Socialization...classroom experience...break for mom...BSF

Today is the first day of C'lectives for the big kids. What are C'lectives? They are classes that are offered by our Charter School. Some of the classes are core classes while others are more elective or enrichment in nature. Why are my kids in C'lectives? This question is always funny to me. I get asked and then people give me their replies. I've heard, oh, you have them in these classes so they get socialization; oh, you want them to have that classroom experience... the honest, real answer is that I am a BSF lifer.

Now, what is BSF?? BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) is a wonderful Bible Study that I've participated in for over 10 years. On Tuesday mornings, Buddy E and I will be at our local BSF class. BSF has a wonderful, the BEST, children's program. The only problem is that there is only room for children from birth to Kindergarten. The big kids are too old to join Buddy E and I. So, what is a mom to do? I could ask for help from Daddy. Daddy could stay home with the big kids on Tuesday mornings and then go into work late, then he works late, and then Wednesday he tries to get back in the groove and then, and then, and then... you get the idea. For the past three years this is how we have tried to make Tuesday mornings work and it just didn't work. So, I found some classes for the kids to take. More on that in a minute. What is a BSF lifer? A person who will stick around BSF as long as they are welcome. As long as I have a child under the age of 6, I'll be at BSF Tuesday mornings, Lord willing. Then after the kids outgrow the preschool program, Lord willing, I'll move to the evening class which has a school age program. Side note: Eric takes the big kids to BSF on Monday nights. He is in a men's class which has the school age program. It is the BEST!! Let me know if you are interested in BSF and I'll get you some info.

Back to C'lectives. The big kids are taking a full day of classes on Tuesdays this year. They both woke up really excited this morning. I hope the excitement lasts at least through December. Miss E is taking PE, Art, Primary Writing, and Spanish. Little Man is taking Spanish, Art, PE, and Computers. I'm losing a day of instruction, but Tuesdays will be an important day for us.

Upon picking the kids up this afternoon everyone was pretty happy. Miss E is not excited about her Primary Writing class, but writing is something we need to work on so she will need to get over it. Next week in PE the kids get to go swimming so they are looking forward to C'lectives next week.

What are you adding to your week to help with instruction or give a creative outlet?

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Our Summer Break

At Domicile Lessons we've decided to take a full break from school for the month of July. The kids are really excited. I'm kinda on the fence. It is nice to have a break, but on the other hand I struggle when our routine is messed up.

What have we been up to??

Week 1: Miss E competed in Y Nationals. We celebrated the 4th of July with friends from church. We learned that Baby E does not like being in his car seat after dark. We also learned that there are a few songs that he will 'jam out to' which will cease the crying for a little bit. To wrap up our week we enjoyed a family day at Sea World which included staying for their little fireworks show.

The cleaner fish is one of our favorite stops at Sea World.

 Week 2: We ended up staying close to home. Little Man had has second trial class at the new gym which brought our time at gymnastics up to 13 hours this week. This was just a taste of what August will bring to our family. The plumber had to pay us a visit as our hot water heater is upset. I'm really not a fan of cold showers no matter how hot it is outside.

Week 3: This was an extremely hot week for San Diego which included a heat advisory. We tried to beat the heat with a sprinkler play date with good friends, a trip to the library cool zone, Rita's Italian Ice, and a trip to the beach. The girls also got a little pampering done with hair cuts. We ended the week with a movie night after church at church.

Week 4:  Again we tried to beat the heat. We saw "Finding Dory" in the theater and spent another day at the beach. Miss E had her annual Gymnastics banquet. She was awarded 'Most Improved' and was also given the 'Honesty Award'. Little Man had his last practice at the YMCA and Miss E got her double back handspring. It was quite exciting!!

He rides in style and then naps. A huge win for this mom.

Our summer has come to an end. Now to get back settled into a routine.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Changes Better Called New Opportunities

Changes... sometimes they are hard and sometimes they are just a part of life; sometimes they bring anxiety and sometimes they bring excitement. There are times in life when people come and go. Our recent experiences with 'see-ya's' are to people who have had a great impact on our lives who are moving on to better opportunities. The most recent 'see-ya' has helped me to see the Lord open doors to new opportunities for one of the kiddos.

This guy has been doing gymnastics since he was 3 1/2. He started a little bit younger than his sister, but he showed great skills early on. Due to schedule conflicts he was never able to 'move up' in the program. At roughly 5 1/2, the boys coach invited him to join the 'big kid' class. Technically you are not supposed to join the 'big kids' class until you are 6. It did not take long for everyone to see that he had skills beyond the beginner class and we moved him to the intermediate/advanced class. During this same time, talk was going on about starting a boys team at our gym. 2 years have passes since the beginning of those discussions and there is still no movement in that direction. I've had many talks with Little Man and he would love to compete and be a part of a team like Miss E. So, we are taking him out of our current gym and moving him to a gym with an established boys program. 

I took Little Man over to a gym to 'try out' and he was invited on the spot to join their team. We've got a few more steps to take before he is officially a part of that team, but I am seeing the Lord moving us in this direction. It is an exciting time for this guy!!

Miss E will stay where she is. I will become a literal taxi. Schedules are going to be crazy for awhile, but I'm excited to see the growth in both kids. 

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Update #1: The first 'try-out' class went really well. The coach was impressed with Little Man's strength and skills. He was really tired and didn't have too much to say. We will do one more class in a couple of weeks before we make our final decision on what to do.

Update #2: Our second 'try-out' went really well. The new coach actually said that they would like Little Man to compete in their in house meet the end of July. I said thanks but we would not be able to. This is going to be a great move for him. August 1st, he will become a part of a team and will be a boy's level 4!!

4 years at the YMCA

Facebook has an 'on this day' reminder and I was looking at my past memories from January 7.

4 years ago we joined the YMCA. Miss E was 4 1/2(ish) and Little Man was 2 1/2. Neither kid was in any kind of organized sport, but both kids were highly active. I remember walking through the YMCA and looking at the child watch place. Back then it was located in the gym. Someone told us that we could do one gymnastics class for FREE. Who would have ever guessed where that one class would lead us...

 January 2012

 This is the first gymnastic picture I could find, dated August 2012.
Miss E was 5 and in Super Tots.
Super Tots is a 'by invitation class only'.

Fast forward 3 1/2 years and Miss E is competing Level 3.

Here she is before her first meet, August 2015.

She promoted to Team in July 2015.

Wow!! In 4 years we started gymnastics and then progressed to team. Today, January 7, 2016 Miss E is starting her second season as a Level 3 competitive gymnast. I'm not sure how long we will ride this train, but I did say all those years ago that we would ride this as long as she wanted. I'm really proud of her and how much she has grown both in her ability and as a little person.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Fun Happenings {overdue update}

Here is what has been happening in the life of Domicile Lessons...

In March we became a family of 5!! The big kids were so excited to meet their little brother. We've continued the Biblical E theme with names so now we are 5 Es strong.

 

Here are a few recent pictures.

In July Miss E took a huge step in her gymnastics career and is now on Team!! {Her first competition} She was a little hesitant, as was her momma, in this next phase of life. I'm super excited for her. She participated in a two day clinic of intense gymnastics with a sleep over. I checked in on her a couple of times since I dropped her off and she seems to be doing well. The night was a little rough but she toughened up and stayed with her friends. Clinic ended with "The Really Big Show" that the girls worked hard on all weekend. It was pretty cute!!

On August 8, Little Man took a huge step in his walk with the Lord; he got baptized!! This momma's heart was about to explode and water leaks from my eyes anytime we talk about it. Back in February the story taught in his class at church was about having your name written in the Book of Life. He came home and asked if we would pray that his name would be written in the Book of Life. We told him that it was not a prayer we could pray, but we shared with him how to get his name written there. That night he accepted the Lord!! In July during our daily Bible reading we read the story about Philip and the Eunuch from Acts. If you don't know the story, Philip is helping the Eunuch understand what he was reading and then baptizes him. Little Man said when we were done that he was ready to be baptized, too. When asked why he wants to be baptized he says so he can show people he believes in Jesus!!

Homeschooling is still going strong. I slowed our schedule down a lot through the summer. We never really took a total break. I'm ready to hit the fall hard and get into our new routine. With Miss E's gymnastics at 10 hours a week, my work at our church, Little Man's endless energy and the baby things are going to be interesting... stay tuned there may be an update soon.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings,

Elizabeth