Spell Check

I have to share some of the recent work my kindergartner, Grace has brought home. At her school, the focus is on phonics. Spelling is not a main subject. Even for Kristin who is in second grade, they rarely have spelling tests. It's just not emphasized. The emphasis is put more on writing, phonics, comprehension and concepts of print. So as far as spelling goes they prefer the kids to sound out their own words, usually with no help from the teacher. They learn the letters, sounds, digraphs, consonant blends, ect., and then they are on their own.

As you can imagine, this results in some writings that are rather difficult to decipher. It is neat though to see the progress even Grace is making throughout the year. At the beginning, I was hard pressed to get every other word. Now, however, I can figure out most everything. It does occasionally make me laugh though, the way she sounds out some words. She is sounding them out the way they sound to her. Sometimes, that is WAY off. It's cute. It makes me smile.

Here are 2 recent examples:

These are writing assignments that are part of a writing prompt. The teacher starts a sentence or asks a thought provoking question and the kids have to respond.




In case you need a translation, the above paper says: "I see two baby penguins. I will name them Macey and Sara." Notice how she spells "penguins." "pingwins."

Here is another:

The translation for this one is; " I would say would you like one of my cookies." Notice the word, "cookies." "kuceys."

Cute, huh?

The View From Here -Part 2

So far, the view from here hasn't changed all that much, though I do see lots of other changes in the way of spring around our yard. *If you are confused, go back a few posts.
Here is the view from our hammock today;

Below is the picture I took from our hammock on February 14.



I know, it hasn't changed much, but it's there. It just subtle. Take a look at the other obvious signs of spring I found in our very own yard!

My lonely, only Hydrangea bush.

One of the 18 azalea plants we have in our front yard. (It used to be 23 but we recently had some removed)

Our Tulip Tree.

Another Azalea.


More of the Tulip Tree.
I couldn't not include a Jonquil.

I don't know what these purple flowers are, but they sprout up in the same spot every year. And they are pretty.

Yeah, Spring!!

stupid school board

So our kids had the week off from school last week. The school board adopted this new calendar this year that gives them only 8 weeks of summer vacation, but then a week off in September, a week in November, 2 weeks at Christmas, er, for the holidays, a week in February and a week in April all to wrap it up for the summer before Memorial day. I think it works out that they have a week off every 6 weeks. I was against it at the beginning. I hated the idea of starting school August 1. The summer just felt so short. School was starting and taking away not only my first born, but my middle child as well before I knew it.

And to have a week long break in September. I felt like they had just started school. They hardly had time to get to know their teachers and meet new friends before they we out for a whole week. I could have done without that break.

I will say though, that I did enjoy the February break. The girls and I went to visit my parents in Florida. February is a good time to be in Florida. It's not hot, not cold, and the whole world is not there vacationing.

I did like the idea of knowing there were 2 weeks out of the school year that we could go on family trips and not have to worry about everyone else in the country being there as well.

However...Our county board of education, in their infinite wisdom (apparently because they don't seem to care about the opinion of the lowly parents, students or teachers), decided to change the calendar back to your normal start date of the 15th, regular vacation breaks. 80% of parents, students and teachers voted to keep the school calendar like it had been this year, with all the breaks. 80%. They asked for our opinion. They asked for it, before they met to make the decision. They asked what we wanted.
They obviously did not listen. What school calendar we go with doesn't matter to me as much as the fact that the school board had everyone vote and completely disregarded the results.

I began this post with the intention of writing about our time in Florida. I guess I got off on a bit of a tangent and so my musings on our trip will have to wait. And no pic to go with this one.

The View From Here

We have a hammock in our backyard that is attached to 2 pine trees. It was here when we moved in. On occasion, I have a minute to lay on it.

This is the current view from our hammock when I look straight up.

As you can imagine, this view, from the exact same vantage point, changes drastically throughout the year. My girls and I like to lay on the hammock from time to time and look up at these trees and take note of how it is different from the last time.

My intent here is to take pics of each of the changes, even the insignificant ones. Right now, it is barren, not much sign of life, you can see straight through to the sky. However, I know that will change soon. Soon there will be buds visable, even from way down while laying on our hammock.

Today was beautiful. I actually laid, unaccosted, for a good 30 minutes, on our hammock and read a book. There were about 15 other things I could have been doing and should have been doing. However, I chose to lay on our hammock with a book and my camera and listen to the laughter of our 3 lovely girls as they rode the much too small riding toys down the worn path of dirt that used to be our lovely green yard and into the shrub, that used to be a thriving bush.

It was nice.

ahhh...Valentine's Day

My hus and I have never really done much for Valentines Day. Honestly, I would feel a little cheesy if we did. Not that I am judging those of you who make a big to do about it, that's just not us. However...I wouldn't want the day to go by completely unacknowledged by my significant other. We do cards, of course, and on occasion another small gift. If it falls on a weekend, we may try to get a sitter and go out to dinner, just because. Why not? Last year, we ended up at a restaurant, with our kids, and didn't even realize it was Valentines Day until we told the hostess that we did not have a reservation and did we need one, to which she replied, "yes, most people do on Valentine's Day." Oopps. We still got in with no wait. It was a tid sad though that neither of us knew what day it was.

We do make a big deal of it for the girls. And they love it.

So now, that's it's over, we've been through 3 school parties all bearing a myriad of treats and a but load of chocolate from my mother-in-law. So we are set for candy at least until Easter (and Easter's late this year).

I've gotta tell ya though...it's a bad time of the month for me for there to be so much chocolate in the house and anyone expect me not to eat it.

And what would Valentine's Day be without a few fresh flowers in the house, courtesy of my valentine.

Thanks, hon!

A Little Birdy Told Me

I know it only February. I know it even snowed a little last night. I know the highs this week are in the 40s. I know it's cold outside. But...there is this bird that sings outside my bathroom window. This bird is singing for all he's worth and I think he's saying that spring is on it's way. When I hear this bird, if I close my eyes and ignore the snow and cold, I can imagine going outside in short sleeves and seeing the bright sunshine and feel it's warmness on my skin, walking in the fresh, green grass in my bare feet with the scent of numerous flower blooms in the air. Alas, I open my eyes to see a dusting of snowing covering the ground, mud in our backyard instead of grass (green or otherwise) and stark, barren tress and bushes. Everything looks dead and cold.



I enjoy the season change. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you may remember my post about the coming of fall. Although fall is my favorite time of year, spring is certainly a welcome change to the coats and boots and layers and being stuck indoors.



Growing up in Florida, I never really experienced spring or fall. Everything for the most part is always green. Maybe that's why I get so excited about these seasons. I am, however, looking forward to going to FL to visit my parents during the kids February break (schools in our county get a week off in Feb. for no apparent reason. Don't ask. I don't know why.) Although spring in FL does not necessarily mean flowering trees and plants, it does mean comfortable temperatures and no snow.

I had intended to get outside and try to capture some sign of the approaching spring with my camera, but due a very busy day and a little bit of laziness on my part, I did not. So, no pic to go with this post. Sorry.

Little Theologians

This is this weeks' memory verse Paul has been working on with the kids, sort of;

Proverbs 20:11- " Even a child is known by his good cheese."
Elliott, age 3