Summer learning adventures

I didn't get a chance all summer to update this so I am going to do it now! We just had so much fun and so much learning all in one summer! We enjoyed the Insect-O-Rama at the Springfield Nature Center and we learned lots about those six legged creatures! 

 We had a blast at the Creation Xpo Science Camp. The focus this year was on great scientists and great artists. We learned a great deal about Isaac Newton which was a great pre-learning to our classical work this year. 

 We also had so much fun with church camp. It was wild west themed! The kids learned the word of God while doing lots of athletic games and swimming. 

 Lily was one of the muddiest girls there after all the mud game competitions!

We also went to vacation bible school to learn about creation and dinosaurs. It was a great time of learning!

The kids loved doing tennis lessons this summer! They all definitely improved. I really enjoyed taking Lily out one on one to practice. 

Another fun activity was in May when we did the Springfield Little Theaters School's Out workshop. They kids performed a dance routine and did fun skits. They also decorated shirts.

One of our all time favorite summer activities is to do golf lessons. We are blessed with a great golf instructor and a golf course that is made just for children! Lily improved with each lesson. Last year, Lily had received golf clubs and this year we were lent golf clubs for Eli and Valerie to use as well!

Last, but certainly not least, we enjoyed the library reading program. The kids read all summer long which improved their reading so much. It is fun to watch children grow in their love of reading!

Lily is in 4th grade

 My beautiful 8 year old is in 4th grade this year and I am loving it! She has matured so much and it is fun to work with her! The only down side is that her work is a little harder and involves me to grade more and check work through out. 

Lily is doing a great job with writing this year. We have been doing several different things for reading and writing. Lily is using Abeka readers to join history and comprehension as she reads. We are working on rewriting the question in the answer. We are doing spelling. Also we are using First Language Lessons level 3 to work on diagramming sentences and learning grammar rules. Lastly, we are doing cursive, journal writing, free writing, and writing about the medieval times. 

This year Lily is still in Classical Conversations. She is a journeyman this year with the 8-9 year olds. She is in an all girl class. That is a fun twist this year and she loves it. Her class joins with an all boy class for science experiments and for review games. 

One of Lily's favorite things is to draw. Right now she loves the Rainbow Magic Fairy books. They are an easy read...only a 3rd-4th grade level so she can read a chapter book in about 20 minutes, but the point is that she loves to read them. She has lots of other books that she loves to read also, but those are her favorite. 

I really enjoy seeing her pictures. It is such a joy to watch our children grow up and gain skills. 

Here is a picture of the kids on the second day of Classical Conversations. 

We love doing activities with friends. One day, we decided to do a character education lesson. The children all drew pictures of themselves and then passed their pictures around. Each friend wrote words about that friend on their picture. We talked about how important it is to build each other up. 

 Lastly, I wanted to show a picture of Lily with her week 1 presentation for CC. She presented all about herself and made this poster as a prop. During week 2, she presented on her favorite book.