The Hunt Family: July 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

I Love Back to School!

"I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms." You've Got Mail (1998)

I love back to school time. Maybe it's the teacher in me, or just the Arizonian in me that is hopeful for cooler weather. Whatever the reason, this time of year makes me feel like a kid all over again. Aisles in the stores are filled with delightful little things like backpacks with matching lunch boxes and thermos' and ice packs, and new markers for a dollar, and twenty-five cent crayons. Glue sticks, pencil sharpeners, folders and loads of paper just waiting to be used by an excited child ready to embark down a new path on his educational journey.

Product Image Disney Princess Backpack - Pink/Lavender

That's just who we were today. Charity, Josiah and I... three kids walking down the aisles at Target trying on all the backpacks and admiring the lunch boxes, picking out folders and markers and glue. We picked out a few things and delighted in bringing them home and stocking our classroom, sharpening our pencils to dangerous point, and making precise strokes with new markers.

We've been working hard all summer on our schooling, it's like a little reward to have these fun, new things. And when the dream of cooler weather becomes a reality, we can pack our lunch boxes (yet to be picked out... there are SO many choices!!) and go enjoy the weather that leaves us smitten until next summer arrives.

Hooray for back to school and all the sales!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Our Homeschooling Journey: The first of many posts

"Education is not the filling of a bucket,

but the lighting of a fire." William Butler Yeats

Our homeschooling adventure has begun! We decided that along with swimming, schooling was probably one of the more productive things that we could do this summer, so after returning from Taylor's Marines graduation at the beginning of June we got busy. We have really enjoyed our time so far, I think the best part is that the kids don't really know when we're schooling and when we aren't. We don't have a "classroom" in our house, our house, our community, our world has become our classroom!

We spent the first 10 days enjoying the days of creation in Genesis. Everything has come back to those days even now that we have moved on... as we look up at the moon and star- filled sky up and the cabin I heard Charity proclaim the beauty of God's creation, and when we were really hot at swimming lessons, Charity asked why God made the sun so hot! Love it!

We have since completed 5 weeks of school. Learning about the sun, the moon, leaves, apples, and baby animals... all attached to truths from God's word. In a effort to keep Josiah engaged as well, we have been doing a lot of fun preschool activities as well. We have celebrated the colors of the rainbow and are going through shapes right now. Josiah is hanging in there with Charity, singing the "Month-erena" and the "Days of the Week" songs, singing the letter sound songs and working on his fine motor and visual discrimination skills. He is going to ROCK kindergarten when it's his turn!

This last weekend Troy and I enjoyed a refreshing and inspiring weekend at the AFHE homeschool convention downtown. I have no idea how I crammed that much new information into my brain! It was amazing to hear from Ken Ham, and the many homeschool families as they shared from their experiences.

Troy and I are so excited about the journey ahead!

Purple Day!!

Learning about all the varieties of apples and taste testing them... Charity's favorite was the Braeburn apple, Josiah like Granny Smith, and I was smitten with the Macintosh!

Charity recored what color each apple was and identified her favorite.

Balancing act! with bags of rice on their heads.

Painting to some classical music.

Nests: God takes care of me.

This kind of nest was just for eating!

Yummy!

Practicing letters and shapes in shaving cream!

Some messy business!!

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Dates with the Littles

For Father's Day, Charity got Troy a date with his girl... dinner and a movie. She was so excited about planning out some special time for just her and her daddy! They went to dinner at Filaberto's, and saw Cars 2, followed by a special treat at Krispy Kreme. They had a blast... and forgot a camera. But not to worry... while they were off having a great time, Josiah and I had a date night of our own. Dinner at Peter Piper Pizza... mostly for the games (basketball) and the prizes. We had a great time! Then we went out for yogurt and went to play with all the fun sporting equipment at Dick's.

Me and my handsome date

playing some skee ball

playing the motorcycle game

Josiah and his prizes

playing ball at Dick's

All tuckered out after date nights.

I got to have a special date day with Charity last week while the boys were out getting soda and going to Lowes. I decided to take Charity to get her nails painted at a nail salon. She was so excited! When we were all finished she said, "Mom, this was such a great time with you. I just love to come here and get my nails painted!" She has been asking to go every few days since. I may have created a monster!!

Escaping the Heat at the Cabin

This post is dedicated to Grammies and Grandpa! We LOVE going to the cabin! Thank you so much for all the time and effort and resources spent on making the cabin such an awesome place for us to go to spend time as a family and enjoy the beauty of God's awesome creation- especially when it is 110 degrees at home! We have enjoyed making great memories together and look forward to so many more fun times up north! Here are some of the highlights of our cabin times so far this summer.