On the Farm

Fall 2009

Grandpa always lets the kids help out on the farm.  The kids love it!  Here, they are feeding the cows hay.

Grandpa needed some help filling in some holes in the driveway...Leeds kids to the rescue! They loved getting to shovel and throw gravel to patch the driveway.

And doing what grandmas do...taking care of everyone and keeping everyone hydrated! :)

The best farm hands....hands down (pun intended)!

UPWARDS SOCCER

Fall 2009

Last year, the boys did the "sports skills" class at the Little Gym and loved it.  They were getting a little too old for that class again, so we were able to find a great church based program that taught the kids soccer.  Practices were only once a week with games on Saturday mornings, so great for young kids.  Best of all, Jason and Jacob would get to be on the same team.  Here are some highlights of the season....

The focus of the Upwards program is Jesus.  Students learn bible verses each week, and the coaches encourage the players to exhibit the character of Christ when they play (selflessness, cooperation, self-control, kindness, etc.)  Here, the kids huddle up and pray before the game.

Jason scored at least 1 goal each game.  His record was 3 goals in one game.

Jacob learned the ropes quickly.  We never had a "no you're going the wrong way" moment!

Warm-ups before the game...notice most of the kids are running...mine...walking.

He looks like a soccer player, huh?

I caught this shot after Jacob missed the ball.  Poor guy, at least he was going for it!

Chillin' during his break

 (Upwards does a great job of rotating players so that everyone gets equal playing time).

I think he got that one!

Go! Go! Go!

Tiring out...

and gone!

(Yes, the game is still going on around him)

Homeschooling with the Leeds
I decided to start blogging about some of our homeschooling adventures to give our friends and family insight into what homeschooling is like for us. We originally made the decision to homeschool because our oldest, Amber and I just didn't get the bonding time I desired after the adoption. She was in school all day, then in trouble from school when she got home, and there just wasn't a lot of positive time the way things were going. This year, I added Jason to the mix, he started Kindergarten this past fall. While Amber's 2nd grade work is more time intensive with one on one teaching, lessons for the boys are less rigid - they play and practice, learning by doing whenever possible.

This week, after the boys were caught doing a "science experiment" that resulted in flooding the bathroom with red dyed water...I decided, I needed to try to find some more "science" things for them to do...hence, homemade play-doh!

Mixing the dough by hand, getting messy outside!

This week, Jacob did a great job learning to write the letter "R"!

This photo is from last year...Jacob learning his first letter, "H".

This photo is also from last year, when Jason was learning the letter "G" using the Handwriting Without Tears program.

Jason working on pattern block patterns.

Amber is working on math using "Right Start Mathmatics" - an abacus based program that teaches her to visualize numbers in patterns.

Puzzles!

Jason's Birthday, November 3, 2009

Jason turned 6 in November. He, like Amber, had some friends spend the night, played his upwards soccer game in the morning, then came home to a party with more friends and family for lunch. His theme was "Transformers."

Enjoying lunch with friends...for some reason Jason really wanted a "birthday sombrero," so that was his special party hat!

His own "Bakugan" figure.

Just in case you are wondering if kids like cash for presents....they do!

Thanksgiving Party!
Whenever possible my homeschooling friends and I get together to celebrate holidays with the kids. My friend Mary Ann came up with the idea of this particular party and dressing up as Pilgrims and Native Americans. This allowed us to do a little study of the first Thanksgiving at home, then everyone came to the party with some background knowledge. At the party, we read stories about the first Thanksgiving, made our own homemade "Blessing Mix," and shared a Thanksgiving meal together, complete with smoked turkey, vegetables, pumpkin bread, and apple pie.

Reading the Thanksgiving story.

Making blessing mix (a snack mix in which each ingredient symbolizes part of the Thanksgiving story. ie. the bugles represent the horn of plenty, candy corn, represents the new crop the Pilgrims learned to grow from the Native Americans.)

Jacob's feather hat. He looks tough, huh?

Pretty Amber!

Amber's Birthday September 17, 2009

I am so behind the times! Amber celebrated her 8th birthday on September 17th. We celebrated a few days later, as she had a sleepover with some friends, followed by a lunch party the next day. The theme was "Hello Kitty," but we mixed in some other stuff too, like jewelry and a pinata (something she has always wanted to do).

The pinata was tough to break!

Everyone tried, but we only managed some small tears.

Perhaps a better stick would have helped!

We eventually had to tear it by hand and scatter the candy so the kids could pick it up.

Christmas 2009

Jacob turns 4!
August 29, 2009

Kiddos playing on the trampoline.

His second favorite....GI Joe sword and mask.

It's already been taken away many many times for misuse!

Batman cake for my little superhero!

I love this picture. This was by far his favorite present...he'd been talking about a Bumblebee costume for months! This is taken into the mirror.