Yesterday was not the best homeschool day. We were about 15 minutes into it when I said… forget it! At first I felt stressed out about it, and then the most peaceful feeling came over me…. it’s okay. It’s okay to have a day where Jayden isn’t clicking with the program.

That is the joy of homeschooling.

So, I let it go and we continue on….

Happenings going on in our homeschool life –

Jayden is currently learning 3 digit by 3 digit multiplication and doing GREAT! The only problems he has is when he forgets about the number that he carries over, and I’m trying to figure out a great way for him to grasp this step and not forget it. We’re still having issues in the writing department and am probably going to just buy a 4th grade writing curriculum that will help with special needs children…. if there is one! His biggest issue is getting his ideas to go from his brain onto the paper. It’s November and we haven’t had the most structured start to the year, but we’re making it and we LOVE this journey.

Ella is now adding and in the beginning stages of reading. We’re using the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons and WOW! The results are QUICK and AMAZING!!!! She feels so proud of herself, which she should!!! These are the two main things we’ve been focusing on with preschool. I have lots of scanning to do with all of the things she’s been working on so that I can start compiling her yearly homeschool book.

Jayden and Ella have been spending a LOT of time getting ready for the bug fair happening Tuesday with our homeschool group!!! We’ve been learning LOTS about dragonflies and butterflies and are compiling poster boards for the fair. Once they’re all completed I’ll upload pictures.

I hate that I haven’t had the time to be updating much on here about our lives – especially our homeschool adventures, but my plate has been so full! I’m taking 12 credits this term and am keeping a 4.0 GPA, so with my homework load, my photography sessions, my custom art orders and homeschooling and being a mama to these kids and a good wife to my husband, my blog {and reading blogs} has fallen into the cracks a bit. I was looking at my blog today and thought… how sad – this is basically my only form of journaling our lives and there’s hardly ANY blog posts from this year…. and it was Aliyah’s first year! Thank Goodness for my Cozi calendar or I’d have no memories recorded.

Oh, MY ALIYAH!! I have to get my bragging on…. she’s GORGEOUS. She’s turning 1 this month and is cruising all over the house by pushing things, and stands on her own two feet and dances to music with her hands flailing in the air – but refuses to walk. It’s okay with me, because that just means she’s still my little baby that needs me to carry her. It’s so crazy how different each child can truly be. She only has 2 teeth, but I think she’s working on more…. since she screams the majority of the night.

All in all we’re doing great and just inching towards the goals we’ve set. Gino and I are working on a dream board and have our goals set and know what we have to do to get there. It’s almost exciting to think that where we are is just a temporary thing, and while it’s a great and amazing thing, we have SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO! I really lucked out with marrying him. He just knows how to keep our minds focused on the future and what matters.

I know Aliyah’s 11 months already, but I haven’t done 11 month pictures… so here’s her 10 month picture I did. I know it’s so mean that she’s crying, but I LOVE her cry face.

AND I’ll leave you with a video – at the end Aliyah’s tongue comes out just like her two cousins… SO CUTE!