So, TJ started school last week. He is now officially a kindergartener. I haven't received all of the supplies yet, but for the most part, we are getting by just fine. AS a matter of fact, he knows most of the stuff I'm supposed to be teaching him in math and phonics already. I have been quickly going through two of those lessons a day to get to the harder stuff, just as a little review, you know.

He's also learned a lot of new and fun stuff, too. We've read three timeless fairy tales, "Cinderella", "The Frog Prince", and just today, "Jack and the Beanstalk". They are the old versions, complete with big, strange words, but even that's pretty cool. TJ asked me just yesterday what 'savory' means, and he now knows what an ogre is, and what it means to 'bulge'. He and Taryn both enjoyed making crowns and decorating them during the "Frog Prince" lesson, and when we act out a scene in "Jack and the Beanstalk" tomorrow, I'm pretty sure they'll love that, too.

In Science I think he's had the most fun. Already he's learned that he has five senses, and can name them all and what they do. He knows what the word "observation" means now, and "attribute" as well. We had a scavenger hunt on Tuesday, which he and Taryn loved, and then brought in the stuff they found and looked at it all through a magnifying glass. That was fun. Tomorrow we're going to play "I Spy" to use his sense of sight some more, and I'm sure he'll love that, too.

Also in Language Arts, I read them poetry and have them do stuff like act it out and the like. Today we did one about apples, and Taryn LOVED pretending she was eating a purple apple that was "jooo-ceee"! TJ's, of course, was a rotten one, and it was not very crunchy. The most fun they've had so far, though, is when we read a poem about a ship made of pillows, and then got to make our own pillow ship. The lesson said to pretend you are making a ship out of pillows. I said to myself, "Ummm, we're at home, why can't we just really make a pretend ship out of pillows?" And so we did, and it was great...well, till TJ hit Taryn b/c she wouldn't drive the ship for him to find the treasure...

Oh, and in history, TJ has learned there are seven continents. He's not 100% on what their names are and where they are, but he's getting there. Considering a week ago he didn't know ANY of this stuff, I'm beyond impressed!

What I love the most is that this stuff is sticking so well. If he were in school, I may not know what he was learning during the day, and thus, couldn't bring it up later to help practice and remember it. However, I know what he's doing, and it's almost like him having homework when I quiz him later at Mimi's to show her what he learned that day. Plus, I get to show off how much of a genius my little boy is, when he'll play along, that is! Also, Taryn is picking up on a lot of this stuff. As a matter of fact, since TJ knows all of the math stuff I'm supposed to be teaching him (colors, right, left, before, b/t, after, etc.), I kinda focus it more toward Taryn while we review it, and she's getting a lot of it. She really likes the stories, too. I think she gets more out of them than TJ...but girls are all about fairy tales, so maybe it will change when we get to better stories. Surely the next theme will be super heroes, right? I really can't wait till everything else comes, supply wise. Then we'll have books, math manipulatives, flash cards, etc. I had some little foam shapes I used in place of shape blocks today for math, and it was all I could do to get him to stop making patterns! I was just sad that I didn't have more, b/c I know he could have done awesome stuff with them! That kid can really pick up on some patterns, too!

I'm loving this program he's in, too. Like I said, I know it will be even cooler when everything finally gets here. Plus, pretty soon he'll start taking classes for an hour each day online, and there will be field trips and the like. He goes to Frankie's Fun Park in Sept. for his first field trip, to meet his homeroom teacher and others doing this in our area. I've already met one girl who's doing the same thing, her youngest of three in this in first grade. We've vowed to get together and offer each other support and human contact. It's easier said than done, though, with nine kids b/t the two of us (yes, that's right, I still only have three kids, leaving the other SIX to her!). I love that it's all set up for me, though, and I just have to teach it. I think that once I'm more comfortable with it, I'll start changing it up some, taking stuff out and adding stuff in. I've already cut a lot of stuff that I know TJ won't do and doesn't need, and changed some lessons around a bit to more fit his likes and interests (ie-real pillow ship). It helps some that I don't have all my stuff, so I don't feel any guilt about using my own ideas to teach the same skills...b/c I really don't have a choice at this point!

Don't get me wrong, there have been some challenging days already. Each day he's getting a little more used to the whole routine of going from the complete chaos of summer to a set routine of daily schooling. However, he's still not quite getting that it's pretty much everyday, and fights a bit. Today was one of those days, and we didn't get nearly as much done as I would have liked, b/c honestly, we all feel sick, and I wasn't up to the fight! I know, though, that it's all going to get better and better and better. Just the other day Trey told me he thinks TJ's been a lot cooler lately, and I agree. He's definitely calmed down a bit. Unfortunately, he and Taryn still fight like siblings are known to do, and that sucks!

Anyway, this has gone long, and I have to go to bed. I'll talk to you later. Have a great day!