Did you know that October 31st is Reformation Day? That's what we like to celebrate in the Fall. Our decorations and traditions are similar to every one else's...we just like to think of Martin Luther nailing his Ninety-five theses on the door at Wittenberg while we're carving pumpkins and dressing in costumes. :)
I love fall colors.
Two of my children were born in May, which means I suffered morning sickness during the entire fall season. As a result, I now associate all the smells, textures, and sights of fall with nausea...which is unfortunate, because I mostly love (or used to) the smells, textures, and sights of fall.
We got 3 pumpkins on our Pumpkin Patch outing: one for each kid. They each told me what they wanted carved, and I carved it. My little girl didn't so much tell me...we just all assumed what she wanted. :)
We roasted some pumpkin seeds...a first. Pretty yummy.
The pumpkins are arranged in order of the "owners' " ages. The first one is suppose to look "kinda mean", the second is a dinosaur, and the third is a butterfly.
I'm pretty certain there are no actual pumpkin patches in the state that we live in...
But, we temporarily live very close to a state that CAN grow produce!...so we were able to get to a pumpkin patch that was only about an hour away from our house. And...it was a perfect, perfect day.
We got that pumpkin for $1.
The kids got to play on some hay bales.
My baby took this picture on accident. I had set the camera on the ground, and she started messing with it...and...voila! I think it's a great picture!
The boys. :)
The petting zoo section.
The baby goat that we all fell in love with. He/she was hopping and jumping and kicking all around. So cute!
I somehow, a couple years ago, came across the book, The Well-Trained Mind, by Susan Wise-Bauer and Jessie Wise. I read the first few chapters and knew that I had found a guide to help me as I embarked on the homeschooling experience.
The Well-Trained Mind is a guide to classical education...and I'm so excited about classical education!
The 3rd edition of the book is now out (I want it!)...but I have the 1st edition now.
And, the 1st edition recommended Phonics Pathways as a starting point for preschool/kindergarten phonics and early reading.
I bought the book right away (about a year ago?), but I didn't think it would work with my boys....mostly because...I'm a cynic. :)
But, it turns out, I just needed to be patient and wait for beginning reading to be developmentally appropriate. And...Phonics Pathways is seemingly so for my 4-yr. old right now.
We started by learning all the vowels and short vowel sounds. We use this sheet daily to review and become more and more fluent.
This is a "vowel stick" provided by the book. The reason for this tool is so that the student has a reference to look toward if he suddenly forgets a letter or its sound. And...it works very well for my boy! It forces him to stop and think rather than just "guess".
This week was a big stepping stone. We started blending consonant sounds with the vowels we've become so familiar with. I tried this about 6-8 months ago, and it was a debacle. But...this week...easy breezy.
I'm so proud of my boy!
He's doing so well, I'm going to go out and buy him the first set of the Bob Books in the next couple days, because I think he's going to be ready for them soon!
Here is our littlest baby.
Let's see.....
