It Has Begun

It has begun.

This school year marks the beginning of my last 13 years of teaching.

Let's pause and let that sink in for a minute.

Yeah.

I only have 13 years left before I retire.

Amazing.

Anyway.  Moving on.

We started our new school year on Monday, and for the first time, all four kids are "officially" in school.

I have two 5th graders, a 4th grader, and a Kindergartner.

All of the books that are scheduled to be read in the first 12 weeks barely fit on the school shelves in the living room,

(although some of these books will carry through the whole year)

(The top two shelves are alphabetized by author, and the bottom row of over-sized books is too.)

and our school cupboard in the kitchen is full of the workbooks and notebooks we use (almost) every day.

(Workbooks are grouped by subject, and notebooks are color-coded according to each child's signature color...which also happen to be their favorite colors.)

Am I organized?  Why, yes, yes I am.

Maybe a little bit too organized?

Maybe.

But I'm OK with that, and so is my family.

It helps keep the chaos under control, and everyone knows where to find what they need.

And if they can't find what they're looking for, I know exactly where to tell them to look!

***

(Can anyone guess what song is now stuck in my head?)

Formerly Known As...

If each week got its own unique descriptive phrase, last week's would have to have been

"Internal Upheaval".

The room formerly known as the "Guest Room" became the "Music Room"

(so I can close the door on the new-to-"us" drum set),

   

which meant that what was formerly known as Isaak's room is now also the guest room

(but only when we have guests, of course),

and the many boxes of books, formerly stored along two walls in Isaak's room, are now once again stored along one wall on the upstairs landing.

Most of them, anyway.

OK, maybe 2/3 of them.

Fine. 

At least more than half.

What's Changed?

Compare these two pictures:

Can you tell how many changes we have made in the last year?

(Trash cans, junk, and flower pots don't count.)

I count six (oops, seven!  Thanks Dad!) that you can see, and at least three that you can't.

Any guesses?

***

Look fast...there are more changes coming soon!

Reading Record: July

I have NO idea how I managed to read this many books last month, but

I got all the 5th grade books pre-read, so we're officially ready to start school next week!

Reading Record: June

I managed to work in a few books "just for me" in June, and with any luck I'll finish previewing books for 5th grade before we start school again in August!

(That Chesterton book on the top of the pile will be making a return appearance...it's two books in one, and I've only read the first one.)

Flag Football: First Practice

Isaak is playing 5/6 Year-old Flag Football this year for the first time, and the first practice was highly entertaining.

After the team finished their stretching, jumping jacks, and sprints (forward, backward, and sideways), which were all hysterical to watch, the coaches split them into two groups and worked on catching, throwing, and kicking the football.

Then they got out the belts and flags and the real entertainment began.

They told the ball carriers to run to the cone.

(Nothing was said about avoiding the the other kid or keeping their flags...)

The "defense" was told to chase the ball carrier to the cone.

(I think "and take his flags" might have been a good addition to the instructions!)

After a few run-throughs, they tried scrimmaging a few times...

I laughed so hard I couldn't get a video!

Can't wait to see what the next practice is like!

Sunday Morning Visitor