Art

One subject that Brandon specifically asked me to teach him this year homeschooling was art. We're starting with a sculpture kit.

He started with a cog at the bottom with two wires bent into the basic shape then stuck in the cog. He filled the cog with foil to finish making the basic shape then covered it with the clay.

He then started adding clay where he needed for the facial features and taking clay away where needed.

Here is his finished product. Very good for his first try. He was so excited for this project that he did 4 lessons worth of art all this afternoon.

School

When Brandon was little, we would pass the time in the car by me giving him three words and he would have to make up a story using those words. Now, I'm making that into some of his writing assignments. Here is his first short story using the words; purple, duck and tennis shoes.

Homeschooling is going great so far. I feel like we've both gotten into a good groove.

First day of school

Ethan and Brandon on the first day of 1st grade and 4th grade.

Ethan in front of his school on his first day.

Brandon in front of his school on his first day. Yes, that is the front of our house. This year we are homeschooling Brandon. We're both very excited and after the first day, so far so good!

Ethan's favorite animal

The one thing that Ethan wanted to see was a Jaguar.

As you can see, he was pretty excited! It even made it into our bedtime prayer, along with the stingrays and pizza for dinner tonight.

Petting the Stingrays

One of the favorite parts of going to the zoo today was getting to pet the stingrays. If you held your hand down flat in the water they would come right up to you. The only thing to watch for was accidentally touching the tail or the edges of the 'wings' then they would splash you. Sometimes they'd just splash. Poor Ethan got a face full of salt water more than once.

Brandon's Huge Exciting Amazing Day

This morning Brandon was baptized at the lake behind Columbia Christian Church by his Daddy. We are so proud of his decision. It is one that he's has thought about for a very long time.

Horse Show

On the last day of each horseback riding session they have a "Horse Show" Where they get to show off what they can do. they use the reins to guide the horse, do a two point going over the 'jump' and trot. Everyone gets a ribbon at the end. Ethan's was for Best Trotting!!! This was his third session total, and the first this year. He really has learned a lot and done a great job.

Zoo trip

We had a fun time at the zoo but need to go back, there just wasn't time to see it all, or enough camera battery to take pictures of it all so I can scrapbook it. ;o) Ethan was able to walk more of it than we expected, but having the wheelchair along was helpful when he was wearing out and getting tired. We ended up using the chair a lot more at the end because one of Ethan's braces actually broke and was starting to hurt his leg. That is tough plastic so I was very surprised it happened. They should be able to order another under warranty but right now it's duct taped together so it won't pinch him until we can get the replacement. Ethan wanted to see the jaguars but he was asleep at that point and they weren't out. They both loved dragging Mommy to see the snakes. Ick!