Welcome summer!

Just a few notes about summer learning...
Rachel is doing violin every other week in summer, she started using the D string this week and is moving up to a bigger violin tomorrow (a loaner until we order her new one!)

Ford has 3 more books to finish this Bob book box.  He wants to finish by the end of June and take a break from formal reading in July.  He has ten lessons left in his math book, by the end of summer he should be able to tell time and subtract .  I want him to finish up this book so he can start with a fresh new book in Kindergarten.

Ruby insists that she's finished preschool...she's so ready for ballet in the Fall, she should be swimming with the big kids soon.  She's really good at keeping up with Rachel and Ford!

Baxter just keeps growing and moving!  He can pick up a cup and I even let him take a little sip of water today...he was so proud of himself!

Allen and I are remembering what the 4 hour body diet is like.  I'm ready to shed these pounds and it's going to take more than just exercising.  We've cut out dairy, white foods, carbs and grains, and fruit with one binge day a week.  Basically meat and veggies!  The last time we did this plan we lost a TON of weight... So here's hoping it works again!

5 years and 5 months

The boys of Ingram School are growing and growing and growing.  Before they get any older, let me tell you all about what they can do these days!

Ford turned 5 years old this past Wednesday.  He is becoming such a confident little boy.  He has been learning to swim over the past few weeks and told us the other day to just go on and give Baxter his puddle jumper!  Once he got brave enough to try jumping in without and going under the water, he had no need to wear that cumbersome thing any more!!  He is an emotional roller coaster most days and is a man of extremes.  Everything is extremely great or extremely horrible to him at all times!!  He is definitely a pleaser and wants everyone around him to be happy.  If one of his sisters gets upset, he tries his best to find something to make them feel better (unfortunately that usually means the other sister gets upset...it's such a balancing act!).  He can't wait to officially start Kindergarten.  On the morning of his birthday he said, "Well, Mama, let's go ahead and do my school work so we can get on with the day."  I wasn't going to make him do any school work, but he was so excited to skip count by 10s and read a couple of Bob books.  He has started trying to read signs when we're driving around and figure out words in books as we're reading them.  I don't think he'll have any trouble becoming a reader this Fall.  He is such a sweet guy.  Love you,  Ford!

The other big boy around here was 5 months old at the beginning of June and is almost 6 months old!!  Talk about sweet....once we figured out his tummy troubles, this boy has gone back to being a super sweet toe-sucking, finger-licking, smiling and giggling happy guy.  Baxter is quickly learning to sit up and grab his toys.  He LOVES solid food and will eat anything.  Luckily, I've gotten him to eat some Mulit-Grain cereal so that he can poop more than once a week.  Fruits and veggies with no cereal creates lots of screaming from tummy trouble for him!  Other than cereal, he hasn't met a food he didn't like (feeding these four when they're teenagers is going to be outrageous!!).  I love this age because I finally feel like I can play with him and the other kids are having fun entertaining him.  He thinks they are all hysterical and especially loves to grab their hair and pull (that's usually when they stop entertaining!). If we can just get Bax to sit up in his little boat at the pool, we are going to have a great summer of swimming.  For now, though, he just likes one of us to hold him while the other one watches Ruby and then Ford and Rachel jump-in-get-out-jump-in-get-out-jump-in-get-out....

He is taking a regular morning and afternoon nap now and gets up twice in the night when we put him to bed at 7 with everyone else.  There are still some nights where he wakes more often than that, but we'll get there.  I know as soon as we get it straight, the teeth will start popping in and mess it all up.  No biggie, haven't slept in 6 years, why start now???

Love these boys!!

Yep, this guy!!

Can you believe this guy is 5?!?!

Tweetsie and a Father's Day Hike

Kindergarten comes to an end

Rachel "officially" finished Kindergarten today!!! I kept thinking that I really wanted to do something significant to celebrate, so we started the day by making a notebook of all her work. She made dividers for each subject and we looked through her Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies together. She wanted to make a title page and on it she drew a cloud (from science) and a grass skirt (from Social Studies). She showed her work to Ms. Lisa at our play date today and to Baba. Since we were out at Lisa's and Allen had a half-day, we went and ate a celebratory lunch (she wanted Zaxby's) with him. Then we went and got a frozen treat and wrapped our afternoon with a viewing of The Pirate Fairy.
Rachel has accomplished so much this year and I am so proud of her. She loves to learn, loves to be outside, loves to play violin, and LOVES to read! At the beginning of the year she was reading pre-reader and Level 1 books, now she reads 3rd and 4th grade level Chapter Books!! She is truly amazing!!

Never Say Never...

Allen finishes his days with students tomorrow and Rachel is considering tomorrow her "last day of Kindergarten" (even though we've basically been done for awhile...moving was kind of our "ceremony"!)  So, Ingram School blog posts probably won't be too much about education for awhile and will be more about what we're doing these days.  I'm hoping to start regular routine school back the same day as Allen (August 25) so the kids feel like they're on the same schedule as he is.  We talked this morning about how everyone would be going up a grade.  Rachel is excited to move up to 1st grade.  Ford will officially start Kindergarten.  Ruby refused to say she was going to be in preschool (she thinks she's already completed preschool!), so we decided she'd be in "Ruby School" this fall.  I know summer hasn't officially started yet (thanks to our calendar lesson today), but it seems like it's going to fly by since school gets out so late this year.  Anyway....

The reason I titled this post "Never Say Never..." is because we are going to be doing something this weekend that I truly NEVER thought we'd do!!!  I wanted to take Allen somewhere for Father's Day so that he would get a little vacation now that school's out and so that he didn't have to have his Father's Day Breakfast with his mother-in-law!!  Plus, we spent our vacation money on joining the pool and swim team and such this year, so I was hoping for a little getaway that wouldn't cost much.  Lisa and Ed are kind enough to let us stay at their mountain house this weekend and Allen loves the mountains, so I thought, "Perfect!"  Well, after I got that squared away and had visions of hiking and playing at the park and such, Ford just happened to see a commercial for "Day Out with Thomas".  This is something I swore I'd NEVER EVER EVER do!!!  When I looked into going to one closer to where we live, it was SO EXPENSIVE.  However, Thomas just happens to be in the mountains this weekend and it doesn't cost any more to get into the park then it does normally.  Ford's birthday is next week and after seeing that commercial he decided that he didn't want a party, he just wanted to go see Thomas!!  So, as I often do, I had to eat my words that I'd NEVER EVER DO THIS because, seriously, if that's all he wants for his birthday and we just happen to be planning to be in the same city at the same time and it means I don't have to plan a birthday party, well, let's just do this.  I hate commercialism and I know there will be so many things in our faces trying to get us to spend money, but Ford knows that the train ride and day at the park is his actual birthday present.  So, this weekend will be crazy, fun, and hopefully a little bit relaxing at some point!!  We will just hang out and roast marshmallows on Friday night, then spend all day with Thomas on Saturday (seriously, we're getting there when it opens and we are staying until there's a meltdown), then Sunday we will celebrate Allen and do what he wants to do.  I think that means we'll be going somewhere fun for breakfast and hiking on a mountain somewhere and who knows what else.

And then 5 reasons why Parenting is Worth It

1. Hugs and kisses any time you want them (even when they're mad).

2. Watching the pride they have when they learn something new or do something for the first time.

3. Your baby's first smile and first giggle...will melt your heart!

4. Watching from afar as your children help each other and do things together without arguing or complaining.

5. All the things that we have yet to experience as a family but I know will be incredible. Listening to Rachel, Ford, and Ruby plan their rooms, their tree houses, the animals they want to have, etc makes me realize how kind, creative, intelligent, and unique they all are.

5 Reasons Why Parenting is Hard

1. Being a parent automatically means you're a teacher. But get this, I thought I was just teaching one subject, let's say math, and just realized that I have to teach Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus. All at the same time. And the students all have ADD.

2. Once you figure out what works, it doesn't work any more. Potty training is a great example of this. Rachel sat on the potty and went. Ford peed outside. Ruby took 18 MONTHS to potty train! Nothing that worked for anybody else worked for her and something that would work one day (stickers, chocolate chips, threats) wouldn't work the next day. I'm keeping Baxter in diapers until he's 6.

3. You know how they suggest you not drive when sleep deprived? You should pull over and get rest before continuing your trip. I want someone to invent a place where I can pull over and rest before I continue parenting.

4. Laundry, dishes, bath time, stories, meals, repeat...when can you do anything else??? 2032, that's when.

5. The struggle between helping them find independence and keeping them from killing themselves. Constantly. Everything is dangerous, but double it when Ruby is around! The girl runs down brick stairs in wet flip flops on her tiptoes...not an exaggeration in any way. She also puts on goggles and a swim cap just so she can sink to the bottom of the pool during swim team.

Let's Do This

5 months old...that would be Baxter. I joked the whole time I was pregnant with him that I lose more weight after every pregnancy so it was okay to gain a lot (and boy did I....gain a lot, that is!). Unfortunately, just saying you're going to lose weight doesn't make it happen. After Rachel was born we literally lived above a gym and I was in an intense competition to get back in shape...oh, yeah, and I walked 2 miles with her every day to Target and back...oh, yeah, and there were no other kids around! After Ford was born, Allen stopped commuting so far and we made sure we each got plenty of time for running when we needed a break...and I signed up for a 5K to run when he was 4 months old. After Ruby was born I joined Weight Watchers with a small group at our church and my mom paid so that we'd have enough people...I wanted to get to Lifetime ASAP so she wouldn't have to pay for so long!!!...and we had moved into town, so I would put Ford and Rachel in a double stroller and Ruby in the backpack and walk about three-quarters of a mile uphill into town and then downhill back...I also had a steady early morning running date with my buddy, Gail...lots of running in the dark! With Baxter the world has been crazy ... Finally started to find my running feet again and then our house sold and it was just survival mode of getting everything packed up and out of there. Then I said, "June 1st I'm going to start running again !" Too bad I got a dose of the stomach bug the night of May 31. So on June 2, I ran a mile . On June 3, I ran a 10 minute mile. On June 4, the treadmill wouldn't work. Yes, I could run outside but the easiest way to run right now is during nap time in the basement on the treadmill...guaranteed 10-15 min to myself! So, Allen fixed the treadmill yesterday and I ran 2 miles. It was awesome! So I ran 2 more today...even better! Now I'm ready for a goal so I'll keep it up. I love running, but I love it more when I have a reachable attainable goal to work towards. Here's the goal :

13 and 30

13 miles and 30 pounds

My New Year's resolution was to run a half marathon distance. I looked at the calendar today and gave myself 6 months to train so that I can run 13 miles at the beach the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For some reason November is a great running month for me! That also means if I can lose 5 pounds a month between now and then I will have lost 30 pounds and I'll be below my Lifetime goal and only 7 pounds from my lowest recorded weight as an adult. This is totally possible, not a bit ridiculous, and I'm ready to start!! So, let's do this!!!

What I don't miss about teaching (and how that led us to homeschooling)

When I was a teacher this time of year always brought out the worst in everybody.  All teachers were stressed, most kids were stressed, and nobody seemed to get along.  You know why?  That stupid EOG test.  Either kids were mad they had to take it or worried they would fail.  Teachers were uptight about whether they had prepared their students well enough and if they would look bad if the kids had a bad day.  When I first started teaching, there was also a huge bonus on the line depending on how your whole school performed on the test.  I was fortunate enough to work in a school system where the teachers all realized that they had to work together since they would all receive the same bonus (I'm pretty sure one year we got like $3000 each!  That's significant in the life of a teacher!!).  Regardless of how much time and effort you put in, if you taught at the school, you got the bonus.  Luckily, my first four years included professional teachers who put their time in whether it was covering your class or helping with some kids so you could focus on others or whatever.  P.E. teachers would teach perimeter on the baseball field, music teachers taught fractions, art teachers linked literature, etc.  Then I moved to a school system that was the complete opposite and it was every man for himself.  The stress of that was a completely different scenario, but it was very stressful.  All of this to say, it was ridiculous how one test and a bunch of money ruled the way school was taught.  Now they have taken the bonus away, but everyone still stresses out about the test because your name is attached to all of your students' scores.  They threaten the kids that they will fail their grade if they fail the test, but that never happens.  Lots of empty threats and empty promises.  Whatever happened to teaching for the love of learning?  It's obvious the people making the decisions about education in our state have either never been educators or are so far removed that they don't understand the current classroom climate.  I admit, that I'm far enough removed now that I wouldn't feel comfortable making educational reform, but I do know that something needs to happen.  I teach my children because I want them to love learning.  I love that my 3 and 4 year olds wanted to skip count at lunch today just because it was fun.  I love that my 6 year old is dying to learn cursive.  I love that they come up with their own science games and want clues to solve mysteries.  I laugh hysterically at the stories they make up and act out and create props for.  I also love the joy on their faces as they learn something new.  Ruby wants to do schoolwork every single day.  She did 20 pages of math "work" in her preschool book today...not because I asked her to, but because she kept asking for more!  Rachel is currently reading (I'm not exaggerating) six different chapter books from the library.  She keeps them in a plastic bin and has a bookmark in each book.  She prefers to read one chapter in each book at a time instead of finishing a whole book...so quirky and so cute.  I LOVE hearing her tell me all about what's going on in her books!  Ford may be obsessed with Thomas, but when Mr. Steve told him to add numbers by coupling them together, he was hooked on math!  These kids love to learn and they have no idea that school is over for the summer.  As they get older, we'll be more structured (maybe?) and there will be things they don't always like, but I don't ever want a test to make them hate learning.  I know you have to assess kids in some way but if you really pay attention to a child, you know whether he or she "gets it".  I am happy to focus on my little class of four (which seems like a huge class to me!).  We may not give formal grades (yet), we may not have final exams, but Ingram School kids love to learn!!

Ingram Aquarium Touch Tank

It's been crazy in our world lately.  The kids don't know which way is up or where half of their stuff is.  Some days they think it's an adventure and some days they miss their old house.  They are also exhausted from swim team and from not getting great sleep at night.  So we seem to either all get along or all melt down depending on the time of day.  I found them all getting along today, though , so I had to take this picture.  I had cleaned out the water table and put clean water in it (instead of the mud dough from their "chocolate factory" the day before!).  Rachel went and got seashells (because we always keep plenty of seashells laying around) and put them in the water.  She decided it was her aquarium touch tank, Ford was her assistant, and Ruby was the "customer".  Ruby would pick a shell, Ford would make up a name for it and tell a story, and Rachel just kept the water coming!