Our home school update.

I apologize for no pictures. I will try and add some this weekend if we really do get snowed in. Another 2 feet has been forcasted, and we already got a foot last weekend! Fun for us since we have a steep hill in our backyard!

Life is in fast forward these days, so I am so behind on my journal keeping (which includes blogging.) We went to Idaho/Utah for just a few days short of a month over the holidays. It was really great to be with family over the holidays. I think the kids were very good with the long trip. Mom wore out pretty easily. As grateful as I was to go, I was happy to come home to the routine and surroundings that I am used to. I had no idea I was such a home body! :+) We did love the trip though, and will miss everyone.

My main focus is always kids and home school. We have a full schedule this semester. The snow days that public schools have had off (3 so far this week) do not effect us, much to my kids dismay! I don't feel bad for them, we just had a month off!!!

We are in a music class this semester, prepping them for band and orchestra which they can join this fall. There are a lot of homeschooling kids at this music academy, including some families from our church. It is nice for more ways to socialize. They all love the class, and are learning to read music and play the recorder this month. They will move on to trying a lot of other instruments.

We also have our PE class 2 times a week. All 4 kids have a class to go to. They have made some really great friends this year, as have I. I used to only have the church as an outlet for socializing. Another bonus to homeschooling is building friendships with families out of our church. I have met such great people here. Moms with really strong Christian values, strong family ties, and some of the nicest kids I have ever met. ( unfortunately, even better behaved than most of the kids in our ward.) They were in a volleyball unit, but are now in floor hokey. Logan is very good at this!

We are still loving Nature Days at Motts reservoir. It is sooooo fun doing this Earth Science class with the kids. I am so thankful that I was talked into signing up for it. There are 3 other families in my ward who go. I love nature, and this lady is wonderful at teaching all about the earth, and animals. She has catchy songs for the kids to remember things, and the most interactive activities. We all really look forward to it.

We also are thankful to Grandma for our Science Museum pass. We try and have a field trip once a month, and the kids LOVE this place. We have already been 2 times, and Spencer wants to go again on his birthday. They have the best planetarium show I have ever seen. I also love all of the exhibits. There is so much interaction for the kids that they learn so easily, and talk about it for days!!

OUr curriculum is going very well. I love it all!! Spencer and Logan are now moving onto the next grade in Math. Madison is getting there, and doing very, very well in Math this year. I love our English program, but I had been looking for a supplemental writing program. I was thrilled to be turned on the INstitute for Writing in Excellence. The program is astronomically high, but we were able to get a hold of it through another homeschool family that is done with it. It is off the charts awesome! My kids will have the best writing skills around! He makes it easy to understand and fun to do. There is a DVD that goes with it, and so even Mom can teach this!!

I am actually getting excited about going to my first homeschooling conference in May. The man who developed this writing program will actually be there also! I will have 2 days of learning and I am VERY excited!!

Other than that, the kids are still in piano. We have soccer coming up that even Aiden is going to do this time! We have scouts, and Activity Day girls keeping us active as well. Oh, also the kids have completed a reading program that will get them into Six Flags for free! They had to put a lot of hours of reading in, but they love to read so it wasn't hard.

Thanks for all of your support! We love all of you! Heidi & gang