children (a 12 yr old, a 8 yr old and a 4 yr old (approximate ages of the children)). Her name was Desiree also. There was no know reason for her passing this morning. I don't know when we will know. All I can do right now is think about those 3 beautiful children and the fact that they will never have their mommy tuck them, kiss them, laugh with them, cry with them, hold them when they hurt or rejoice with them when they accomplish something. Please keep her husband, their children and the extend family in your prayers at this time. Please hug your children and let go of the small stuff. Time is just to short.

************** UPDATE ***************added June 11, 2008******************
Desiree had been having some issues with fainting and her heart, they aren't sure if this is what took her life. I haven't heard about the results of the autopsy yet. A correction about her age she was 32 (born on Dec 1975...). When I was reading her obituary in the paper, I found it odd that not only did we both share the same first name, but our grandmas did too (Sylvia). She will be greatly missed. Please continue to keep her family in your prayers as they are facing some huge adjustments in their family right now.

Just Attended My First Homeschool Convention

Wooooo whoooo!! I went to my first homeschool convention this past weekend. I was unable to attend any of the workshops but that is okay because I was able to buy them on CD to listen to at my convenience. I can not wait to get started on that...I have 21 of them to listen 2 plus to others that I bought at a speakers booth on some subjects not covered at the convention. I was able to see so many products and pick the things that look right for us to use this year. Edward is now officially signed up to use the Sonlight K curriculum. Just purchased it. We are also going to be using Math U See (Edward is already begging to start this and I think we will), Character First, A Reason for Handwriting and A Reason for Spelling. I bought the newcomer on the Sonlight so the items I don't intend to use, I will be selling next year at the used book fair that our co-op puts on. I just had to share. Next year I plan to go both days and attend the workshops, Edward will be old enough to attend Adventures In Character that they have for 6 to 12 yr olds at the convention.
A Side note, Edward just started up his Summer Bowling League today. He is doing awesome. He got a 69 and a 74 today, that included 1 spare and a couple of very close other ones.

No Bump My Bumper Car

Instead of opting to stay home this past Memorial Day Weekend, at the last minute we opted to take Edward to Kansas City, MO to go to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. We had a blast. We are so glad that we decided to go somewhere after all then staying home all weekend. Trust me there were things around the house we could have gotten done but we needed a little time away as a family too. Edward has a blast. He rode lots of rides and we played for hours in the water park (Oceans of Fun). He loved riding on the Go Karts with Daddy and the kiddy bumper cars. He absolutely was funny on the bumper cars, He was a very cautious driver and didn't like having other "bump" into him. He would actually "chew" them out for bumping into his car. All he wanted to do was "drive" not "bump" the car. Needless to say we all got a little to much sun this weekend and I am the one paying the most for it. Yes, I took sunblock I just forgot the first day when I changed into my swimming suit to put reapply the block the the areas covered by my t-shirt when I orginally applied it. Trust me, I remembered the 2nd day. Well now we are back home and ready for a unusually busy week with 2 doctors appointments for me, a homeschool seminar and convention. I think that they only day I don't have something going on personally is Friday. Next week Edward starts back to bowling for the summer.

5 yr well child check up

Edward had his 5 yr old well child check up today. He weighed in at 43lbs (in the 63rd percentile for weight) and 43 1/2 inches tall (in the 61st percentile for height). His hearing is great. He was able to complete all the tasks that were asked of him, even a few with a little comedy added on his part. They told him to look at a eye chart and he was closing his eyes to think of the shapes instead of looking at them. Then when told to cover one of his eyes, he covered both while squeezing his eyes shut. The worst part of this was the 4 shots he had to receive at the end of the visit. Good news is that these were the last of his immunizations and he will not require any others until his tetanus shot at 10 or 11 yrs old. He was happy to hear that.

Caught In The Cookie "Jar"

I had to make cookies today for the Homeschool Co-op Graduation on Saturday. I had about 2 1/2 dozen cookies cooling and on plates ready to be packaged. I had ran upstairs to get some information off the computer. I come back downstairs, and find an entire plate of a dozen cookies missing. No Edward in sight. I call for him, no answer. I call outside for him and no answer. Then I see him walking from behind the garage, headed towards the neighbors house. I tell him to come back into the house. He makes his way very slowly back towards me, I see that in his hand are about 3 cookies. I ask him where the rest are. He refuses to answer. Kirk is on the phone with me. He asks to talk to Edward. He is telling Edward to tell me that they (the cookies) just jumped into his tummy and disappeared. Edward is say no daddy that is lying. However when asked again he still denies that he ate them when there are clearly some missing (about 3 in all total...he had laid the rest of the cookies back on the empty cooling racks). Finally he fesses up that he ate them. Crazy kid. He was upset, I told him that that was okay all I wanted to know was what happened to the cookies...then I reminded him that mommy had told him to ask before he took anymore because she needed so many of them to take in the morning.

Feeding Giraffes

In case you don't know Giraffes are Edwards most favorite animal of all. He absolutely loves them and has for a couple of years now. Not sure why he does, guess one day I will have to ask him that. Anyway we had his birthday party at the zoo this year but were unable to tour the zoo personally after his party was over. We had friend up from out of town and wanted to show off our remodel. Edward lucked out because I decided I would take him back in a few weeks. Well I took him today and went you know it by the time we got to the Giraffes it was when you could pay a dollar to feed them. I so wanted to do this as part of his party but was unable to get it lined up. So today we got to feed the giraffes and what an experience that was. Edward says it was yucky because they liked him and got his hand all slobbery. But I could tell that he loved personally being able to get so close to his favorite animal of all time.

Why Is It????

Why is it that as soon as people hear the words "We Homeschool", they look at you like you are an alien from outer space? They instantaneously judge you and think you are a weirdo for wanting to homeschool. I hear comments all the time like "He wont be socialized", "What about College?", "Won't he miss out on the "normal" things", "How will he make friends his age", "Why don't you cut the apron strings and let him go to real life school?" and so many more. Yes, he is socialized probably far better than most kids his age. He is able to interact with people of all ages, not just children his age. Yes, he can and will go to college. Homeschool Children get High School Credits and Diploma's just like those who attend public and private schools. And guess what, they get to have a real graduation too. "Normal" things, not quite sure what is meant by this statement but if it means do I want my son going to school every day having his back pack checked and sent through a metal detector just to get into the school building...then NO I don't want him to go through those "Normal" things. If by "Normal" things, they mean introduced to drugs, bullies and peer pressure by 4 yrs old, then NO I don't want those "Normal" things for him either. If "Normal" things means having lables slapped on him by adults who are suppose to their to guide them through the most important time of their life, then NO I don't want that for him either. Now please don't get me wrong, not all public and private schools are bad, there are great ones out there ( I do feel that the public school system as a whole though is in great need of a major over haul). Not saying that there aren't any locally either, just saying that I choose to educate my son at home....where he isn't just learning Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, he is learning about God (no I don't believe that it is the churches place either to be responsible to "educate" my son in Christianity....where in the Bible does that say that....it is us, as their parents, responsibility souly to do that....church is a corner stone in that foundation of Christianity that you are helping your child build), Family Foundations, Good Ethics, A adventurous love for learning, Freedom to learn what they want and how they want, Freedom to learn they way they want (and if necessary, in a way that is souly individualized for them and their learning style), and most of all being Loved and Guided by a adult who truly loves and cares for them and their what their future will hold for them. As for making friends his own age, he has plenty of them through Homeschool Co-op, Kindermusik, Bowling League, Monart, Church and various other activities we do with him. It's not like we have him locked up in the house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that some homeschool families are very strict about interaction and so forth. But do not judge me and the fact that I choose to homeschool, based on them. Just like I don't children who are public or privately schooled, to be hellions, rebels, wild uncontrollable children. I know some great children who are in public school as I speak. I love them for who they are not how they are educated. We have just educated ourselves, looked at all the options, prayed about where and what God had in store for us in the means of Education and went where He led us. I live in a country where this is a FREEDOM, it is My CHOICE not that of those around me. This is a FREEDOM I am grateful for each and every day. I do not take this FREEDOM light and neither does any of the homeschooling families I personally know. Each of us have chosen to homeschool because that is what God has called us to do for our children and our families. As for "cutting the apron strings" I think I just answered that question. My son, is not going to be any less of a man when he grows up because he was homeschooled by his Mom, I pray that homeschooling him will make him that much better of a Man and a stronger Christian.

My Baby's 5 today!

Well it is official, Edward is 5 yrs old. I want to cry. The time just seems to be flying by. Of course the last 48 hours, I have been going through my typical where I was and what was happening at the time of his birth mode that I do every year. He had a wonderful birthday party this past Saturday at the zoo with his friend (my laptop is down so pictures might take a while to follow). Today his Grandma (who is here from WA state to share his birthday week with him), his daddy, myself and Edward will be having an all day party to celebrate him. God truly blessed us with a miracle when he blessed us with Edward. I am ever so thankful that even with my PCOS that I was able to experience giving birth and that the product of that was my son, my blessing, my miracle, my gift from God. He was well worth the wait we had to endure. God knew the perfect time to send him to us, we love him so much and are able to enjoy him. THANK YOU GOD FOR EDWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!