Rainy Spring

Every year it happens...the glints of sun burst forth in that small window between Winter and Spring. I get very excited because...Spring is coming! In my mind, Spring equals sun. But then the rains pour, the winds blow, and I am quickly reminded that Spring, with all of it's colorful bounty, also brings the endless rain.

This last weekend brought us sunny spurts and crisp, fresh air. Brilla got to play outside with her friends in the cul-de-sac. Three girls just moved in across the way, and she's been having fun with them ever since. Because of them, she has learned to ride her bike! I was thankful, one less thing to have to teach my kids. Now if only teaching her to tie her shoes tight could come that easy...

Katie still goes potty like a pro. She even tells me when she needs to go and hasn't wet herself, except at night here and there, which is totally expected. We had an accident the other day because she thought she was done at the toilet-and nope! - something plopped on the floor. But it was quickly cleaned and really, I am in awe. I did not know potty training this girl would be so smooth. Kids have such different personalities. Now, if only I can train Reese at 14 months *Grin* You know, I have heard of parents training their kids super young, but in my mind, it seems like double-work, since you basically have to do it for them. Then later, retrain since they weren't doing it consciously on their own. I have a friend who did just this and she recommends just waiting until they are old enough to know what they are doing. I hope for Reese this is earlier than my other since she was an early walker.

Reese is such a sweetie with her chubby cheeks and legs. I love watching her toddle around. Her new things are putting her hands behind her back as she walks and pointing with her middle finger. I could probably coerce her other finger to point, but why? She'll just keep at it with the middle. She adores books now. Of course, you have to keep it short and lively. She loves to turn the pages. Her favorite are books with song. She also likes finger puppet ones.

For some crazy reason, ever since the time change, I have been exhausted. You would think I'd be the opposite, seeing the day goes faster and bed time arriving earlier. But it has wiped us all out. I find it hard to drag myself out of bed. Sleepy in the afternoon, and completely shot at bed time. Wow, even writing this makes me want a caffeine shot!

Homeschooling is going great. We have 70 some lessons left, which sat me up to realize we need to double our lessons each week in order to be done before July. Mind you, we started in late September (because our Summer sun was still out), so I knew we'd go later. But that doesn't include the extra week of Christmas vacation and our Spring break. Seeing that we have co-op on Mondays instead of regular school, amazes me that we've gotten as far as we have. I give huge kudos to Brilla for that. She is a trooper. Hard worker and quick learner. For that I am grateful. Plus, we are still having fun and I love teaching.

Brilla is reading so well. We still do phonics, because it's good to review special sounds and complete Spelling lists. But as for reading, she delves right into the books and just enjoys the whole process. I know it won't be like that with every child, so I'm enjoying this season. All my girls love books but actually learning to read is a whole different ballpark. We used Hooked on Phonics in preschool then merged with A Beka as we started grade school. Hooked on Phonics did wonders for us. It's fun, interactive and gets them going quickly. Looking forward to teaching my other two!

I better get going on this Wednesday. There is a family reading time at our local library and if we don't get enough school done on time, we can't go! It's such a fun gathering too. They sing songs, recite poems, and get three different books read to them. The theme is a new letter of the alphabet every week. All the books read will begin with a "U" today. Maybe I can get out my books and read a little, too!

Happy Wednesday, hope you get your book out!