We Caught our Second Wind!

Boy, I must say 2013 was a tough year. I know I've said this before, but I really over-pushed my limits. 

I'm glad to say goodbye...

I had a nice, well-needed rest from it all. The holidays were very lovely and joyful.

 Now I'm ready to roll into the New Year

...like a boss!

{K} had his first basketball game last weekend and he did so well!!

We were THOSE parents yelling so loudly and over-doing it with cheers for ever bucket his team sunk...

Back to schooling...

I'm really looking forward to the last half of the year with the kiddos. I realize that even on the days when we don't seem to get anything accomplished , the children are still progressing at a rapid pace! 

I love love love being able to organize their curriculum. I also love the freedom that homeschooling gives us. 

Lately, I've been having to skip through lessons because I keep getting the response, "I already know this"...

I make them prove it every time, sure enough, we skip even more lessons....

I feel like that is something we struggled with a bit in public school, especially with the oldest...

Even if he knew it, he was still required to do it again. Don't get me wrong, repetition is very important for some things, but there is a point where boredom gets the best of us and does more than cause a little trouble.

I was looking through the pics in my camera and I was laughing so hard at the silly face poses...

         ^that's {J}'s silly face...ha!

My children really take their silly faces seriously. They give 100% effort in making a silly face, it almost looks painful...

So yeah, we've caught our second wind and are feeling like we're cruising right along merrily. 

We haven't been very social, but when the weather gets a bit nicer we'll be out more.

We're also looking for good book recommendations for {M}. She's read so many books already, but here's what she has left on her reading list for the rest of the year:

• The Phantom Toll Booth
• The Great Gilly Hopkins
• Because Of Winn-Dixie
• The Whipping Boy
• Caddie Woodlawn
• Anne of Green Gables
• Tuck Everlasting
• Sounder
• The Last Invisible Boy
• James and The Giant Peach
• Pippi Longstocking

Do you have any other awesome books around the same reading level that you highly recommend?

God Bless all of you and yours!

~The Zeres

Purging and Preparing...

I finally did it! I've been planning to do it for a while now.

I had the less than desirable, ever-so-dreaded, yard sale.

I will be the first to admit that...

 I could've been more prepared.

I would've planned it more thoroughly had I known.

I should've advertised better.

Shoulda-Woulda-Coulda...

Oh well, It was really fun. My Mama came over for the morning and hung out. She made more money than all of us {way to go Mom!}

I won't post any pics of her because she was making crazy faces in all of them...AND she would kill me for it :)

I think the girls came in second for the most earnings with their lemonade stand:

{K} was helpful and pretty patient. He sold some stuff and handled the cashiering...

{J} was pretty difficult, we had to keep bringing him inside to Daddy...

He didn't last too long with all the excitement...

Even though my yard sale was not a financial success, I did however succeed in getting rid of a lot of stuff. Even though it didn't sell, it no longer has a home in my garage. It is as good as gone...

I want to start this school year off, fresh and de-cluttered. We aren't buying a lot of school supplies, instead I've taken an inventory of the stuff we already have and we will not add to the list unless absolutely necessary...

Speaking of school, it won't be long before we dive into our second year of homeschooling. I've learned so much in our first year and I have to remind myself to just keep going...

The real challenge has been keeping the baby busy while we are "in study".

I'd like share some ideas that I found:

Independent Activities for a one year old {while the big kids are "in study"} :

Make a textured book

{Via}

{Via}

A peekaboo tray from a shoebox lid

{Via}

A tissue box filled with fabric squares

{via}

Pipe Cleaners and Containers

{Via}

{Via}

Tactile Exploration Cards

{via}

Ball Tube

{via}

Hope you find as much worth in these ideas as I do. Thanks to all you brilliant Mamas.

Oh and I found this and wanted to share it with y'all {hehe}

Have a blessed day!

Homeschooling: {Colors}

In our new house we have about 1000 square feet less than we used to have. We are learning to live with less, and loving it! One of the only draw backs is that our dining room HAS TO BE our school room because we no longer have a breakfast nook or a play-room.

I know I'm being really selfish here, but I just don't want posters and papers ALL over this room...yet..

So I've been coming with unique ways to school with subtle style...

I know when I look back I'm going to remember the fun projects, experiments, books, and time we spent together, not how nice my living room looked...
...so I'm not going over-board just subtle. AND...I like my space to be pretty if I can help it...

I'm preparing to add a kindergarten to our curriculum, so things will get pretty colorful...

I have a few really good ideas for learning primary/ secondary colors...

I cut out bird templates, colored them and we will use them to determine which primary colors will make which secondary colors.

Then, we have our Rainbow color spectrum... made from paint chips atop burlap, painted cardboard and then framed...

Subtle...right?

I love it! What do you think?

It's how we roll...

Wooohooo onto our third week of homeschooling! We are really enjoying the time we have...

Some of us like to build massive structures at the public library...

Some of us like to spend time observing others with professions we might like to take up one day...

We all like to take a moment to just sit and smell the Spring flowers...

...and scuffle our feet over the rain-covered walkways...

Some of us like to reach out and touch everything we can. Explore our world by feel and taste...

Some of us have really great questions like:

Is there really a Tasmanian Devil in Tasmania?

or

What gives the Dead Sea and the Red Sea their names?

Some of us seek out the answers to our great questions...

Some of us are so curious and eager to find out how things work...

...it's just how we roll...

How do you roll?

Helter-Skelter...

We experienced the willy-nillies of the first week of homeschooling.

It felt good to get back into the swing of things today. I've learned some very valuable lessons through the past week.

No.1 While in the midst of the helter-skelter of our home with crying, diapering, feeding, holding, bathing, arguing siblings, whining, and homeschooling, it's hard to see the value of our everyday routine.

There are seasons of life, some more challenging than others. Right now we are in the season of mentoring, teaching, and training our children.

There is no one who will love them more than us, be willing to correct them consistently, teach them godly values, train them the right way, or mentor them by example.

This season will be gone soon and we'll never get it back.

This season is such a blessing to me...I don't want to miss a single second of it.

We are figuring out how to work more independently...without distractions.

I wrote all the children's names on the chalkboard and put a strike next to their name when they interrupted the lesson.

{K} ended up with the most strikes, {L} followed and {M} came out clean with none.

The children love the science experiments, and of course recess!

For the most part we have managed to keep things organized and simple...

{J} is really soaking up the extra attention. He's now a climber. a scooter, a backwards crawler, eight months old, a stinker, and the proud owner of eight teeth.

So while I'm unable to have very many moments to sit and meditate, and seek wisdom...alone...

{I thought I was alone for this moment...apparently not...ha!}

...I still know that I'm on the right path, and I see signs all over telling me that THIS is what we're meant to be doing...

I love these moments of affirmation...