Tea for Two

Aquarium of the Pacific

Last Thursday we visited the Aquarium of the Pacific for their Homeschool Days. The kids love going to the aquarium, but the admission is expensive to go a lot. For Homeschool Days, the tickets were only $6.00/person. Too cheap to pass up, even though we sat for 1 1/2 hours on the freeway to get there! Ryan's favorite was the sharks, Katie loved the sea lions and Natalie loved the blue whale hanging in the entrance. We will have to try to go more often!

Fall Ball Season

Ryan and Katie had their first games of Fall Ball on Sunday. Katie hit the ball off the tee the first time and then hit the ball pitched from her coach the second time up. Both times she came around to score (although you don't actually keep score in tball). Her team played pretty good, but it is so cute to see 4 kids run to the ball and try to remember where to throw the ball! At least there are plenty of parents out there to help them out.

Ryan came up twice, struck out the first time and then singled the second time, scoring an RBI. Unfortunately, his team lost 4-3. He got to play shortstop, third base and right field.

Katie's First T-Ball Practice

Yesterday Katie had her first t-ball practice. She had a blast! She is on Team Blue and has her first game on Sunday.

Ryan also is on Team Blue (but for the older kids), and has his first practice on Friday. He also plays his first game on Sunday.

Before practice

UCLA v. SDSU

Love September, the official start to a new college sports season! Saturday was our first UCLA football game of the year. After a slow start, the Bruins started to roll. The final score was 33-14 UCLA. Hopefully, this season will be better than last year! In any event, the kids have a good time!

Starting School

We started our school year this week. Katie was very excited to begin kindergarten (let's see how long that lasts!), but Ryan was not so happy to end his summer vacation. After our first day, Ryan rated his day as "5 stars". He doesn't seem to complain when he's done with his school day by 1:30!

Many people ask what curriculum we use. I use whatever works. The nice thing about homeschooling is that if something doesn't seem to work, I change it. Since this is our third year homeschooling, I have settled in to a few programs I like. I do use a classical homeschooling approach to our history and literature. Ryan is currently reading a kid's version of Beowulf, which goes hand in hand with his history of the middle ages. He will also be reading the kid's versions of Shakespeare and The Canterbury Tales, as well as learning about Martin Luther and John Calvin. I love this method of homeschooling because it gets kids used to reading great works of literature early and actually enjoying them. He also loves to read the Magic Tree House books, as well as any books about Star Wars.

Katie is working with Hooked on Phonics, which is another program I love. She loves being in school and is working hard on her printing and math. She loves to create and can spend hours doing crafts on her own.

I am so happy with our decision to homeschool. It works for us. I love being in control of their curriculum and their learning. And yes, they are socialized with kids their own age...