Friday, January 31, 2014

Happy 4th Birthday Gabe!

I still remember having a conversation with God while I was in the shower when Jadyn was 9 months old telling God that I was content. I had my boy and I had my girl. It was a 5 year wait for our girl and I was so thankful for the boy and girl that God had graciously given to us.  I figured IF God gave us another child it wouldn't be for another 4 or 5 years. Well..... several days after having that conversation, I was feeling...... like I might be pregnant. Boy was I shocked to see a positive pregnancy test. You see we were told by doctors that it was a miracle we even had our oldest - MJ. So we were shocked and beyond blessed to become pregnant with our daughter Jadyn. We never thought that 9 months later I would be pregnant. I remember Mark and I laughing that we didn't even have a chance to pray for another baby.
I can't imagine our family without our crazy, happy-go-lucky, clumsy Gabe (or as I affectionately call him Gabey-Baby). God's ways are not our ways and I am so thankful for that.
Gabe is so excited to be 4.  He's been telling us for weeks that he will be faster and stronger when he's 4.  So guess what he's been doing all morning - running as fast as possible.  I think he is faster now that he's 4. =)
We named him Gabriel Christian because Gabriel means "devoted to God" and Christian means "Christ follower" and that is the prayer of our heart that he would grow up to be a man completely devoted to God and a follower of Christ.
We love you Gabe and are so grateful that God graciously blessed our family with you! You bring so much happiness to our family!
Gabe at a few hours old.
Mj is such an amazing big brother to Gabe.  He looks after him and is a great teacher to him.
Ok, Jadyn is so teeny in this picture! Gabe and she are only 19 months apart.  They have a fun bond with each other. She is a little mommy to him.
Gabe - 1 year old.
Gabe - 2 years old
Gabe - 3 years old
Gabe - TODAY! 4 years old!

Week in Review - Oceans, Winter Olympics, & the Great Depression

We had a great week!  The kids are pumped about the Winter Olympics study we started this week!  I'm loving it, too cause I'm nerdy like that! ;)  Here's what our week looked like!
 
MJ - 5th Grade
 
Bible: Mj began a new chapter in his Bible study about God meeting our physical and nonphysical needs.
 
English: Mj wrote a book review.
 
Math: Geometry fun.  He worked on perimeter, area, circumference.  You know all that fun stuff.
 
Science: Mj continued his chapter about changes in the ecosystem.  He learned about the nitrogen cycle and water cycle and stresses on the environment.
 
History: Mj continued his chapter on the Great Depression.  We talked a lot about why the stock market crashed and how we can learn from the mistakes of the American people.  We also talked about FDR.
Last week Mj was given $100 that he could invest in our own stock market.  After 7 days we would see if he invested wisely.  Well, he made $25.  Good job MJ!
Jadyn - Kindergarten
If Jadyn was in school I think it would hurt her creativity.  I mean, really, could she go to school wearing this? LOL
 
Beginnings: Jadyn started a unit on the ocean and ocean animals.  We watched some awesome videos on Youtube about octopuses.
Checking out the ocean animals in her library book.
Phonics: Jadyn learned about the "sh" and "ch" sounds. 
Reading her truck book all by herself.
Math:  Jadyn is learning her numbers up to 100.  Next week we will be celebrating the number 100! She can't wait!
The Tens/Ones frame has really helped her understand double digit numbers.
Gabe - Totschool
Gabe loved our Olympic theme. I'll share pictures at the bottom of this post.
 
He was excited when I got the bananagrams game out and had him find the matching letters.
Job - Teeny Totschool
Job is all about coloring right now! He might be an artsy one like his big sister.
Job's new way to read books! I love his silliness!
Olympic Unit
We love the Olympics at our house and I found some great ideas on pinterest to incorporate some learning with the Olympics coming up. You can check out my winter Olympics board here.
 
Gabe has enjoyed the coloring pages of the different sports and gold medal.

Jadyn and Mj have learned about Russia and Sochi.  We also have talked about the history of the Olympic games and what the Olympic rings stand for and we've talked about the torch.  They loved the video of the torch at the International Space Station. We've also talked about figure skating, biathlon, bobsledding, snowboarding and curling.  

If you want some cool science and the Olympic sports videos check out this site. Mj looks forward to the video every day!
Check out what other homeschoolers are up to at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.


Saturday, January 25, 2014

A Fun & Busy Week in Review

 
We started our week off with a trip to Key West!  We enjoyed the beautiful drive down to the Keys.  It was our first trip and we are definitely planning on going back!  The kids were motivated to do their school work which helps me! =)  Here's what we did this week!
 
MJ - 5th Grade
 
Bible:
Mj finished his chapter on Why did God create me? 
 
English:
Mj finished his chapter on pronouns and began his chapter on Book Reviews.  He is not too excited about that! LOL
 
Math:
Mj finished his chapter on equations.  He really did very well especially on the word problems which usually are a struggle for him.
 
Science:
Mj began his chapter on changes in the ecosystem.  We talked about the 4 season. We also discussed areas that only have 2 season - dry season and rainy season.  Then he learned about the carbon cycle.
Like my drawing to describe photosynthesis and respiration?
History:
Mj began his chapter on The Great Depression.  We talked about the stock market.
These are the 4 companies Mj can buy stock from.  Each day the prices of stock will change and he can decided to sell or buy.
On the first day Mj invested $35 dollars.

Jadyn - Kindergarten
 
Beginnings:
Jadyn began learning about rivers and lakes.  We talked about the water cycle and she enjoyed an experiment.
Jadyn added the sun's heat to our water.
 As the water was heated it started to evaporate and turn into water vapor.
The water vapor then cooled and rain formed on the lid.
Phonics:
Jadyn still is working on her blends.  I'm so proud of her hard work with reading!  She really has come a long way!
She was not too happy one morning with me that she had to write her new word families in her calendar notebook.
Math:
Jadyn finished her chapter on fractions.
We had fun working on probability together.
Extra:
Jadyn loved the Kindergarten wrap I got out for her to use.
Enjoying a book about platypuses that she got from the library.  They live in rivers so she was proud of herself for picking out a book that had to do with what we were learning about in school. =)
Gabe - Totschool
Gabe worked on the letter Q this week and counting to 12. 
Q is for Quack!
Enjoying his fishing puzzle from his quiet bin.
Some learning on the Ipad.
Job - Tiny Totschool
Job's sleep schedule is all out of whack.  He actually ended up sleeping through most of our school time which helped me get a lot done with the kids without interruption.  Most days look like this... a huge mess while he plays cars and blocks!
Trip to the Keys
 
We went to Fort Zachary Taylor.  The view is beautiful on top of the fort.  This fort was used in 4 wars: Civil War, Spanish American War, World Wars I and II.  Mj had just learned about WW I and will be learning about WWII soon so it was great to see a fort used during those wars.
The boys checking out the top of the fort.
We had a geography lesson, too.  We were at the southern most point of the continental U.S. Only 90 miles to Cuba.
You can check out what other homeschoolers did this week at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.
 
 
 

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Off to the Keys

Yesterday, we enjoyed the day off by driving down to Key West.  We haven't been to the Keys since we've moved to Miami so we were excited to have a new adventure together.  My brother-in-law, sister-in-law and nieces drove down too so it was a fun day with our family!

Driving over the 7-Mile Bridge.  The kids loved the big bridge and seeing all the pelicans.
Welcome to Key West!
Our view for lunch. Yep, I love living in South Florida in the winter! =)
We went to Fort Zachary Taylor. An amazing view from the top of the fort.
Another view from the top of the fort.
Job was excited to get out of the stroller and explore the fort on his own.
Jadyn loved the canons.
On the other side of the fort enjoying the view.
Jadyn and my niece Julia posing for some pictures.
Mj taking cover.
My strong boy Gabe!
Can you spot the iguanas hanging out on the side of the fort?
Jadyn loves making up poses for pictures.
The southernmost most point of the Continental U.S. Only 90 miles to Cuba.  Crazy to think we were closer to Cuba than our home in Miami.
Worn out from walking all over Key West.
Mark and I were deciding which islands to buy. LOL
We stopped at Robbie's in Islamorada to feed the tarpon.  Job liked the pelicans more than the fish!
Feeding the tarpon.
Here you go fishy!
Mj's new shades.
The drive to and from the Keys is absolutely amazing!
We stopped in Homestead to enjoy dinner at Cracker Barrel.  A perfect ending to our fun day!

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