Somehow this week managed to fly by, probably due to the holiday and major lack of sleep three nights in a row.

The fourth of July was MUCH fun, although we were a bit worried that we were going to have the fireworks canceled because of some last minute rain storms. When it started to pour, we decided to play a game of ‘rain tag’ on the front lawn and had a BLAST getting soaked and chasing each other silly.

Fortunately it cleared up just in time and we were able to enjoy some by sitting on our front lawn. The best part was watching the lightening show going on in another part of the sky. God has his own little display for us to see. :)

What was your week like? Did you have a fun fourth? Lazy week? Link up and leave a comment!!

A Few Preschool Links:

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This week all of the kids have been involved in Vacation Bible School and Kaleb especially has been having a great time. While the kids are at church, I’ve been sneaking away to a friend’s house nearby and doing some planning for the upcoming school year. I haven’t knocked as much off my list as I had hoped to, but every little bit of headway is helpful!

We’ll primarily be using Before Five in a Row for Kaleb this next year and one thing I did figure out is the books that we’ll be covering during the school year with him. The goal is to work on two books each month and alternate between a BFIAR book and one of the preschool packs that we haven’t had a chance to work on together yet.

Curious to see the books that we’ll be using? Here’s a look at the ones on our list.

Several of the books were out of print, but I found them on Amazon in the ‘used’ section and got some great deals. We are skipping a few {at least at this point}, especially the ones that were really hard to find because they are out of print and our library doesn’t have them.

So…still working and planning and playing and having fun overall!  How were YOUR weeks??

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I have to say that we are rather enjoying the laziness of summer, especially me. While we are doing some school in a more laid back style {basically we’re focusing on our All About Reading program this summer}, I’m spending time behind the scenes and plotting out what we’ll be doing for school next year with Kaleb.

And making lists, because I love lists. :)

So far, I at least have a basic idea of what we’re going to do next year, but my goal is to have things printed out and ready to go for a chunk of weeks at a time so that all I have to do is pull a folder or bag and start the week off.

The bulk of our year will be tied in with Before Five in a Row, so a friend and I are picking out the books that we’re planning to use, figuring out what months we’re going to do them in and then filling in the gaps with some fun preschool packs {and thinking of ideas for new ones!}.

Needless to say, my mind is swirling, I’m excited and really hope the enthusiasm will carry over to Kaleb too! Next week we’re gearing up for a nearby VBS program {which secretly means I get to do more planning ~ woo hoo!}.

BUT, I’m sure that many of you had MUCH more exciting weeks than we did, so leave a comment, share a link and let us know what YOU did this week!

Preschool Links

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This week we’ve been outside a LOT since the weather has been absolutely amazing in our area. Being outside has meant exploring {and seeing} some fun things.

Overall, our plans this summer for preschool are going to be pretty laid back. The only definite curriculum that we’re going to use is All About Reading Level Pre-1 and then we’ll have fun with a few Preschool Packs and time at VBS.

The kids gave me a hummingbird feeder for Mother’s Day and after dismal results the first week {and an army of ants invading it}, we had GREAT success with it this week, especially Thursday. We mixed up our own juice to go in the feeder, refilled it and have have been watching the hummingbirds visit our feeder.

Simple Hummingbird Juice: Mix 1/4 cup of sugar into 1 cup of boiling water until sugar is dissolved. Add red food coloring as desired. Store extra juice in the fridge.

The kids also spent the afternoon at the creek and caught an overload of crawdads. They attempted to get me to cook them up for them {claiming they taste ‘just like lobster’}, but I didn’t give into their demands and all but one survived the ordeal and were returned to the creek to be captured on another day. :)

Our chickens have been free-ranging this past week and Kaleb just sits on the porch and carries on conversations with them throughout the day. It’s pretty hilarious.

We also discovered that a small bird has built a nest in one of our hanging ferns on the front porch and laid five of the tiniest eggs. We’re carefully watching the nest and being careful ~ this will be wonderful when we start our bird study soon and we’re trying to get a picture of the momma bird so we can look it up and find out what it is.

The BIG excitement of the week was seeing a black bear in our backyard the other morning. Only one of the kids was there to see it with me, but it does answer a few questions about the noises and some odd happenings over the last few weeks.

Ahhhh…the joys of living in the country.

Preschool Links for You

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As I’m writing this, I’m just back from wandering the vendor halls at the homeschool convention that I’m attending this weekend…and contemplating all the goodies in store for next year. :)

Oh the bliss. I could wander and dream for hours!

This past week we’ve been having much fun watching our ladybug larvae and see how they grow and eat! Although this is part of the older kid’s Nancy Larson Science program, Kaleb has really been enjoying the lessons all about bugs {which means I need to finish up the Bug Preschool Pack, eh?}.

Kaleb spent much time outside this week searching for bugs too ~ especially grasshoppers, but haven’t had as much luck with that.

We’re officially winding down the older kids school year and taking a bit of a breather, so things with Kaleb will be a bit more laid back for a bit until I get a few more preschool packs printed out and ready to go with him. :)

What did you all do this week?

More Preschool Links:

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For the past two weeks it seems that our house has had a revolving door of sorts with family coming and going and finally ALL leaving this past Tuesday.

With our family running back and forth daily, we didn’t spend a lick of time doing school at all, but spent much time with my brother and just having fun.

Kaleb’s idea of fun was playing chess with his Uncle Andy, although he doesn’t have the first clue how to actually play. Anytime my brother would take one of Kaleb’s pieces, Kaleb would reach over and grab one of his uncle’s pieces and say “One for you and one for me.”

And this picture was just too cute…since he was imitating my brother and how he was laying on the floor…

Best part of the week though. The Strider Bike has officially been pushed aside and Kaleb is wanting to only ride his ‘big boy bike’ {please don’t point out the hot pink and turquoise to him, okay?}.

Before I forget, don’t miss the Uppercase Tracing Cards and the Lowercase Tracing Cards that I shared recently!! I have some more fun printables that I’m working on and hope to share them soon!!

More Preschool Links

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