First Day of School

We took some pictures on our first day of school, August 24. Mercy was very excited about her first day. She woke up early, picked out a dress, & was ready to go.

She is a funny girl as this picture shows. We started calling it Year 1 because Jason does not like the K word. It has something to do with the word being a holdover from the Prussian system & it representing the state's idea of the indoctrination of children (you gotta love him).

Joshua looks very excited to be starting school in this picture, but he is just a great big ham and loves pictures.

Lucy was just over six months for this picture. She usually sits on a big blanket right in front of this easel.

Update

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted anything. It has been asked that I begin posting again, so I will try to keep you all up to date.

Sometimes I think that the only ones who read this are my Uncle Alex and Rosanne. But I think even if it is only the two of you, you are both worth the effort!

We enjoyed a beautful Fall day today. We don't get very many of those out here in Southern California. I am pretty sure that Redwood city gets nice Fall weather, and I am sure that Des Moines has perfect Autumn days. But we don't usually enjoy such days. There were even a few drops of rain this afternoon. And tonight has brought sweater weather!

We all recently were hit with the flu. I don't know if it was the H1N1 virus, but it was pretty bad. What made it worse was that all five of us came down with it. Little Lucy was so pitiful but she was a strong, brave girl through her first sickness. Praise God that we are all feeling better (besides this terrible cough I have).

In late August, we started home schooling again. Joshua is in fourth grade and Mercy is in Kindergarten (we are calling it year 1). Lucy sits on the floor and plays or talks (she sounds like a little Wookiee). It isn't as hard I thought it would be to school and take care of a baby. God is good.

We are looking forward to some Fall activities - apple picking, decorating the house with pumpkins & leaves, Joshua's birthday, Thanksgiving, and baking. I will keep you updated.

The Blog Slacker is Back

I know I have been remiss in my postings of late, but I am back! Let's see... what has been happening in the Davis household?

We had our house painted in May. Besides it looking cleaner, you really can't tell as the color we picked looks the same as the color we had. The swatch we went off of looked darker. Oh well, we really did like the color we had.

Joshua's little league season is over. His team made it to the playoffs & finished second in his division. Mercy continues with gymnastics & Joshua with violin. They both have recently started swimming lessons. Also, Jason is playing softball & soccer. All this makes for a very busy family.

Officially, we are done with the 2008-2009 homeschool year. I have some subjects that we plan to work on throughout the summer. We are going through How to Teach Art to Children which will teach the 7 elements of art. We are also doing unit studies in geography and astronomy. Joshua will do math review (so as not to forget). And Jason and I will continue to teach Mercy to read. In the fall we will have a fourth grader & a kindergartener. Boy time flies!

And let's not forget the tiniest member of the family, Lucy! She is four months old and growing bigger everyday. She can roll, but she'd rather not. She drinks water from a sipper cup, but she usually spits it out. And she brings such joy to our home. Speaking of which, I must go attend to her. I will post more updates and pictures later.

A Year With Frog and Toad

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the playhouse at the Victoria Garden's Cultural Center to see a play. The play was A Year With Frog and Toad, based on the book by Arnold Lobel. We attended the play with our home school group.Joshua waiting to go in.A shot of the home school group.

Joshua and Mercy ready for the play to begin.

We had read the book together before we went. The play was very entertaining. I highly recommend their family plays. We have attended at least four and we have never been disappointed. I like that they usually have live music, and the actors are very talented.

After the play we had lunch at Victoria Gardens. It was a very enjoyable outing.

Educational Accents gets 5 Stars!

I have to post a rave review for the website Educational Accents! This is a site that buys and sells used homeschool curriculum. I have purchased from them in the past and they have great prices as well as speedy shipping.

Last week, I placed another order. When I received the shipment this week, I realized that one of the books I ordered, Famous Men of Greece, was not the full textbook, but a guide for the book. I checked the receipt and it simply said Famous Men of Greece. I wasn't sure if the mistake was mine or edaccents. I decided not to do anything, especially since the cost was so little.

The next day, I received an email from edaccents asking me to comment on my order. I think I gave them 4 out of 5 stars. And mentioned the mistake. Later that afternoon, I received a phone call from an edaccents representative. She apologized for the mistake and said that they were going to ship the correct book out and that I could keep the guide they had sent! Talk about quick, responsive customer service!

I am really impressed with this website. Even though the mistake may not have been their fault, they wanted to make sure that I was satisfied. The next time I need homeschool books, I will definitely check them first.