The school year is winding down and we have entered our first summertime slump. Really, it could be called a springtime slump, because it's not officially summer yet and we've been in a bit of a slump since around the end of April. The slump was quite possibly due to a fun Spring Break, spent at a lovely condo at the beach with my parents. Then, the impending trip we'd planned to Orlando mid-May. I love looking forward to vacation almost as much as I love being on vacation, so my mind has been straying for quite a while now!
The trip to Orlando was absolutely wonderful and refreshing - everything you hope for in a vacation. We spent quality time with some precious friends who will soon be heading out of the country for 3 years, making memories to last a lifetime. Their kids and Ella get along so well, having only seen each other once a year or so for the past 5 years. We had a visit with Mickey and the gang, hung out at the Marriott's pirate-y pool, played several rounds of putt-putt (plus, the adults got in one round of actual golf while the kids stayed with a babysitter!), had a nice dinner out, and generally just lazed around.
We left Orlando on a Friday and drove over to St. Augustine for the weekend. My hubby just HAD to see the World Golf Hall of Fame for himself (yes, it's true...there is such a thing!).
Thankfully, it wasn't as torturous as I'd imagined and Ella and I did survive. The best part was the Bob Hope exhibit on the first floor. His daughter donated all kinds of memorabilia to the museum - his Oscars, Emmys, Presidential plaques, and the like. Some of his best comedy bits played on screens throughout the exhibit, which kept us entertained for a while, before having to move on to the more "educational" parts of the museum (you know you've always wanted to see what a golf club looked like in 1800!). While in St. Augustine, we tooled around the city and viewed some of the historical sites from the comfort of our minivan (because that's how we roll). We did get out to walk around an old fort and watch the boats coming into the port (see, I'm writing a song about the old city, lol!).
School has been on-again, off-again since we got home! Our schedule is much more relaxed at the moment because we're mainly just reviewing what we've learned this year and preparing to move on to 1st grade. Despite our early struggles with reading, Ella has learned many sight words and knows how to sound out and read most CVC words. More than anything, she has developed a love of reading through my reading to her. I can't wait til she's actually reading on her own because I just know she will spend hours at a time with a good book. Math has come pretty easily to her, so the difficulty here has just been knowing how far to go ahead. I would like for her to begin memorizing addition & subtraction facts (she can add & subtract numbers through 20), so we'll work on that this summer. I have concentrated on Bible, reading, and math this year, with science & social studies peppered in here and there. I want to make the other subjects more of a priority next year, so I will be looking for ways to do that. I'm not an outdoors kind of gal (I know that shocks those of you who know me, lol!), so it's been hard for me to incorporate nature studies and fun science exploration in the great outdoors. I need to work on that! Ella loved being outside last year, but now she seems to prefer the A/C. I hate for her to lose that love for God's creation. But, I do have to put my foot down in the hot, humid summer!! The heat index is 100 degrees today, for crying out loud! How can I be expected to get out in such weather?! ;) Ok, so that was my little summary of our school year. We'll be taking some more mini-vacations from school from now until August 24, when we'll officially begin 1st grade.
I will soon post more pictures from our vacation on Facebook, so be on the lookout for those. I will also *try* to regain some semblance of regular posting here, so please come back by and comment to let me know you're still reading!
3 comments:
I shall watch out for them on FB :)
It is so great to hear an update on the Thompson family. I have also taken a long break from blogging. I need to get back into the swing of it, but it is difficult after not doing it for so long.
Keegan just finished his first year of pre-k, but his teacher said he could have passed Kindergarten if we would have enrolled him. He will continue at his school next year and start working on 1st grade curriculum.
He is working on sight words and reading some simple little books as I type this. It is the the best sound hearing him read (right behind his sweet little prayers, especially the ones thanking Jesus for dying on the cross to take away his sins :) I can't seem to find enough work to keep him busy. He is so excited to learn new stuff.
of course I'm still reading...and missing yall! kiss Ella and that new little nephew of yours for me....and you and Paul hug each other!
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