School update and an Official Announcement.

So I started the year with high hopes but needless to say my children are not co-operating. It looks like we will be schooling though the summer holidays this year. Its been a year full of "STUFF."

Our organization will soon be shifting and relocating a few miles east. We have been scrambling to prep the house to sell. I feel like I'm on that Love it or List it show. I now love my floors and altho I'm not fond of the new paint color "Tea and Honey"(aka beige) It does actually look great with the tile.

We also started the process to adopt again, after watching our friends successfully adopt via the new beginnings program at Gladney we decided why not ask God if that is ok for us. We have felt led to adopt again and are excited to watch God build our family. Needless to say I'm once again up to my ears in paperwork.  Can't wait for this batch to be done and over with.  I'm totally at a loss this time around as to how to write the photo book. How do I express, were open to what God wants for us but really would like to lower the estrogen level in the house by adding some boys. My poor Knight in Shining Armor is surrounded by females! I just need an idea and some time when I'm not totally burnt out with House, School, the Looming Moving, Project, and oh Yeah I have a wedding to co-ordinate for a friend... wait the last bit is so much fun it's a de-stressor in my life.  (It's going to be soooooooo cute.)

Well lately I have shifted Sweet Potato away from HOD for a bit *again* the program is so awesome Little Miss Sunshine is just tooling along but Sweet Potato is not responding as well as she could be to the looming stress. I'm starting every day with an unco-operative child and taking the time to be present has resulted in some changes.

1. We're doing only the basics TX requires.
2. I've shifted her to books that she can read and are also free on Librivox so she can read and listen at the same time.  Seeing a much greater retention in what she has been reading/listening too.  I can hear Jan Bedell's voice (Little Giant Steps), saying Input Input Input.
3. We started a gentle approach to algebra and heaven forbid she likes it! This is on top of Singapore math, I want to be sure with our flip flipping into and out of Math You See, Visual Math from LGS, and back into Singapore that we are not missing anything she should have learned. Since Singapore uses a loose spiral we should be covering anything she missed on the the way up.
4. I'm working on her Handwriting its been getting sloppy again.
    I've added back in art, requiring her to draw images that she is reading about, map making etc.
5. Vocabulary, vocabulary vocabulary!

I'm not completely happy with the amount of school work she is doing. I wish I could get her to complete more subjects in a day, but she is now able to complete the work and is not as discouraged about school. In-fact today I saw her multiply 4 x 14 in her head. At this point I'm happy to see any forward momentum in her schooling, she doesn't do "change" well,  and even if she just stood still and didn't loose ground I'd be satisfied. Considering all the stress we have coming up in the future...   I've also added back in worksheets she likes to do like word searches, (Those things would take me hours to do she takes 10 minutes to do.)  this seems to help her self worth and builds a positive attitude toward school.  Personally I do not like worksheets, I think the The CM method is so much better for building character, critical thinking etc. but if a worksheet a day is looked forward too... well you betcha I'll be sticking one in the middle so she has a bright spot. :-)