All Hands On Deck!

There's been a nice, needed change in our day to day learning lately. We had a good visit with Vanessa's teacher Mrs.Karen last week {really Mrs. Loewen, but Jake has us all repeating his name for her - kinda cute ;) }

We sat down and went through all the book work Vanessa has been so valiantly pawing through each day, and noticed how far we've surpassed our allotted monthly task list. {IE: we are well into late Octobers assignments - and are almost too far ahead.} At this speed we'll be done grade 2 in March. Lol. Sounds great, but really, there's much more to learning than just doing repeated paper asignments ;)

Which brings me to my new found change we've implemented.. Hands on work.

Vanessa has been reading {a lot!} and painting, and doing more work with her hands. We try and switch it up and do various assignments from day to day, but book work kinda falls into that easy teaching method where everything is right in front of you; no deep imaginative explanation, or fancy frills needed. Which has really been my whole, nice, little niche lately.

But alas, we have put our books down, and delved deeper into things like prayer meetings in our classroom, building structures using our counting cubes that snap together - used for patterning ect. And, since Thanksgiving is right around the corner, {yay!} the kids all painted some really neat Thanksgiving posters that we will display at our family dinner this coming weekend :)

We had a lot of fun! And it was a bit messy - for once! ;) 

Aside from the crafts and reading, Vanessa has recently completed her first unit study of the year, on Tiger Cubs!

We had a bunch of really cool {and mostly new} books given to us from one of our neighbours, one being on Tiger Cubs, so we got to learn all about their appearance, habitat, food and care, and threw in some neat fun facts too!

 
 Vanessa even had a chance to document her research findings, and put that on display as well :)

We added a growth timeline too! She would be thrilled to show it to you I'm sure - the next time you pop in for a visit ;)

I also had Vanessa present her unit study to the class, {me and her siblings ;) } She got to read out everything on her poster and talk a little bit about what else she learned - all while I was able to film it for Daddy - and her teacher. She got marked on thoroughness in explaining each point on her poster, and also on good attitude and overall delivery of her presentation. She then got to read us the book: Tiger Cub. I know this was right down Vanessa's alley! She absolutely loved it! And did really well :)

I try and get Vanessa to complete a quiz each Friday on one topic or another that we are covering - usually on something she should be remembering - or things that are of importance. 

She's done a test on the National Anthem .. And nailed it..we did spelling of various words relating to her unit study.. And just last week completed a quiz on Canada. 

I made up a little questionnaire for her and had her study all week and told her if she did really well 10/12 at least, she'd get a reward. And she got 12/12 :)

Jake has been doing so well with his alphabet, I'm actually shocked he's not in kindergarten  for real this year. He can print all his letters really well, and can say  the sounds for each letter. Now he likes to teach Rylan everything he learns each day ;) 

Here's a picture of Rylan just being cute ;)

 

{He thinks his hands are sharks! Lol!}

Jared and I always try and make a big pancake breakfast on at least one of his days off, the kids are actually allowed to stay in their pyjamas for breakfast, and we go all out with making eggs, bacon or hashbrowns and toast..with all that work, it pretty much turns into a brunch ;)

{Closer pic:}

Aside from all this, we are enjoying our time each day with The Lord, reading out scriptures to one another, and seeing the really neat things He's been doing for us. We are moving towards a nice change {back} in vehicles in the next little while. Really finding out what it means to look past the desires of the flesh and choose what's best for our overall family and where we'd like to be: spiritually, physically and financially. 

One thing The Lord has confirmed to both Jared and I is: if you want a positive change in your life - you have to change what your doing now. If you don't change the things your doing now, then things will never change.  Kinda sounds redundant, but it's true :)

Well, I hope you are warm, happy, and full of joy. 

And know that you are loved. 

Love Court

It's Fall!

The most wonderful time of the year! {according to me lol}.

Now, if your like me, you might have a series of cute fall clothing 'must haves' abiding their time in an online cart just awaiting your credit card numbers so you can finally snap them up to replace your current "all that fits me Jared is my Summer shorts and tank tops, I swear!" numbers just begging to get stored away for next year..  

{Note: that quote is accurate}.

Only, your no longer a single gal all worried about herself and things you want from season to season. No. Those days are long gone.

Instead, you are writing down lists of items your sweet, precious gems, will need for the upcoming cooler temperatures and realizing they are all growing at an alarming rate and pretty much all need individual wardrobe updates..x4 this year for me! 

{Cha-Ching!}

...And so, your boots will wait. Each year.

That's ok. I tell myself, I will do a hundred more crunches and 100 more 100lb squats to improve my body and that will be my quick fix. ;)

That and the occasional pumpkin spice lattes + HGTV shows will do me just fine :) For now.. 

 

                      *        *        *

The kids and I have been loving our new routine of waking up and heading down to our classroom! It has been a real good start into their new grades :) 

There's been so many instances where The Lord just anoints my mind, and I come up with a bunch of side projects and games for them that will help them learn better. 

Here, we have words with different vowel sounds sorted into their proper bags so Vanessa can start to learn the difference between short and long vowel sounds:

Vanessa has her own Word Box that we go through each morning, where she can read the word and it being used in a sentence on one side, then just the picture of the word on the other side:

In our Bible Truths Book, we've been learning a lot about Noah in Genesis, and Vanessa has gotten to learn in depth about why we look to The Lord as our example and not others in the world. As Noah was the only one person God had favour on and used him and his family to re-establish creation, and why God wanted to destroy all the evil that was in the land at that point. 

We also did some reading about the Tower of Babel, that was really cool! I got to explain how The Lord created different languages and Vanessa got to color a worksheet on the topic:

 

Jakob has been doing really well on learning the alphabet and the different sound each letter makes. I told him to choose a letter and draw a bunch of pictures that start with that letter.. Of course he chose the letter X. 

{That's his X-ray and treasure map with an X, picture}.

And Jakob got this really cool kindergarten book given to us by one of our neighbours who know I'm prepping him for next year.. It has a lot of colouring, matching pictures and letter tracing in it too:

Rylan has been doing really good with his potty training lately! Huge blessing for us!

He's had at least 10 poops on the potty all by himself! Which has resulted in 10 new Hot Wheels cars ;)

The kids have been helping a lot too with lunch prep work.. Vanessa got to make some peanut butter & graham cracker sandwiches, while I make the KD:

And just in case my life isn't busy enough, I had the energy to redo our front foyer and paint in some horizontal cream stripes! I'm very happy with it.. Even though it cost me numbness my right hand for two days :p

{ Well, I pray you are all as giddy as I am to welcome the new season... all nestled on your couch, in your comfy cashmere knit blanket ~ that you got on clearance at Home Sense ~ with your very own pumpkin spice latte... maybe with your Fall candle scent of choice burning in the background, while you catch up on all the latest DIY, home makeover trends.} 

Lord Bless,

Love Courtney

First Week of School!

September was a delightful surprise! 

After a busy Summer and late nights, there was a warm welcome in everyone's  hearts for the start of a new routine :)

Vanessa has just begun Grade 2, and Jakob is picking up the basics for his kindergarten enrolment for next year. 

Rylan is enjoying some pre-school fun & little baby Charlotte is adjusting to mommy being a multi-ninja-tasker. {Between our home life, spiritual lives, on going cleaning & homeschooling, my bases are near loaded ;) In a good way...}

Most mornings, we are up at 7. 

Beds quickly made, clothes that were laid out-to be put on, teeth brushed, and everyone out to the kitchen to help with breakfast. 

Rylan grabs the placemats, and knows exactly which colours go in which seat. Vanessa usually has waffles or cereal started, and Jakob sets out the cutlery and cups. 

{As I fumble towards the coffee maker, with baby Charlie on my hip.}

Once breakfast is done, we make our way downstairs to our classroom. 

First and foremost, we welcome each other to the start of a new year! Set new goals, review classroom behaviour & rules. 

Jakob is our new calendar helper :)

As a new tradition (just started last year) we usually get Timbits on our first day!

Vanessa has just started learning about Canada, and is reciting our National Anthem each morning.

She is also learning the basics of mapping and got to make her own map of our neighbourhood:

Science has been off to a quick start as well! We are learning about Air & Water for the next few weeks, and Vanessa got to make a wind tunnel:

Today, we started our first Unit Study in our Bible Truths book. Jared and I skimmed through the book once it arrived in our curriculum package and noticed that its non-denominational, and it works in accordance with our King James bibles. Perfect! Here, Vanessa got to make her own Noah's Ark:

Tomorrow we continue on with our first lesson for Visual Arts. 

{Normally, we complete one subject per day ~ for approximately 3 hours, broken up.}

Last weekend, Vanessa had the chance to audition for her Ballet Academy's Nutcracker Performance which plays at the Clarke Theatre every December. Each year her school rotates parts to different classes, so we never know what she will get to play from year to year.. We are hoping she gets to be a 'party girl' I am told... {More stage time..} ;) 

Here, Mrs.Carney is taking measurements for the girls costumes.

We are all excited & hopeful for this coming school year.. always choosing to be full of love & joy each day. 

{Praising God for each moment we have together.}

Here's some pictures of the small but mighty choir singers praising God this past Sunday! 

Enjoy!

Love & Blessings,

Courtney xo

The Start of Something New

{Hello fellow Readers!}

I pray you are all well, filled with joy, and enjoying the many blessings the Lord has given you this day :)

To start off...Why Peas & Pods? You may ask...

I have put a lot of thought and prayer into starting up a new blog ~ one that will both lift up and edify my reader {my beloved fellow brothers and sisters in The Lord}, and in searching my brain for a new title & starting anew, the word 'peas' popped into my head. Funny word, I thought.. Then 'pods'. I decided to look them up.

Peas: round, edible seed from a widely cultivated plant. 

Hmm.. I would consider my little young ones as 'peas', I thought. This would fit well with my schooling updates - my small peas growing in their pods (our home). 

Spiritually, round would mean whole, as we are made whole by the Holy Spirit. And edible, as in we feed one another through scripture and fellowship. Voila! It works!

Pods: a two valved seed vessel.

As we are all vessels for The Lord, this made perfect sense. :)

So here we are, Peas & Pods. 

Hope you enjoy it! 

I'll cap off this brief, yet insightful, first entry with a picture of the hearts and life-full moments that I will be sharing in the many months to come...

Love & Blessings,

Courtney